It was a usual early morning when I woke up. My small cozy room looked ordinary and slightly cluttered by the modern Soviet furniture which I've always wanted to get rid of. I went to draw the curtains aside but there was no light. It was too late for dawn so I decided to open a window to let fresh air and sunbeams get inside.

For the first moment, I was surprised looking at the sky. There was no sun in its usual place. The sky was treacherous and dark and there was a smell of burnt rubber in the air and the dark smoke of fires to the southeast.

I looked at the people walking down the street. Nobody seemed was concerned about the unusual darkness. People had merely been proceeding to keep their own life in order or maybe somebody began to suspect something was wrong but tried to pretend nothing happened. Like me, who at that moment was not supposed to pay too much attention to such an "astonishing" picture beyond the window, but...

The sun didn't appear the next day, and the day after the next day and even the day after.  The worst fact to realize was that the darkness had been becoming deeper and had lasted so long that finally people got used to living plunged into the color of sadness and sorrow.

In a short time, the darkness wolfed down my family, friends. Soon I felt its breath behind my shoulder. It was the moment to decide; the hardest challenge I've ever had in my life. The price was unbelievably high but life is invaluable. Like a hunted animal, hoping against hope to survive, I was praying God for the wisdom to find the way, the strength to come out with my life and the patience go to the end of the way and try to get the sun back.

Finally, it was the moment to set out.  It was late night or early morning I don't remember, when I kissed my son for the last time. He was too young to understand, I was too despairing to recognize. I said to him: "It's time to get our sun back. It will be a long trip, my son, but if we ever meet again, I only hope you'll forgive me!".

The time ran fast and it was still night when my plane finally landed on the alien ground after a long flight.  I stepped out outside the airport, it was still dark. Even though I was exhausted by the long trip and definitely needed to sleep, the same very thought was in my mind. Is it possible for the sun to disappear forever? Looks like here nobody has understood my question and it made me feel even worse. So finally, I fell asleep.

The next day, when I woke up in the morning, it was a small room with a low ceiling, cluttered by Ikea furniture, with my old friend from the past standing in front of his studio window. He smiled me, but I could hardly see his face. The light was so bright and practically flooded the whole room. He looked like an angel with a sunny halo around his head.

He told me to get up and have my breakfast. It's time to begin a new day, he said.

It's time to begin a new life, I said in reply.