Miracle in Time of War: New Book Supported by Soyuz Telecom
“Even the magical forces are on our side”: the story of a front-line fairy tale
War changes people’s destinies and gives birth to stories that might never have appeared in peacetime. That’s exactly what happened to Andrey Frolov, an officer in the engineer-sapper battalion of the 128th separate mountain assault brigade. Andriy has been working with danger every day for five years now, but thanks to the suggestion of volunteer Olena Fetisova, he unexpectedly wrote a children’s fairy tale for himself.
For Andriy, writing is not a random experience. During his service, he wrote many stories that grew out of real events, characters, and everyday life at the front. “The Magic Hyacinth” was his first book for children – and, it seems, it will not be the last story we will hear from Andriy.
“Magic Hyacinth” tells the love story of Oksana and Volodya, who receives a task from the commander. He sets off on a dangerous journey and gets into trouble. He is helped to cope with the difficulties by new, not quite ordinary friends – a sarcastic magical cat from an ancient aristocratic family and a sapper goat in a bulletproof vest. The whole world is enlivened by warm illustrations by Angelina Babina – viewing them, believe me, is no less interesting than reading the story itself.
And almost all the heroes of the fairy tale have real prototypes. The same sapper goat actually existed: on the land that had just been liberated from occupation, it was peacefully grazing in the middle of a mined field and nothing happened to it. Andriy saw it with his own eyes – and it was from that surprise that the whole story was born.
At the same time, this tale is not only for children. For adults who face the injustice of this world every day, the tale reminds us of forgotten children’s values - the ability to sincerely and unconditionally believe in the light when there is so much darkness around. Today, this is perhaps the most difficult challenge. But it is worth remembering that, as the author says, “even magical forces are on our side.”
In war, everyone is important, the author says between the lines. Even a goat – albeit a charming one – finds its place in the service and contributes to the common cause. This is a simple but extremely important idea that resonates with both children and adults.
There’s a whole community behind this tale: the one who came up with the idea, the one who wrote it, the one who drew it, the ones who helped publish it. Everyone added something of their own – and that’s probably the best thing about this story.
Publishing such a book would not have been easy if it weren’t for the help of volunteers and financial support from Soyuz Telecom. Participation in the publication of this book once again proved our belief: a strong society is built not only on technology, but also on people, their stories and values. This is where we see our social responsibility.
May there be more bright stories!