Substitution

Substitution
Substitution
Substitution by Edita Ďurčová
Substitution
Substitution

Some people don’t like it in Petržalka. Especially those who live in the countryside tend to perceive big cities and their bustle negatively.

Well, I don’t. Where! After all, I have lived in Bratislava since I was a child. It’s my home. I do not desire another. Together with our five-year-old son Victor, we are “rested” in one of the Petržalka apartment blocks. Every day I see concrete streets, street lamps, or children playing from the sky…I like this view. For nothing in the world would I want to be buried somewhere in a village environment where silence and solitude reign!

I couldn’t stand it. I feel like a fish in water in the middle of prefab residential houses and a lot of people in them. It is already obvious that my little son has inherited his love for the Parsley neighborhood from me. We go to the playground almost every day of the week. Also to the park near Petržalka. Especially on weekends when I’m off work. And the little one is not in kindergarten at that time either. We also went out together today.

Petržalka is a vast place. Climbing frames and swings can be found here at every turn… There is a lot to choose from. My Victor wanted to go to their research right after lunch. It was a beautiful summer outside, full of warm sunshine. At least that way! When we found a suitable playground, Victor started playing on the sand. He had a small plastic bucket and a shovel with him. I took a newspaper from home. I calmly sat down on the bench and started reading them. I have to admit that I got so engrossed in them that I didn’t even realize how time was passing.

Apparently, I let my guard down. As soon as I took my eyes off the sports section after a long while and looked towards the sandbox, I was horrified to find that it was empty. Only the children were chattering around and their mothers chattering happily together. I got up immediately.

I was no longer interested in newspapers. They slipped from my hands to the floor. I shot forward like a rocket. I asked bystanders about my son everywhere. But they just shook their heads that they didn’t see him. “Victor…Victor!!!” I called out loud so that my little one could hear me if he happened to be anywhere near. Well, nothing. No Answer. And I couldn’t find him anywhere!

Where could he go? And alone? Maybe he just wandered off somewhere. But where?! What if something happens to him? – I searched further with apprehension. I had already gone a good distance when I suddenly saw a little girl about Victor’s age. It wandered here, solitary as a finger, crying.

I walked up to him. “Where’s your mommy?” I asked, taking the girl’s hand. “No – no – I know. I got lost…” whispered the little one and began to cry even more. “Shh, come on, don’t cry anymore,” I comforted her as best I could, “we’re watching your mom together, okay? I lost my son too, you know?” The little girl nodded her head sadly. I wanted to know his name. She replied Valerie. And for the fact that she showed me how many rings she had on her fingers – she said four – I stroked her dark hair.

We walked hand in hand towards the other block of flats. On the way, we passed pedestrians, to whom I asked the same question – if they had seen a blond boy of about five years old, dressed in white pants and a pale blue summer T-shirt. Apparently not. I also inquired about the mother of the adorable child who was trudging down the street next to me with her sandaled feet. Although I had no idea what the lady looked like, I had to try. Because if I don’t manage to find my son and the woman to whom Valerie went missing by the evening, I will have to contact the police.

How relieved I was when he saw a pretty young woman walking in front of us – I note that after about an hour of walking and searching in vain. She looked good. Airy clothes, delicate and tasteful painting… Beauty! And she was holding my son’s hand! Victor! Finally! I was already beginning to think that someone else had deliberately kidnapped him.

When the little one saw me, he let go of the lady’s hand and started running towards me. I took him in my arms. The little one squealed with joy that he was with his father again. I laughed in relief. “Son, where have you been?? Do you know how worried I was about you? You must not do such things to me, Victor!”

The boy looked into the face with his loving eyes. With childlike innocence, she said, “I’m sorry, Dad…I didn’t mean it. I went away when you didn’t…” One naughty one! I explained to him that I will go with him wherever he wants, even to the opposite side of Petržalka, but he always has to tell me. Never, never again must he wander anywhere without a word like this! I knew he was just a kid and things like that happen to kids.

Nevertheless, I hoped that this scolding would discourage him from further “exploratory” trips in the future. I kissed him and put him down. Only now did I notice that Valerie was standing next to the lady who found Victor and was trying to find his parents as well.

What a coincidence! She was the mother of a little girl who – like my son – got lost here and I helped her look for her mother! I almost fell off my feet when I heard how things were. And Tamara – Valerie’s mother – was also surprised. We politely introduced each other and thanked each other for taking on these two branches.

“I found Victor sitting on the bench and moaning that she wanted her daddy. I asked him if he got lost. He said yes. So I took him by the hand and promised him that we would look for dad. I was very scared myself, because only a short time before, my daughter had wandered off somewhere, and I couldn’t find her anywhere. I hoped to meet her on the way,” Tamara told me.

From the very beginning of our acquaintance, we liked each other – as if we had known each other for years, even though our paths crossed only less than a quarter of an hour ago. Stunned, I replied that the same thing had happened to me and Victor. I never believed in fate. But this strange incident in Parsley began to convince me that there really is such a thing as destiny.

After this experience, I developed an even greater relationship with Petržalka. I found out that Tamara and Valerie also live here, but at the other end of the estate. We didn’t know each other from anywhere. I was a widower, and I raised Victor alone. Surprise the world – my new girlfriend revealed to me that her husband had just recently died in a car accident! The similarity of our life destinies shocked me a lot.

That afternoon, I invited Tamara to a pastry shop for dessert. Our children also went with us. They obviously got along, and the same was true of their parents…I intended to start dating this beautiful and interesting woman. When I suggested it to her in embarrassment, she surprised me by agreeing without hesitation. We will go for joint walks with Valerie and Victor.

Let’s get closer. And who knows what will happen after that… Petržalka has been the most beautiful place in the world for me since the day of the interesting exchange of two small children. She gave me a new love.

-Edita Ďurčová

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