You can talk about Ihor for hours. And whenever you recall his childhood and youth, a smile appears because he was a source of pure positive energy.
He studied clarinet at a school of the arts but was extremely fond of sports. Football meant a great deal to him in his teenage years. It’s spring 2015; Ihor is taking his final exams at the music school. The day after tomorrow, he has solfège (one of the hardest tests), and tomorrow there is a football tournament between school teams in the district. He doesn’t want to miss such a chance — after all, he is the goalkeeper and the youngest on the team. During thematches, the rain starts — it’s absolutely bucketing down. Ms Dariia, his solfège teacher, is looking through the window while the boys are playing football in the stadium in the downpour. She says, ‘I see Ihor in goal, soaked and muddy, tossing his hair back; he saves the ball, crosses himself, and then waits to go back into play. I wonder, how will he cope with that exam tomorrow?’
At the tournament, their team took first place. The joy was boundless. The next day, he went to take his exam. They entered, received their exam papers, and Ihor sat down to write. Then he raised his hand and asked, ‘May I go out for a moment?’ The commission allowed him to. A few minutes later, Ihor came back — he had bought ice cream for all the teachers and students taking the exam. Ms Dariia laughed and said she couldn’t remember anything like that in all her years of teaching.
