Oksa Pollock: The Last Hope

A
BOY WOULD HAVE RULED OUT ANY POSSIBILITY
, destroying their last and final hope.

Pavel Pollock jumped up and, in an attempt to mask his agitation, leant over the cradle where a tiny baby girl lay sleeping. His daughter. Everything now hinged on his little girl—he knew it—and the thought was already eating him up inside. Gloomy joy filled his heart and yet his eyes were shining with happiness at becoming a father. He turned to look at his wife, blinking away a few tears. Marie Pollock smiled back at him. Would he ever learn to be less of a worrier, she wondered. Less anxious? Deep down, though, she knew she loved him just the way he was.

Suddenly a cry from the cradle made them both jump: their baby girl had just expressed herself with surprising force. Eyes wide open, she was trying to prop herself up on her little arms, but despite her fierce determination, her head with its dark, silky curls kept falling back onto the pillow. Her father went over and picked her up, his heart thudding.

“Is this okay? Am I being too rough? I’m not hurting her, am I?” he asked his wife, frowning with concern.

“Don’t worry, you’re doing fine,” she replied easily. “Well, look who’s here! Hello, Dragomira!”

Everything Pavel’s mother’s did had a touch of exuberance and today was no exception: hidden behind the largest bunch of flowers they’d ever seen, Dragomira was also carrying a variety of bulky bags in every colour, overflowing with gifts—bags she dropped as soon as she laid eyes on the baby in her son’s arms.

“Oksa!” she cried. “You’re awake, my little treasure! I’m so happy!” she exclaimed to Marie and Pavel, kissing each of them in turn.

“Hmmm, I think her nappy needs changing,” remarked Pavel,
horrified
at the thought.

“I’ll deal with it!” volunteered Dragomira. “If you don’t mind, Marie, of course,” she added, with an imploring look.

A few seconds later, little Oksa was wriggling on the changing table while her gran wrestled with her sleepsuit. Pavel stood beside her to watch, careful not to miss a thing.

“Oksa… our last hope,” murmured Dragomira almost inaudibly.

Pavel shuddered and his face darkened with annoyance. He allowed his mother to finish dressing the baby, then asked her firmly to follow him into the corridor of the maternity hospital.

“Mum!” he hissed angrily through his teeth. “You couldn’t help it, could you? You just couldn’t stop yourself! If you think I didn’t hear you—”

“Hear what, my dear Pavel?” asked Dragomira, her blue eyes gazing deep into her son’s.

“I know exactly what you’re all thinking! But you’re basing your hopes on a very slim chance. You might just as well rely on the wind!”

“But ships rely on the wind to sail across the sea,” continued Dragomira in a low voice. “We’ll never give up hope, Pavel, never.”

“You’re not taking my daughter there,” insisted Pavel, placing heavy emphasis on every word as he leant against the wall. “I won’t let you, so get that into your head! I’m her father and I want my daughter to have a
normal
upbringing. As normal as possible anyway,” he added, correcting himself, looking strained.

They glared at each other silently in the corridor, ignoring the passing nurses and patients in dressing gowns who stole glances at the pair as they locked eyes, each of them trying to convince the other. It was Dragomira who broke the tense silence:

“My dear son, I love you deeply but you mustn’t forget that you’re bound to our land, just as we are. And whether you like it or not, Oksa
is too—and there’s nothing you can do about that. If there’s even the slightest chance we might be able to return home, you know very well we’ll grab it with both hands. We owe it to those who stayed behind, those who’ve been living in the grip of Evil since the Great Chaos!”

“Mum,” replied Pavel, finding it hard to hide his resentment, “I have huge respect for you, but I won’t allow it. You have no idea what I’m capable of doing to keep my daughter out of all that. We have to forget. It’s too late now. It’s over.”

“I’m afraid fate is stronger than all of us, Pavel,” concluded Dragomira with a firmness that surprised even her. “There’s no point tearing each other apart, because fate will decide for us, make no mistake.”