Time for a Change

Coming out of the taxi, we plunged into the night life of Kiev. The evening was amazing. A cool wind soothed upon us. We walked along the Khreschatyk. There were lots of young people. Everyone moving from somewhere to go somewhere else. There were flower sellers who were offering bouquets to young people in love. The night atmosphere of the city was exciting and charged. We walked slowly. Ivan was smoking. I linked my arm, in his arm. We got to the Arena. Here there were many night clubs newly opened in the last few years. For five years, I haven`t been in any night club in Kiev. It was now an interesting and unusual experience for me. Of course, I'm not an old granny, but inside I felt I didn’t fit in to this type of place anymore. I mentioned this to Ivan. He confided that he too felt out of place here. This helped us both to relax as we had that in common. There were many people in the club, but there were still free seats at the bar and tables too. We sat down at the bar, ordered a beer, and looked around. I noticed that most people had an age group of around twenty-three years old and above. Also there were a lot of foreigners, mostly Europeans. They smoked a hookah while they were entertained by young ladies. They were going to have a very pleasant night. We sat for a while, then we went to dance. Ivan was telling me something, but because of the loud music, I didn’t hear him. But I was smiling and nodding. We went out to take a breath of air and rest. It was hot inside. I was in great mood. A couple kissing were not far from us. We returned to the club to hang out for a while more. I did not want to sleep. But I had enough of dancing. I wanted to walk around the city by night to enjoy the balmy air and the lights. “Ivan, let`s go for a walk around Kiev” I shouted over the music. “Ok, let's go” he nodded. So we left the noisy, hot night club. Where to go? I knew that I missed Kiev. But in my joy, I did not know where to go. “Let’s go to the Podol” Ivan suggested. We passed Khreschatyk, European Square and walked down to the bank of the Dnieper. Near the water it was colder, even slightly too chilly. In Ireland, it can be colder, I thought and walked faster. “Taya, are you cold?” asked Ivan concerned. “Yes, just a little” I answered “let’s have coffee somewhere and I`ll get warm”. But it`s not so easy to find coffee at three o'clock in the morning. It`s good that we saw and remembered McDonald's on our way. It turned out that we were also by now hungry again. Ivan ordered a coffee and a meal deal. We were then refreshed and warmed up. After this we went for a walk down the promenade. “Ivan, do you miss your home place?” “No, not too much. I call my mother often. My brother Alexii works away from home too. He lives in Yalta with his girlfriend for three years. My mother and stepfather both work, so that keeps them busy and happy. So I don’t think too much about home. My friends have all left and gone in different directions. Here, my friend Alexander, stays with me. He has recently become acquainted with a girl. I don’t have time to miss home as I work a lot. “And do you miss your brother?” “Yes, I miss Alexii. We haven`t seen each other for three years, since he left home. I'll tell you about him later” he said with a reluctant tone in his voice. “You know, Ivan, my first dawn experience, I saw here, with my school class on the banks of the Dnieper. It was after our prom dance. In the mornings, dozens of buses filled with graduates come here to experience the dawn. It is a memorial to Lybid. Do you know the story of the legend of Kiev?” “No, I don’t” he confessed.