«Now there is enough time.» Ivulin placed «Ears of Grain Under Your Sickle,» which Mikita didn't manage to finish reading, into Melkazyorau's coffin

Hey, Mikitosik!

Before, I'd start our calls with these words — now that's how my visits to you at the cemetery begin. As a child, I wondered why mom always greeted grandma's monument out loud when we visited her on Radunitsa (Remembrance Day).

Now I understand.

At the cemetery, only I chatter — in short, it's just like our weekly calls. You knew how to listen not just for the airtime. «What else happened?» — only after letting someone speak their mind, you'd start talking yourself, occasionally interrupting with a shout: «Fudzhik, b####h!». We loved to chat while simultaneously walking our dogs in different parts of Warsaw. Since December 21st, you only receive.

Well, catch up on what you missed.

***

Mikitosichak, because of you I had to reactivate my VK page. You definitely wouldn't have approved, but sorry. It's just that VKontakte remembers everything. There's an archive of our correspondence from back when Durov was just inventing Telegram, and more convenient messengers hadn't been invented yet. Imagine how old we are:).

You probably forgot, but I'll remind you. On April 9, 2012, I, a first-year student at BSU, played my first match for the Institute of Journalism's football team. You were then finishing your studies as an external student. That day you came to «University» in the status of a faculty legend and a rising star of sports journalism. I avidly read your interviews on Goals.by, where you managed the football department.

I was a defensive midfielder, and you covered me in defense — and at some point, you played unexpectedly poorly. Hardly any of the more experienced partners would have thought to reprimand you for it, but for my directness on the field, as in a sauna, everyone is equal. Do you remember how I made a complaint, and a couple of seconds later, you sent me to a well-known address with a harsh roar?

But you didn't stop playing and giving tips. You even showed respect after the match. Hearing a couple of pleasantries, I flew to my rented apartment in Angarskaya with one thought: 'I need to connect 3G to my laptop faster and add Mikita as a friend! If I'm lucky, I'll ask for an internship at Goals.by'.

However, you were the first to send a friend request. That's when I first realized how subtly you could sense people.

Over the past 40 days, people have written so many good things about you! You would have been pleased, even though you loved to grumble that you didn't like people. Your signature coquetry hid your «inner princess» behind a brutal exterior.

Few knew about the «princess,» or how deeply you worried about everything related to your work. Even fewer people saw your tears, though your circle of acquaintances was very wide. You seriously cried when watching the cartoon «Klaus.» My friends, whom you 'rented' during my imprisonment, saw how touched you were by Tsikhanouskaya's New Year's greeting for 2022. And do you remember what happened on August 16th? I also cry sometimes, but more on that below.

It's trivial, Mikitosik, but everyone had their own Melkazyorau. He was the guy who writes columns for Onliner, and a friend, that bearded guy from YouTube and a husband, an example of Belarusian identity and a son, a Tribuna.com headliner and an enlightener, a colleague and a Netflix fan, a mentor and a tattoo enthusiast, a historical figure and an ambassador of Crocs, for some, simply an idol. You were a person of such scale, such compassion and empathy, that everyone who crossed paths with you even a little after December 21st found something to say and remember about you.

***

Here, we're holding on as best we can and trying to protect each other. In this, you had no equal. You knew how to stand up for your principles and your people.

Do you remember how, in a past life, we participated in a football tournament for the birthday of «Belarus 5»? Back then, Ivan Eismant had just become the head of Belteleradiocompany. Imagine, that was in 2014!

We clashed with their team, and you asked me to play Eismant personally. I stuck to him, never letting him out of my sight. I played tough, but by the rules: the ball to him — and I was already there. Eismant, who was genuinely good at amateur football, could only pass backward. After another tackle, he shrieked: 'Help! They're not playing by the rules!' Ha, it was 2014, and for state television, some rules still existed. But the referee didn't record any fouls — then my 'charge' decided on vigilante justice.

After a couple of words that BT would probably not air even today, Eismant pushed me in the chest — I retaliated. A skirmish was brewing, but then, from nowhere, you, Mikitosik, flew in and delivered such a hit at the speed of a business-class electric train that Lukashenka's press secretary's husband flew a couple of meters.

It was epic! They say you somehow repeated a similar trick at a journalistic tournament in Druskininkai. Someone from our side was being wronged there too, and you didn't stand aside. Well, who would doubt it.

***

Yes, for some reason, this tournament was especially important to you. You'd start bothering colleagues who could at least somewhat kick a ball months before the start. A couple of years ago, you even added my woman to your list of personal enemies. Well, what did she expect? She went and gave me tickets to the «Real» — «Atletico» match for my birthday, encroaching on sacred dates.

Last year was my first and, it seems, last Druskininkai. We played terribly. You'd get wound up because you can't stand losing. I had to calm you down, which, surprisingly, worked.

However, something else surprised me more on that trip. We lived in the same room, and you showed me what hangers are for. Everything was so meticulously organized that I was genuinely astonished. And you had the same approach to the gym, reading, and preparing for interviews.

It's a shame we won't play on the same team anymore. The last time we ran was in late autumn 2024. Oh, how I wanted to slap you when, after another strain of my 'cruciates,' you chuckled that you'd seen Ivulin's last career match. No way, Mikitosik, not the last! I was already completely ready to switch to padel tennis, but now I'll have to strengthen my knee to play in the «Mikita Melkazyorau Cup» this year.

Thank you for taking my «Ivulin Cup.» I think that's right.

***

Mikitosik, a colleague from Goals.by recently wrote: 'It seems you were Mikita's personal project.'

Hard to argue. In life, I've never received such a mix of banter and care from anyone. Only now do I realize how much effort and nerves my first material proofreads cost you.

Павялічыць

I hope you weren't tossing and turning too much while I typed this text. Especially since you loved to repeat that the one who fights for their truth wins, no matter how difficult it is or what the outcome.

I hope your project turned out not to be the worst at some stage. At least there were fewer questions about its 'design'. I started when indistinct t-shirts and strange sweaters were the height of fashion in domestic sports journalism, but you always looked chic.

A sense of style — that's what distinguished you. Do you remember how in 2020 you managed to get hit by a car? Not just any car, but a Maserati! Even then you kept your brand. I, at best, would have been hit by a «Zhiguli.» Or maybe I've grown up to a BMW — what do you think?

You always wanted progress. You progressed yourself and demanded that others strive for it too.

You loved to repeat that details form the main impression, and you were super attentive to them.

I can imagine what a shock you'd be in if you saw me helping Lina pick out your last outfit. To my taste, it turned out decent. Seriously, even in the coffin, you were stylish. Under your favorite denim shirt was a white t-shirt with a portrait of Karatkevich. I was wearing the same, but in black.

Павялічыць

And a little more Orsha in your life. You never finished reading «Ears of Grain Under Your Sickle.» Lately, you complained that there was a lot of work and little time. That's emigration for you: if you want to live well, be ready to work hard. In our case, to truly work, not to slack off.

One of your tattoos features the phrase «Decus in Labore.» You got it after visiting the Lello bookstore in Porto. That same inscription is present on a stained-glass window there, which translates from Latin as «Dignity in Work.» They say Lello also inspired J.K. Rowling when she was creating Harry Potter.

The guys from the «zhizn-malina» team (sorry, I haven't found the strength to watch the last episode yet) say that you built your own monument. With your work. Now there's enough time to rest. Just in case — I put a 'takeaway' for you. «Ears of Grain.» The book was submerged in the flowers that hundreds of Belarusians brought to say goodbye to you. If you get a chance, ask my countryman there if there was a second part.

***

Mikitosik, I'm finishing this text, and I myself find it hard to hold back tears — unfortunately, not from a movie or a cartoon. Already an adult, I first cried in the autumn of 2015 because of you. Wow, 10 years have passed!

Back then, a letter arrived in the editorial inbox where you thanked everyone for their work and announced your transfer to Onliner. It hurt. Around that time, we started not only talking about work but also slowly becoming friends.

You never called me «friend» because you couldn't accept that the 'kid' had grown up. But I still remember how 10 years ago I ran out of the newsroom to cry where no one could see. And then you came and said something like: 'Don't be scared, kid. Live this life, everything will be alright.'

Something will happen, that's true, but it will be different. My psychologist says that Mikita will always be with me, with us. Yes, exactly.

After your departure from the journalism faculty team, I inherited your captain's armband and the number 21. Details, but damn, you decided to leave for good on 21.12. No matter how you slice it, it's 21 everywhere. Style.

Павялічыць

After your departure from «Tribuna», I inherited the vacant role of top-face. And the understanding that there are no irreplaceable people — only unique ones.

Павялічыць

After your departure on 21.12., I was left with an emptiness in my chest. As a bonus — a new Carhartt T-shirt that arrived for you on December 20th. You didn't get to wear it.

But most importantly: I, like thousands of Belarusians, inherited your Belarusian cosmos, which you managed to create. And this wish from August 2020.

Mikitosik, we will keep fighting forward. It's a pity it's without you, but now — it's also for you.

And we will embrace our Belarusian identity together.

The sun will shine!

P. S. Rest and send (not a mistake, but an author's punctuation mark!) greetings to Vladimir Semyonovich.

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