Adele’s Broken Canvas

The Village of Golden Dreams

In a peaceful Ukrainian village, 8-year-old Adele lived surrounded by fields of golden wheat.

a lush green forest, and a sparkling river. Her bright blue eyes gleamed with curiosity,

Her greatest dream was to create a canvas that would capture the beauty of her home for all to behold.

Every morning, Adele climbed a hill near her house, sketchbook in hand. From there,

She loved the cottages with red roofs, the twisting river, and the fields in the wind.

Beside her lay Joe, her scruffy golden-haired dog, by her side everywhere she went, ever loyal.

side as she drew.

Her family made the world even more colorful. The laughing mother filled their little home with smiles when she

baked bread

Stories by the fireside would be shared by her father and her after long days spent working on the farm. Life was a simple one yet full of joys—time spent with Joe, her mother, and the dream she would eventually craft.

But life, as with a painting, isn't always bright and colorful. Sometimes, shadows creep in.

For Adele, the shadows loomed ever closer, invisible yet unavoidable.

Adele's Broken Canvas

Shadows Over the Village

The village stopped responding with that familiar warmth. It started quietly, at first like initial notes from a great distance,

An alien melody. Adele sensed it in the hushed tones of the adults talking to one another, their faces taut.

with concern.

Words like "war" and "evacuation" began pouring into their communication, whispered in lower tones as if

Saying them out loud might summon something terrible.

One morning, while Adele sat upon her hill sketching, she perceived that the birds were silent.

The chirping of sparrows and the far-off calls of cranes had vanished. A weight hung in the air.

She searched the horizon and paused in mid-beat. Strange shapes stretched out in the far distance.

rumbled forward-metal machines with long, menacing barrels. Tanks.

But in the village, everything was somehow as different. Everything-in an instant-soldiers. Hard looks, unreadable faces.

They marched through the cobbled streets, their boots clumping with a thud like quickening heartbeat.

fast.

The once Cheerful marketplace, filled with laughter and chatter, became suspiciously silent. Stalls were half-empty.

and neighbors

who once greeted each other with warmth now hurried past with downcast eyes.

The vibrant life that Adele had cherished was starting to decline, being overwhelmed by the impending tension and fear.

Adele Fragmented Canvas

The Day the World Changed

The first explosion was so loud it seemed to tear the sky asunder. Adele sat at the kitchen table, drawing

Joe playful posture

as the aroma of her mother's freshly baked bread enveloped the room. But then, everything shifted.

The house shook. Plates fell from shelves, shattering on the floor. Adele froze, her pencil trembling

in her hand.

Joe bolts under the table, yelping furiously.

Outside, it had become a nightmare for the former vibrant village, and with golden fields that Adele loved so

Dearly were no longer.

They shone, under the sun, like something on fire, with black smoke billowing in the sky. Familiar homes

crumbled beneath the impact of explosions.

Her father shouted, "Take Adele and go!" before disappearing into the melee.

Adele and her mother ran, clutching what little they could carry. As they ran, the village burned:

Behind them,.

Laughter, where once it rang through its streets, now with screams and growl of planes.

She had always wanted to paint golden fields. Now, before her lay burning patches of

ash and broken earth.

Any hope for capturing the beauty of her world was such a far-off dream.

Adele's Broken Canvas

Left Alone in the Ashes

The school building remained as nearly a skeleton of the former-structure deposed that quivered to hold the cold.

blow out.

Here, Adele and her mother sought shelter where they survived on leftovers. Joe stayed with her,

Her only consolation in intolerable reality.

One day her mother ventured out for food but failed to return. Hours became days. Adele waited, her

Heart breaking at every passing moment.

She began crying, screaming out for her mother, whose voice echoed in the rubble even as no one answered.

Accepting her loneliness, Adele became a wanderer, holding Joe as all family she ever had.

Together, they moved forward to the wasteland, circumventing threats and seeking hope.

Joe stayed by her side, her protector and her anchor in a shattered world.

Adèle's Broken Mural

The Social Message: The Price of War

In her journey, Adele saw the grim reality of war—children in the ruins, and Elders clutching

Images of families rent asunder, soldiers smashed by hopelessness.

The devastation left her with questions that no one could answer: "Why do grown-ups contend for power,

tearing apart what makes life beautiful?

Does anyone care about the children, though, who lose their dreams?

In a moment of defiance rare, Adele decided to use the final remnants of her crayons to build a mural on a crumbling wall.

Her village appeared as she had known it once-golden fields, red-roofed cottages, and the river.

glistening with the sunlight.

It was a very beautiful short, magical moment in a scorched world.

For one brief moment, the mural glowed over all who saw it.

But in war, she learned that no victors were produced; only winners of losses and silences.

Adele's Broken Canvas

A Crossroad of Hope and Fear

Thus, as Adele and Joe were exploring the ancient ruins, they caught the faint sound of voices drifting from afar.

Her heart was racing. Could it be her parents? Survivors?

Adele stood at the crossroads, holding on to Joe's leash. The voices had grown loud, pulling her in two.

directions-toward hope or safety.

She hesitated, fear and longing wrestling within her. What she decided next would change everything.

Then silence.

**To Be Continued.