Life often takes unexpected turns, sometimes it gives us motivation other times it breaks us into pieces. Without any warning, it may surprise us with the opportunity of our lifetime and sometimes snatch the dearest thing or person from us. But that doesn't mean that we should be afraid of the unknown. Life is all about embracing the challenges that life puts us through and come out as a warrior. Well, is it always possible to have a brave face in front of the unknown future and especially when life puts you in a situation that makes you regret the decision for the rest of your life?
On one fine morning a native of Asipovichy, Belarus, Viktor Moiseenko was returning home from Minsk by a train. This was one of the special journeys of his life as he was traveling with his 4-year-old daughter Yulia. This was the first time when his baby girl was traveling in a train. But he didn't have any clue that this journey would change his life forever.
His excitement was at the peak, he wanted to show his daughter every single wonder of nature and artifacts of humans so that he could make her first journey memorable. As it was the month of January so they were caught in a whiteout but they thought of making the most out of the situation so they played with snow and camped on the drifting floe. Yulia was having the best time of her life.
Viktor's wife was tensed as she saw the news on the T.V and called several times in the hotel to ensure their wellbeing. They spent the whole night watching the snow and waiting for the roads to get clear but nothing of that sort happened. Yulia did sleep for a while but Viktor was wide awake thinking how would they go home tomorrow.
After the restless night, Victor woke up to find that snow was still falling at the same pace. This really disappointed Victor, but he couldn't even drop the plan of going home as his wife was waiting for him and her little girl. It wasn't a long journey but the blocked roads was making the journey harder. Would they be able to reach home safely?
Finally the next day in the morning they had to leave for their home and their train was in the early morning. They were expecting roads to be blocked as last night it had snowed heavily but when they went outside it seemed impossible for them to even walk. Viktor was thinking how would he travel in such a situation, especially with his kid?
Yulia was still fast asleep so he just picked her up on his shoulder without letting her know or disturbing her sleep. When he reached the station, he was surprised to find so many passengers on such a snowy morning. While he was boarding the train he got a push from the back and his daughter was about to slip from his hands but he somehow managed to balance her from slipping. He turned around to see who was it but due to the insane crowd, he wasn't able to get a hold of the culprit.
Somehow they managed to get past the gate and entered into one of the compartments, Victor was sort of relieved when he stepped into the train from the bustling platform with his daughter. It seemed like he was now safe from an unknown danger. What was he afraid of and was he and his daughter safe now?
When Victor found a quiet compartment he hurried inside to take up his seat and was relieved to find a couple with a kid in front of them. He settled down on the seat and put his daughter on the adjacent seat while she was still fast asleep. He looked at his daughter's face and sighed in relief. Was there really no danger now?
As it was already a stressful night, Victor's eyes were closing in between as he was already tired. He couldn't catch any sleep last night and wanted to doze up for a while. But he tried to be awake as he didn't want to jeopardize his daughter's security at any cost. He was so tired that he dozed off while watching his daughter.
He didn't know how much he had slept and for how long but he was feeling really relaxed. He opened his eyes and looked beside him and what he saw took his breath away. His daughter was missing, he looked around the compartment but there was no sign of her. To his surprise, the family which was sitting there was also gone. Where was his daughter?
He searched everywhere possible for his daughter but there was no sign of her anywhere. He panicked and didn't know what to do. Tears came out of his eyes. Suddenly the phone rang from his pocket and it was his wife's call. He didn't have the courage to pick up the phone and tell her what had happened.
He fiddle footed around the station but there was no sign of his daughter anywhere. His wife was calling him constantly but he had no courage to answer the call so he kept avoiding it. Then suddenly he wiped the tears off his face and raced towards the station to ask for help. Would it help him find his daughter?
As he tried to enter the office, the guards stood in front of him and stopped him from going further. When they inquired why he wanted to go in, no words came out of his mouth. He was numb and unable to move. When the guards asked him again, he told them about his missing daughter and asked them to help him in finding her.
He asked the station master to announce the name of his daughter on the mic so that if she had gotten off from some other gate he could still reach her. But as the station master announced her name along with the station's name, Victor was again taken aback as he came to know that he had gotten off at some other station. Now he was really hopeless and blamed himself for the carelessness that he had shown.
He didn't have any courage left to call his wife and tell what had happened but he had no other choice too. So he took the train to his hometown and called the police to inform about the same. When he reached home he was devasted, as he rang the bell his wife opened the door and was relieved to find him safe and sound. How would tell her about the incident?
When she didn't see her daughter she immediately asked for her. Victor was quiet for a while this made his wife really anxious and she went outside to search for her daughter. She was aware of how mischievous her daughter was so she thought it to be another prank and searched for her in every place she used to hide. How would she react when she would know the truth?
She became anxious when she couldn't find her and went inside to ask her husband. As she entered the room she saw him sobbing with his hands over his face. She ran towards him to ask what had happened and where was her daughter. Victor couldn't look straight into her eyes as he was feeling guilty. What would he do now?
When she asked again he had no choice but to tell her that someone had taken her while he dozed off. His wife was aghast when she heard this and was unable to control her tears. Victor consoled his wife and told her everything about the incident and the police complaint. Without wasting any more time they reached the police station. Would they be able to find her?
Soon they reached the station and gave the details of his daughter along with her photo. The police assured the couple that they would tell him as soon as they get a lead and asked them to relax and trust the police. The police seemed to be the only way so they had to be patient while they started the search operation to find their daughter.
While the police started looking for the little girl, the parents too tried to search their daughter and had many sleepless nights. They feared their daughter's safety and prayed for her to be safe and sound. Victor was so much in guilt that he even took the same train several times just to search for his daughter.
They checked “water wells, shops, deserted houses” and every other place they could think of. Victor and Lyudmila went street to street in order to find her but everything went in vain. But they didn't let their spirits low and continued to search along with the police and didn't end their search for years. The police closed their file after certain attempts but how would they, after all, they were her parents. Would they be able to find her?
While the police were still searching for the little girl vigorously they doubted on everyone from their neighbors to relatives. The things went out of control when the police started to put the parents of the little girl in the witness box. They had to undergo several lie detector tests. But they cleared them all because obviously how could they had even thought of harming her when they had forgotten about their food and sleep and searched for her in every nook and corner.
It had been two years and they didn't have any clue about their daughter. It had become almost impossible to live there because everything reminded her and they weren't able to find her. Victor used to blame himself as he used to think that it was his mistake that he dozed off and today because of him his daughter was not with him.
It was just another day in the life of the couple and had been years since they had lost their daughter and moved to another city. But they couldn't forget her and how could they, she was their beloved daughter. They too prayed for her every day and for her well being and safety. Would their prayers be answered and that too after so many years?
It was mid-day and they were doing their daily chores when they received a phone call from the police station. At first, they were alarmed because of how often does a normal family gets a call from the police station but they remained calm and answered the call. Why would they have called the family?
There was a lady on the other side of the phone and said that a girl has inquired about the family and claims to be their daughter. They were all surprised, they didn't know how to react to this situation. It had been years but they had never stopped thinking about her. And now they get this unexpected call. Was there any truth?
So when finally they had heard about the news they were both excited and nervous at the same time. Yulia's elder sister decided to call on the number that was given by the lady inspector. So she picked up the phone and dialed the number. She was having varied thoughts in her mind, how would she start or what would she say but as soon as she picked up the phone she forgot what she had thought instead she was just happy to hear her younger sister's voice.
As she heard her voice she said "Hello, my name is Nadya. I am your big sister!”. Yulia broke into tears as she recognized her. When she had spoken to her, Nadya handed over the phone to her mother. For a second, she couldn't speak anything but when she heard her daughter's voice, though she had grown up now, it didn't take her long enough to know that it was her long lost daughter.
After they had spoken to each other, Victor was relieved and somehow his guilt was reduced. Now they had one thing in mind and that was to bring Yulia back. Was that easy? Several questions crossed their minds, where was Yulia all these years? How did she find them? What had happened that day? Or the major question-was this girl really their lost daughter? Every question was important and needed to be answered with utmost honesty.
As the police were also involved they had to undergo some serious investigation before they could reunite again. So the next day they all were assembled in the police station for a DNA test. After they were sure of the identity of the kid and the parents, all the doubts in everyone's mind had cleared off. But still, there were some major questions that remained unanswered like what exactly had happened that day which only Yulia could answer.
After all the tests had been conducted, Yulia and the other members of her family sat together. They were all inquisitive to know what had happened that day. Yulia remained silent for a while and her eyes were fixed on the wall in front of her, as her memories of that day flashed in front of her eyes. A tear dropped on her cheek as she started to recall what had happened that day.
Yulia recalled that after his father had dozed off and she was looking out of the window watching the mesmerizing sunset in awe, the man in front of her started talking to her. He seemed to be of her father's age and his friendly nature made her trust him. He asked normal questions to her and admired the sunset. His son and wife too started to become a little friendly with her and she was happy to have new friends on this journey without having a clue that it was just a trap.
As the train came to halt at a station, the family offered her to come with them and watch the sunset out of the train. She said no to their offer at once as she feared that train might start anytime but they assured her that this was the main station and the train would stop here for at least an hour. She was reluctant at first but they made her believe in them and she came out of the train and unknowingly put herself in danger.
She excitedly came out of the train and was admiring the sunset from a distance. She wanted to thank the strangers for making her come out and watch the beautiful sunset. And as she turned to their side the man put a handkerchief on her mouth and she sank into oblivion. The man then put her over his shoulder and went away with the family. As her eyes blinked she saw the train start while her father was still asleep, she tried hard to shout but no voice came out. Her mind and everything after that was black.
For several hours, she was unconscious but heard certain conversations of the couple. It seemed like they had committed some crime and were on a run. The young man she considered to be their son wasn't actually their son and they were all a gang and not even a family. But now she couldn't do anything and didn't have any idea what they were going to do with her. What would she do now?
She further told the police and the family that after that day she was starved lots of time and some sort of injections were injected so she didn't know what was happening around her. Her body lacked strength and felt numb most of the time. Though she faintly remembers moving to various dingy houses when she was with the so-called family until one day she was left to her fate at some station.
At this point, she couldn't hold her tears and she started crying remembering that particular day they left her alone. She said people were coming back and forth but didn't see her sitting on the side of the platform. She wanted to cry but it seemed like the injections had dried her tears so not a single drop came out of her eyes. She was helpless and starving. How did she manage to get help?
While she had lost all hope, the police at the station came to her rescue. She remembered that they took her to the police station and fed her properly and after she had rested for a while and was able to talk they asked her about her family. They told her that she was at the local police station of Ryazan, which she didn't know was almost 500 miles away from her actual home.
It was 1999 when she was taken away from her father and according to the laws, it was legal to cross the borders from Belarus to Russia even without a passport. So they did not have a problem taking Yulia from one place to another without any checking. Only if the laws were a little tight, Yulia might not have experienced the horror she had undergone.
Ryazan's Police started to search for Yulia's parents because they couldn't leave a 4-year-old girl in the middle of the city all alone by herself. She also told them that the police had commented on how fluently she spoke a Belarus accent but they never searched for the parent whose child was missing in Belarus instead they searched only in Russia so as expected their search ended and they failed to find her parents. What would the police do now?
So after a failed search, they shifted her to a local orphanage. She used to sit in a corner and didn't talk to anyone, somedays she would regret her decision and prayed to reach home. She would barely eat the food and wouldn't leave her bed. Somedays she would cry her eyes out because it was painful for her to be in an orphanage when her parents were alive but were miles away. What would become of her fate now?
Luckily soon after she was shifted to the orphanage her fate took a turn. She was adopted by a nice family. And now Yulia not only had parents but 2 brothers too. She was gradually coming back to her normal self. She had become more cheerful and chatty like before. Soon she had become the apple of everyone's eye in her foster home. No wonder why she was special to her biological parents.
Soon Yulia grew up into a smart intelligent and beautiful woman. Now, she was officially Yulia Gorina for the world. Whenever she used to attend a party, everyone's eye would be fixed on her. She was fancied by every young man in the town. But she found love in a man named Ilya Kryukov. He was 7 years older than her but their understanding brought them together. Would she be able to forget her past and start a new future with her beau?
Though she had a beautiful home, loving parents and now the love of her life by her side, the thought of her real family never left her mind. She never said that aloud in front of her foster parents because she didn't want to hurt their feelings but she never stopped looking for them all these years. How did she finally manage to find them?
Yulia always wanted to tell her boyfriend about her past and after they had dated for a while one day she thought of revealing the truth. So after their lunch date, she sat him down at a peaceful place and told him about her childhood and how she got separated from her father on the train and was shifted to the orphanage and was then adopted by her foster parents.
She also told him that she was actively looking for them still she had no information about them. When she told him everything she was expecting some disapproving glares but her prince charming turned out to be really supportive instead. He immediately started searching for her family as soon as he reached home.
After several unsuccessful searches, they finally managed to find a lead and hence at last found out her family too. While searching through all the possible newspapers, Ilya came across a missing report in the newspaper of the same year in which Yulia had been taken away from her father. The story and the photo resembled so much that he straight away showed to her and her eyes were filled with tears as he was finally able to find her parents after 2 long decades.
She didn't take another minute and found him on the social media and texted him right away. Her excitement was beyond explanation and she was jumping with joy. Her beau calmed her down and asked her to wait for the reply but it wasn't easy to wait for what she had been searching for years now. After so many days of texting him, she received no reply and this made her really sad. What would she do now?
After she had lost hope, Ilya suggested to give it another try and called the local police in Belarus and finally, she was able to reach her parents. Her eyes were filled with tears as she recited her story and her mother immediately kissed on her forehead. There was no way she could compensate for the time she had suffered but pledged to give her all the love. She couldn't stop hugging and kissing her when they finally reached their home.
She paid regular visits to her biological parents afterward. When one day she came to visit her parents she and her father took a train to the station where it all had happened 2 decades back. He told her how guilty he was to doze off on the train with strangers in the front while jeopardizing her daughter's safety. They both shared a special bond and revitalized their relationship on that visit.
Not only she found her lost parents but she also came to know that she now had a younger brother named Dmitry along with her elder sister Nadya. She considered herself to be the happiest and luckiest person on the earth as now along with 4 siblings she had 2 couples whom she could proudly call her parents.
Now she happily resides in Ryazan with her daughter, Kristina, and her husband. She regularly visits both her parents as well as her siblings. This incident not only let her found her lost parents but also inspired her foster parents to find their lost daughter too. Hopefully, one day another daughter would find her way back soon just like Yulia did and the quest of her foster parents comes to an end.