I WANT MY SON TO BE LIKE HIS FATHER

– My husband loved me very much. Now I think I was perfectly happy then. I had a respected husband, a wonderful son, Vahes, I lived a carefree, prosperous life … Everything collapsed, – says Lilya. She is a young, beautiful woman, her eyes seem to ask why, her eyes are always looking for something.

“Vahe is still by your side, there is a shop that will continue to provide a prosperous life, that is, everything has not collapsed,” I console him. With the death of one person, not everything can collapse.

Lilya looks surprised. There is no dissatisfaction, he is just surprised.

– Imagine a tree without a trunk. The trunk of the tree bears the branches, the owners, the fruits. If you cut the trunk, everything will collapse.

I am looking through the Khojoyan family album …

– This is Varuzhan, we went to a wedding. Here is Varuzhan on my son’s birthday, and in this picture Varuzhan…

There are other people in the pictures, but Lilya does not seem to notice them. Varuzhan, Varuzhan … And Varuzhan is smiling. In general, everyone in the pictures is smiling: Varuzhan, his wife, son, parents, friends … Varuzhan Khojoyan is a handsome man, tall, with regular features, wide eyes. And Lilya is the same, only there is no gleam in her eyes and dripping happiness in her eyes.

“You had a beautiful husband,” I say.

“Very beautiful,” says Lilya and blushes. “It was the beauty that attracted me that I agreed to marry her.” I was a student, and my future husband, in my imagination, was a government employee with a higher education who went to work with a tie on.

I’m laughing. It is a familiar image, because all girls dream of a husband in a tie at the age of 20.

– But Varuzhan did not have a higher education, nor did he wear a tie, instead, he was extremely beautiful and had a great charm. He was sincere, cheerful, humorous, brave … And he was passionate, balanced. Right during the first meeting he proposed to me …

-And you…

– I refused. My paternal grandmother was an authority not only in our home but in the whole family. My father and mother agreed with him on all decisions, his word was the law in our house.

– Was she a strict woman?

– No, he was just very smart, open-minded and far-sighted. My grandmother was a wise woman, she talked to Varuzhan and told me that Varuzhan is a lawful, kind-hearted, honest and hard-working boy, and it is not at all impossible that he has no higher education and state job, he will become a good husband and father. These words of my grandmother dispelled all my doubts and we got engaged … Varuzhan and I were always together at that time. We were walking, talking, drawing our future. Varuzhan was very bright. He overcame all difficulties with a smile, humor, without complaining. The brightest feature of his image was dedication. He was completely devoted.

“To whom was he devoted?” I ask, thinking that this very line of character took Varuzhan Khojoyan to Artsakh, the front line of the military front.

– You should have seen how lovingly he cared for his parents, how he took care of his sick father. How he loved his brother’s children, and they were the first to ask Hopar for help when they had a problem. Varuzhan loved his brother and sisters, me, my son, my friends …

– The homeland …

“Varuzhan never talked about the Homeland,” says Lilya. He did not say patriotic words like others, he did not offer a toast to the Homeland during feasts … But when he heard the news of the war, he said, I must go to war. We all opposed. How can I go to war, and who will take care of your mother, your 17-year-old son … If you are not called, why should you go? My mother and I talked for a long time, she listened, listened and said, boys at the age of Vaheis are dying on the battlefield.

A few days later he came home and said that he had been called to the military commissariat. Then it turned out that during that time he went to the military commissariat every day and asked to be taken to the front. Varuzhan’s hand was deformed, crippled, he was doing construction, because that was why he was rejected. … The last time he called Vahe, he said, he will take good care of you, you will take good care of your mother …

– Do you know how Varuzhan died?

-Every day someone comes to us and says that Varuzhan saved the life of himself, his son, his friend, his relative. When he realized that the enemy was very close and everyone was in danger of dying, he told the boys, “Retreat, I will keep the Turks on fire …”

– By taking fire, he slowed down the enemy’s advance so that his friends could retreat, did I understand correctly?

– Yes, it happened … I wonder why I did not know before that my husband is so brave, patriotic and ready to die for someone else …

… I could not meet Vahe. I thought I would see a living reflection of my father in Vahe.

“Varuzhan never disciplined Vahe, but taught him everything by his behavior, actions, character and lifestyle,” says Lilya.

So, after his heroic death, Varuzhan did not leave his place empty next to us, he did not leave our future defenseless, I think, and Lilya continues.

– Hamlet, my husband’s childhood friend, used to say that where there is a work of the mind, Varuzhan is called. Varuzhan’s mother used to say that whoever needed help, Varuzhan was by his side. My father-in-law used to say that there is no one or a stranger for Varuzhan, there is only right or wrong. Varuzhan’s diligence surprised everyone, one can tell endless things about Varuzhan’s mercy. All I want now is for my son to be worthy of his father.

I think that each of us has put something on the table for the victory of our patriotic war. My 80-year-old niece said that she prayed for several hours every day that the Lord would protect the Armenian soldiers on the battlefield. Erik Davtyan, a young painter from Syunik, raised money for the front by selling his paintings. My compatriot Garik Harutyunyan from Artashat painted war heroes and presented them to their parents. And all the proceeds of the charity concert with his participation in December were donated to the “Soldier’s House” rehabilitation center. (I will tell about them in detail in the near future) …

We have not defended our lands with mercenaries, we have cast a shield for our country, giving the most expensive…

Lily shakes her head vigorously.

– We just lost a battle. A nation that loves its homeland so selflessly cannot be defeated. You will not defeat a brave man like Varuzhan, someone who left everything and volunteered to die for the salvation of the homeland.

… We are excited. From moment to moment our voice is filled with vigor, light, optimism.

“If necessary, we will put our lives on the line for victory,” says Lilya.

“We will never give up our sacred goals,” I say.

By GAYANE POGHOSYAN