Dmitri’s Journey: From Shadows to the Sea

Dmitri was raised by his grandmother and mother. The boy was far from spoiled — both his mother, Elena, and grandmother, Olga, had such strong wills and firm characters that even without a father or grandfather around, these two women managed to raise him well. They were strict about his studies, insisted he read regularly, and never hesitated to punish him for any mischief or laziness.

Despite their sternness, their love for Dmitri was deep and genuine. Having both survived the hardships and hunger of the Great Patriotic War, they ensured Dmitri was always well-fed, expressing their affection through generous meals. Both women were excellent cooks and often competed playfully to make the sweetest blini or the richest borscht just for Dmitri’s delight.

One afternoon, during a neighborhood football game, nasty Ivan — a skinny redhead — taunted Dmitri mercilessly.
“You’re a walking sausage!” Ivan sneered. “You could block the entire goal with that belly of yours! How did you let the ball slip by?”

Dmitri’s heart sank. He hated being called fat. Why did Ivan have to be so cruel? Even the best goalkeepers miss the ball sometimes — why the insults? Dmitri fought back tears, but they slipped down his cheeks anyway. He wanted to chase Ivan and give him a piece of his mind, but Ivan was too quick.

Yet, it wasn’t just the boys who troubled Dmitri that day. By the entrance of the building, some elderly women — well-meaning but sharp-tongued — also upset him.
He wiped his runny nose with the sleeve of his jacket, eyes blurred with tears, not wanting to see anyone. Lost in bitter thoughts, Dmitri just wanted to get home fast.

“Why have you stopped greeting us, Dmitri?” called out Marina Petrovna, the “queen bee” of the grandmothers. Dmitri always greeted her first, as Elena and Olga had taught him.

The boy grumbled something unintelligible, unwilling to engage. He brushed past the women sitting on the bench and reached for the door handle.

“Well, you’ve turned into quite a rude one, haven’t you?” Marina Petrovna exclaimed, with the other grandmothers nodding in agreement. “Olga and Elena raised you too well, I see! Your cheeks are like a pig’s, but no manners to match. If your father were here, he’d teach you some respect, I bet…”

Dmitri felt his stomach churn at those words. His ears rang; his head spun. Home. Home, he thought desperately. Finally, he reached his door.

“Dmitri, lunch is ready!” his grandmother called warmly from inside. Although he felt like refusing, the aroma of Olga’s fried cutlets and fresh pastries was irresistible.

“I’m coming, Granny,” he called back, pulling himself together. “I’ll wash up first.”

Marina Petrovna’s harsh reminder about his absent father had struck a sore nerve. Dmitri had no dad — a fact that weighed heavily on his young heart his whole life. Of course, he loved his mother and grandmother deeply, but he often dreamed about what life might be like if his father lived with them, like the boys in the yard.

And the boys themselves weren’t always kind. Vasiliy and Ivan weren’t malicious — just ordinary kids — but Dmitri was painfully aware that he was much heavier than them.

As usual, the comfort of good food calmed Dmitri’s hurt feelings. He ate heartily, sighed, and then settled down with a book. Dmitri loved reading, especially a story about the sailor Sinbad. The book contained a picture of the brave, tanned sailor climbing a tall mast on a magnificent white ship gliding over turquoise waves crowned with white foam. Oh, how Dmitri longed to be like strong, handsome Sinbad — climbing masts, sailing the vast seas and oceans.

His mother’s voice interrupted his daydreams. From the tone, Dmitri knew she was displeased — Marina Petrovna must have already complained about her son’s rude behavior. Dmitri sighed deeply.

“What did you say to Marina Petrovna?” Elena asked, entering the room. Her stern look foretold trouble.

“Nothing, Mom,” Dmitri shook his head.

“Nothing at all?” Elena frowned.

“I missed the ball today and cried,” Dmitri explained quietly. “I wanted to get home quickly so no one would see me cry. And Marina Petrovna…”

“That’s enough,” his mother sighed. “That old gossip! But listen — you must respect your elders. If she complains about you again, I’ll deal with you, and it won’t be gentle.”

“Mom, do elders always behave well?” Dmitri asked, looking into her eyes. “And is it right for them to bring up Dad like that?”

Elena froze. She wanted to defend her son fiercely from that old woman’s insensitive words. Instead, she ruffled Dmitri’s curly hair and smiled.

“Don’t pay attention, son,” she said kindly. “Come, let’s have some tea. Grandma made blini.”

Though Dmitri had just eaten lunch, he eagerly went to the kitchen. He adored his grandmother’s pancakes.

Dmitri’s father’s name was Nikolai. Elena had spent her life studying, working hard, and climbing the ladder of leadership, leaving little time for love. But when she met Nikolai, she fell head over heels. He was tall, curly-haired, and handsome. Elena was already over thirty and not the typical bride, but she got caught in the whirlwind of first love like a young student.

She married Nikolai. But after one year, the terrible truth emerged — Nikolai was a bigamist. He had another wife with two small children in a distant Soviet republic.

Elena didn’t want to listen. Her anger wiped away all her love instantly. She filed for annulment. Then she found out she was pregnant. That’s how little Dmitri came into the world — a small copy of his former lover.

Elena loved her son madly and vowed that he would never learn any unpleasant truths about his father. She shut down any talk about the absent parent sharply and firmly.

1971

“Mom, I’m going to Kamchatka!” Dmitri exclaimed, eyes blazing, hugging his mother tightly.

He studied well and passed his exams with top marks. He could attend any university in the country, but his dream was the sea. Elena would never have allowed him to go so far from home. But when a commission from the Far East arrived, tenth graders could take exams for the maritime academy.

“Mom, I got accepted!” Dmitri announced excitedly. “I’m going to be a sailor!”

Elena’s heart ached, thinking how hard life would be for her clumsy, plump son so far away. Olga sighed beside her. She even feigned a heart attack to try to stop Dmitri from leaving.

Yet, for the first time, Dmitri insisted firmly. His mother decided to be wise. She knew her son would struggle but also grow stronger.

“Let him go,” she thought. “The sooner he leaves, the sooner he’ll come back.”

And Dmitri flew to Kamchatka. His first time on a plane, heart fluttering as the huge aircraft soared through the sky toward new lands, sea adventures, and new friends.

But Kamchatka greeted him coldly. The maritime school representative at the airport was grumpy and rude.

Seeing Dmitri’s stout figure, classmates immediately nicknamed him “Chunky.” They laughed briefly at his size, but soon moved on. After all, everyone had bigger concerns here.

Still, Dmitri made friends quickly. Oleg, Gennady, and Sergey came from different cities. Dmitri didn’t yet know that these friendships, formed in 1971 Kamchatka, would last a lifetime.

“Guys, they say practice starts next week!” shouted Oleg. “We’re going to sea!”

“How can that be so soon?” Dmitri was surprised. “Cadets’ first sea trip usually comes after a full year of study!”

Oleg shrugged. Some new experiment was underway. The training department decided to send cadets to sea earlier after an accelerated course.

Dmitri’s heart raced with a mix of excitement and fear. He had dreamed of the sea for years! But now, he realized he was scared — very scared.

His mother sent him a letter saying he could come home anytime and enroll locally if he wanted. Dmitri folded the letter and shook his head.

“If I go back now, nothing in my life will ever change,” he thought firmly.

Still, he often longed for the warmth of Olga and Elena’s care. Once, during a violent storm when seasickness overwhelmed him, he vowed he would return as soon as the ship reached shore.

But the hardest trials had only just begun. The cadets were assigned to a fishing vessel. The air reeked of herring — a smell Dmitri hated.

“Chunky, come here!” shouted Captain’s assistant Yegorov. “I’ll show you how the trawl works.”

Dmitri frowned but obeyed. A giant net lowered into the abyss to catch fish. “When the trawl comes up, fish fall on the deck,” Yegorov explained. “You’ll help collect the herring.”

Dmitri nodded, struggling against nausea. The stench was suffocating. Though the ship’s food was decent, Dmitri missed his grandmother’s cooking desperately.

“No mom’s pies here, huh, Chunky?” Oleg winked.

“Not really in the mood,” Dmitri replied, his stomach turning. “I’d rather have broth.”

Tons of fish were caught daily. Countless herrings landed on the deck or remained trapped in the net. The trainees worked tirelessly to gather and free them.

“I only dream of one thing,” Dmitri muttered during one exhausting day. Days blurred together in this endless fish-filled routine.

“Want to watch movies in the lounge?” Oleg asked, keeping pace. The lounge had a real Japanese VCR and martial arts movies.

Dmitri shook his head. He longed to wash properly under a real shower, not just a thin trickle of lukewarm water. He wanted to shave in front of a large mirror, not the tiny square barely bigger than a kitten’s face on the ship. Mirrors were only allowed in officers’ cabins, and neither the captain nor first mate would grant access.

His clothes stretched painfully and smelled constantly of fish. The smell clung to his hair, nails, and skin — no escape from it.

His dreams came true sooner than expected. The fishing vessel couldn’t store all the catch and needed to transfer fish to another ship, which was said to be more comfortable.

“This ship has showers and everything you need,” Yegorov smirked. “You’ll have an hour to clean up.”

For the first time in a long while, Dmitri felt happy. He stood under the hot shower, savoring the warmth washing over him.

Afterwards, he looked around, surprised to see someone standing nearby. It was just his reflection.

Dmitri’s eyes widened as he studied his face in the mirror. He touched his chin and cheeks — it was a different face. His belly? It was gone!

He smiled with delight. His face, shoulders, and chest had a faint tan — just like the sailor in his childhood book. How amazed the boys in his old yard would be to see him now!

“So that’s why my clothes stretched so much,” Dmitri laughed quietly to himself. He left the cabin and breathed in the fresh sea air. The wind tousled his hair.

Something felt missing, but he couldn’t place it. A towering white mast beckoned him. The old Dmitri would never have dared without orders, fearing punishment. But now, something inside urged him.

With skill and speed, he climbed. To his surprise, he wasn’t out of breath, and his body didn’t drag him down.

“Maybe no one will notice,” Dmitri thought, gazing at the endless blue. Turquoise waves with frothy white foam danced playfully, rocking nearby ships.

In that moment, Dmitri felt happy, strong, and bold. His heart pounded wildly as if it might burst.

EPILOGUE

On his first vacation home, Dmitri walked through his old neighborhood. None of the old friends recognized him, and he found it amusing.

“What apartment is this?” grumbled an old woman at the entrance.

“My own, Marina Petrovna, my own,” Dmitri winked at the curious granny. “With Elena and Grandma Olga.”

“Dmitri, is it?” the astonished woman looked up at the tall, tanned young man with broad shoulders.

Instead of answering, Dmitri gently hugged her. Now Marina Petrovna could say anything — even try to hurt him by mentioning his father. Today, Dmitri ran toward the two dearest people who had done everything to make him happy. They had tried so hard, and in the end, they succeeded.

He returned to the school he graduated from with honors. Later, a pretty girl noticed the handsome, tanned young man, and she became his wife. Dmitri had sailed from shadows into the sunlight — and he was just getting started.