Grateful

[OblivionWalker 255]

With his duffel bag slung over his shoulder and his equipment bag on the other, even six foot eight Slava Kovalenko had to take a moment to balance himself properly before heading up the stairs to his second-floor apartment. He had been traveling for what felt like a year but it had definitely been a whirlwind few weeks for his off-season this year.

 

He had participated in the pro-am tournament (he was certain that the draft floor picks would become the stuff of legend in not too much more time), the world junior championship where he and Team Canada had taken on Team Asia for the bronze medal and won, the Junior Showcase tournament for the second time and now he was finally heading back to Mississauga to prepare for the start of his last season in the VHLM.

 

It was strange to think that he was drafted now, having gone sixth overall as several columnists had predicted but Slava was just glad to have been drafted at all, and that Warsaw were eager to cement him as a potential future cornerstone of the team. He would still have to put in the work to bring all of those hopes and dreams of both himself as well as management to fruition, but if there was one thing Slava had never shirked, it was a little hard work.

 

Putting his key into the lock, he could had sworn that he'd heard something but when he stopped, there was nothing but silence from the other side of the door. Perhaps he had heard something from his neighbor. Shrugging, he got the door open, stepping inside and turning on a light as he set both of his bags down.

 

Suddenly, there was a chorus of voices as people seemed to spill out from every nook and cranny of his apartment. "SURPRISE!" they all shouted in unison and Slava fell back a step, needing a second to compose himself.

 

He was able to make out faces and realized it was his family! His mother and father, along with both of his sisters and brother and pushing themselves up from the sofa, their faces beaming, were his Dido Artem and Baba Irina. They didn't travel as much as they used to, being older and all and it brought a lump of emotion to Slava's throat to know that they would be willing to make such a difficult journey just to see him.

 

"Look at his face!" Sergiy chuckled, reaching out to gather his younger (but still taller) brother in for a warm embrace.

 

"Well, I didn't know you guys were going to ambush me!" Slava shot back, shaking his head in mock reprimand for such an incursion into his home but all of them were aware that he didn't truly mean it. He was just delighted beyond all reckoning to see the people he loved gathered together here.

 

He was passed from person to person, each of them hugging him tightly but none as tightly as his grandfather and grandmother. "We knew you would do well, Slavochka." his baba said warmly, patting his cheek when she finally released him. "Getting the Sullivan isn't something to make light of."

 

While Slava knew that to truly succeed in the VHL proper he was going to need more time, he was still managing to make his mark on the lower league and with another season to play with the Hounds, he was determined to leave his name there for others to see in the seasons ahead.

 

"I have a good team around me and good management. The Hounds have been wonderful to play for." he said honestly and that was indeed the truth.

 

His family had brought him gifts, nothing too ostentatious but Slava had always appreciated the simpler things, and he would cherish everything he was given.

 

With a dinner cooked by his mother and baba and dessert courtesy of his sisters, Slava felt like he would be able to roll himself around for the next few days, but it had all been worth it.

 

His family had opted to stay at a hotel and as he saw them out the door to their rental cars, Slava glanced down at his wrist, and at the bracelet that rested there.

 

He had seen (on that pocketbook evil known as the TikTok shop) a set of two bracelets. One had a small charm that looked like a mountain and the matching one had water. River knew that Slava's dido often referred to him as "the mountain" and of course, a river was water. When the charm was tapped, it would make the other bracelet vibrate slightly and Slava had purchased them almost on a whim, thinking that it could be a nice way to let each other know when the other was thinking of them. Reaching out with a long forefinger, Slava tapped the little charm, and it wasn't even five minutes later that his bracelet buzzed, bringing a smile to his face.

 

There were a lot of things ahead of him, but Slava also had a lot to be grateful for and he was well aware of that.

 

(word count: 860)