My sister Svetlana, also known as Sveta, has saved my life many times. She saved it from boredom, from depression and distress, and at least a few times literally saved my life by making consciously or unconsciously sure, that nothing bad or dangerous happened to me.
I don’t know when it was the first time that Svetlana saved my life, but one of the first major ones was during the earthquake on the 4th of March in 1977. It was a very strong one, 7.2 points on Richter scale with an epicenter in Vrancea, and in Romania more than 1500 people were killed.
In Chisinau, where we lived at the time, it was also very strong and many buildings were destroyed. Chaos and panic broke out and my parents, being at a party with friends on that evening, could not get back home so quickly from another part of the city. My sister and I were alone at home. I was four years old and Svetlana was twelve.
I was already sleeping and didn’t wake up during the earthquake. As soon as the earth stopped shaking, my sister grabbed a blanket, wrapped me into it and ran downstairs and out of our block of flats. Carrying me in her arms, she made it sooner outside than many of the adults from our house. Our block of flats did survive this and many subsequent earthquakes and still stands, but if something would have happened to it, I was safe in the arms of my sister.
Starting with youngest age, my sister was always and is a person of action and she puts those she loves into focus of her attention and she cares of them no matter how “annoying” they might me. I am talking of myself here, because when I was small I was almost constantly complaining about almost anything, especially about my sister. “But Sveta said this! And Sveta said that!” My parents had hard time calming me down and explaining to me that my sister is older and knew better what she was doing. I was protesting to these arguments by climbing onto a kitchen stool and exclaiming: “But I am higher!” Please note how I said it: not taller, higher! This is now a family joke about me being “higher”, which is true today also without a stool.
Of course, there was also a considerable gap in our ages that made a four year old sister for an almost teen naturally annoying. This gap melted over the years and we are best friends now, although I still do my best to annoy her time to time. 😉
Later in this blog, I will share more of wonderful adventures and moments I had and continue having with my sister. She has no choice. 😉