Переписка Константина и Олега Сенцова

Dear Oleg Sentsov,

thank you very much for your answer. My girlfriend did her very best to decode your handwriting and translate it to me as precise as possible. Actually, I am a writer myself, publishing my first book this year (a collection of short stories, by the way). And I am surprised that I feel much more related to your book than to many other works of writers in my age and my surrounding. Maybe it is because a lot of people in Austria just write about their present life, their recent relationship etc. But I think you need to have a distance to your own life to transform it into literature. And I believe some of the most defining (and perhaps, most interesting) moments in our lives are going back to our childhood.

I am thinking of that one story of yours, when you were in hospital as a child, and you were watching how a rich kid pranked a patient with Down Syndrome. I could relate so perfectly to the feeling of shamefulness and regret and the end of a life chapter, that you despribed. I had that defining moment when I was six: we made a school trip to a private hedgehog farm (yes, such things exist), and in a private second, I stole some cookies from the owner. Looking for the stolen treasure, my teacher asked me about the case. So I lied. Unfortunately, I failed to convince her, because I still had cookie crumbs in my mouth. Next day, the teacher (a very good person) told me, that in fact, she was not upset because I stole something. She was upset because I lied about it. 

After that day I decided to live an honest life. And even though it was the thought of a naive child, I still have to think about that little incident a lot. And I still remember the feeling of shamefulness und regret – and how important that day was for my future life.

In this way, I really believe that sometimes a bad experience can lead to something good. I guess, after all, the main question is: which kind of person do you want to be, right? 

I cannot imagine how your perception of time must be after years in prison, but I am very glad that you do not feel like you spent that time for nothing. I see too many people wasting a free life. And I am happy to hear that prison did not change your attitude and that you are able to carry on with writing. I will be very pleased to watch out for your next book. I am sure it will find me again.

Wishing you strength and willpower and best greetings in return from Kseniia, my Ukrainian love.

Constantin

Константин (19.06.2019)