Unfinished Business—Short Article

Anastasia K

Aug 19

3 min read

Updated: Sep 16

Last summer, I went back to Belarus after more than four years of spending my time in the United States, along with other places. It was an “anywhere but home” situation, even though, technically, Belarus was my second home.

It was one of the best summers of my life. I reunited with my cousins, a family-friend brother and sister duo, and a girl I had just met. We spent our days running through hay rolls, visiting neighboring villages, and going to points of interest such as the Kipaitki, cold water coming straight from the ground, cold as ice.

To say the least, I cried when I left.

Then I waited 368 days to go back.

The year in between was spent texting the girls, reminiscing about the summer, and wondering why the brother had not texted me. I missed everyone. I missed Belarus. I missed the people who had made that summer feel like something I would remember forever.

So when I finally arrived again, those feelings came back. I was happier than ever.

Teenagers can be weird. Especially when crushes, friendships, and assumptions get involved.

Our group consisted of three of my cousins, the brother and sister, and another girl who may

have had feelings for the brother. She thought that he liked me. In reality, I just missed everyone.

I told her that I was sad he had not texted me during the year. I had waited 368 days to see everyone again, and I was finally there. She invited me to go to the capital with her. On the train, she joked that I was taking him away from her.

I did not think much of it, and the next day, I would end up alone.

There were a lot of events in between that are not necessarily relevant to this story, including the brother giving me a hiking-stick-javelin thing. Last year, he had done the same thing with sticks and rocks, and I brought them all the way back home to America. They were random objects, but they reminded me of Belarus.

The next day, the stick was thrown into the lake.

I asked why.

And suddenly, the girls turned on me.

They insulted my Russian. They cursed at me. Within two days, rumors had spread.

And just like that, the people I had spent an entire year missing were suddenly gone.

I never got to say goodbye to the brother and sister.

That is the part that still bothers me. I had told the girl that I missed him. I had told her that I was sad he never texted me. I had waited 368 days to see him again. And just as I finally did, it was taken away.

Hopefully, one day, we talk again. I would like that. But she did her damage, and whether she meant to or not, she got rid of me. I got on the plane and cried. Not because I was leaving Belarus. Because I never said goodbye. After un-adding her on all platforms, on my last day in Belarus, I found her adding me back.

Until we meet again, 368 days. I'll graduate high school, get into college...but hey, at least I can tell you this over text.

I guess sticks and stones came to me in other ways...

But, as I spent most of my time with my cousins, I would not trade it for anything else.

Better with family than with anybody else.

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Two Neuroscience Points:

I felt Regretful

Why: I never got to say goodbye to the brother and sister. That was the part that hurt the most. I had spent 368 days waiting to see them, and then I left Belarus without knowing whether I would ever get another chance to say goodbye properly.

The Neurology behind it:

The hippocampus helps us reconstruct memories, while the prefrontal cortex helps us reflect on decisions and imagine alternative outcomes.
This can contribute to the endless “what if?” questions that come after an emotionally important event: What if I had said something differently? What if the rumors never started? What if I had gotten another chance?

I felt Hopeful Again

Why: I still hope that one day we can talk again. I cannot change what happened, and I cannot make the summer turn out the way I imagined it would. But I also do not want one bad ending to erase everything that came before it.

The Neurology behind it: