"There's a weird ­comfort in ­knowing you can survive something you've been ­terrified of, even when in a ­better world you would ­never have to ­experience it at all. Air-raid sirens freaked me out as a child. Once or twice a year, one would suddenly go off. The adults in the room kept their cool, explaining they had heard something on the radio that morning about a precautionary test."
"Four years ago this month, Ksenia Samotiy, then age 19, fled Lviv for Ireland as the threat of war loomed. Her father remained. Last week, she returned for an emotional visit There's a weird ­comfort in ­knowing you can survive something you've been ­terrified of, even when in a ­better world you would ­never have to ­experience it at all."
Four years earlier, 19-year-old Ksenia Samotiy fled Lviv for Ireland as the threat of war loomed. Her father remained in Ukraine. Last week she returned for an emotional visit. She experiences a strange comfort in knowing she can survive something she had been terrified of, even though in a better world she would never have to experience it. Air-raid sirens frightened her as a child. Once or twice a year a siren would suddenly sound and adults in the room would stay calm, explaining they had heard on the radio about a precautionary test. The return reconnects her with those memories and anxieties.
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