The Night Wizard

Barabashova market in Kharkiv, February 9th, 2025.

It was bombed just three days prior by russians. It was hit within the first minute of an air raid alert sounding off. This was the second time the market was attacked since the full-scale war. It was bombed in 2022, and slowly came back to life.

This market is MASSIVE and in its prime, the walkways would be bustling with shoppers, and very very few, if any, storefronts were empty.

I visited on a Sunday afternoon, when markets like this would usually be packed, but it was just me, my cousin, and a handful of other people.

June 2026.

It was hit two more times since I was last here. In October 2025, the fire was so large, it could be seen from the opposite side of the city. Sections of it are entirely leveled now, but vendors still work in the spots that are still standing.

For years after 9/11 we were constantly told “NEVER FORGET” and the idea was basically “keep feeling sad and afraid and especially ANGRY forever; don’t let time dull your emotional response like it’s naturally supposed to; continue to justify the injustices by feeling this way all the time.” And the 3000 deaths were constantly pointed to as this huge deal that justified any lengths to go to.

And then Covid hit. And there were several points during the height of the pandemic (because fun fact, according to the actual definitions of a pandemic, *it’s not technically over yet!* ) where we were having a 9/11’s worth of deaths every week or so. And suddenly 3000 deaths were not a big deal at all. Instead of being enough reason to go to war far away and strip us at home of many rights too, they weren’t even enough justification to make people wear a damn piece of fabric over their face.

3000 people died once and now the government can legally wiretap anyone without a warrant, and hold people at Gitmo under suspicion of terrorism (no need for due process)… 3000 people dying every week but we should all still be going out to brunch and concerts and who cares about the disabled and immunocompromised?