Zakhar is 5 years old, and he’s already a violinist. Before the war, he played his little violin every day. And afterward — he played every day too: under shelling in his native Hostomel, in the basement during the occupation, on the exhausting journey toward peaceful skies — he played… on an imaginary violin. 

Zakhar had a beloved first violin in his life. Together with his mother Larysa, the boy survived 16 days of occupation. Russian soldiers settled in their apartment, so they had to move into the basement. When something very heavy hit the building, Larysa and her son made the decision to flee under shelling…