"I prayed to God that it would be cancer because at least there’s a chance to fight..."

During the search for a diagnosis, I realized that things were looking grim... I prayed to God that it would be cancer because at least there’s a chance to fight... Then came the overwhelming feeling of sinking to the bottom of the ocean, watching a beautiful beach full of happy, carefree people — and facing a complete dead end.

There is no cure...

"Is that even possible?" — "Yes, Olesya, it is." And yet, people don’t despair. They live, they climb, they joke. Look, check social media."

"Is it really happening? Will I become like that? But what about life, about traveling? Things had finally fallen into place… Is this really the end?"

"But you are alive. And the travels — they will still happen."

Much will be lost, but something new will take its place. And only you can choose whether to accept it.

So much has happened to me in this time. "Life, will you give me another gift?" I ask hesitantly — and immediately, something extraordinary arrives. This time, it’s a beautiful dove.

How do I live with this? There’s no answer. I just live. I fall, laughing — and life lifts me up again.