Everything, even a prison sentence, has its end. We have come to the last pages of the book. We have been through many things, sad and funny, together. There were moments on despair when you felt like committing suicide, but then moments when you despised your own weakness and thanked God for putting you through this trial.

In prison we perceived the world in a different way. It made us look at usual things with different eyes. We managed to see the vast expense inside ourselves and to appreciate simple things like fresh air, water , sunlight.

Look at the people. Don’t they remind you of athletes running the track of a huge stadium. They don’t notice the grass under their feet, don’t hear the rustle of leaves on the trees, don’t feel the exciting freedom of birds flying above. They keep running. Faster and faster, trying to achieve some illusory goal. They are exhausted, they have no time to stop and think. They run till the sharp pain in the chest becomes unbearable and they fall smashing their faces on the gravel. Do they really have to collapse to start thinking about the meaning and purpose of running?

Today you are much luckier than me. You are returning to the outside world. I’m staying behind bars.

What a curious thing life is! We have had our fights and disagreements, but now when we have to part I can hardly hold back the tears. You also seem to be lost for words.

Will you write to me?

We’ll meet again. The Earth is round.

I’m watching you packing your things hastily, writing down the address on a scrap of paper, giving some of your things to the cell-mates. Will the outside world accept you? Do you now realize that people are different from what you thought them to be? However, they haven’t changed. It’s you who has become different. You who see the world differently.

Prison has deprived you of your illusions. You at last realized that there is no true friendship in real life. Three Musketeers is just a beautiful fairy tale. So don’t expect to see many friendly and smiling faces.

For some of your well-connected friends making just one telephone call was sufficient to get you out of prison. You believed in them, you expected their sympathy. However, nobody had dialed the required number. If it’s any consolation, you are not the only one. Apostle Peter betrayed Jesus as well; your friends are no exception.

No need to get upset or frustrated. Don’t judge homo sapiens too severely. People make friends with the ones they can use either in their career or for some other purposes. Nobody really cares for you except your blood relatives. They are the only ones prepared to sacrifice their lives for you though in prison you have seen those who wouldn’t stop at sending their nearest and dearest to hell. Nothing can be done about that: people have always had their vices.

You have been lucky. There were people who loved you, waited for you and fought for your release. Your father won’t have to haunt the Public Prosecutor’s Office any more, your mother will make your favorite cake with nuts. Kids will tell you the latest news interrupting each other - they missed you and couldn’t make out why your business trip had been so long and why you hadn’t called as usual. You didn’t even show up for X-mas and they had prepared so many presents for you! The most beautiful women will again seek your attention but you will kiss the hands of the only one whom you have given your heart forever. You are coming back to this world.

None of us has become better in prison. Prisons are not meant to make people younger and healthier after they have been beaten and mutilated. You haven’t just become older. You aged. Your body needs a major repair. It’ll take a lot of effort to restore you to health. Doctors believe that after a two-month imprisonment a person needs thorough medical treatment; five-year imprisonment is sure to cause irreversible changes in the prisoner’s state of mind. Think of this when enjoying your freedom.

Ukraine is a unique state. It is indeed a country of Gogol and Dostoevsky. Where else a deputy to the parliament who has done almost twenty years in prison will demand: ‘Pensions to the retired, prisons to bandits!’

What is happening in my country today can be called democracy at the police station. The so-called justice is a handy instrument for suppressing those who disagree. Political opponents, for example. Nothing can be easier. How can we talk about human rights if any Ukrainian citizen can be put behind bars based on ‘deep inner conviction’ of the investigator that the former might disappear or put obstacles for the investigation?

Shout for truth won’t help. Investigation usually takes a long time, up to eighteen months. Another year is required to study the case; trial may also take a couple of months. The defendant might be acquitted in the end but not necessarily.

If for some reasons the disagreeable person can’t be eliminated quickly, he is put behind bars to die his so-called ‘natural death’. No man - no problem. Very convenient. No responsibility. Such things happen, you know.

Ukrainian population can be divided in two categories: prisoners and their guards. Sometimes they swap places. The rest are either still in prams or already in wheelchairs. Believe it or not but we still love this country.

However, what is Ukraine in geographical terms? Those functionaries with their idea of ‘building up an independent state’ make me laugh. What kind of independence are they talking about? The one that has turned this flourishing part of the planet into a poor backward country? While Europeans are looking for the possibilities to unite, the slavs are digging trenches along their countries’ borders. What kind of democracy can we talk about in the former Soviet Union republics? In the civilized countries problems are solved by way of compromises and agreements within the existing system of legislation. In Ukraine the old rule is still in effect: the opponents fight till one of them is exterminated. Many of my countrymen still think that guillotine is the best remedy for a headache. That’s why we either have a totalitarian regime or a war or a complete chaos.

I see you are not listening. You thoughts are far away. In a couple of hours you’ll be drinking cognac and making plans for the future. Don’t make haste. Don’t fuss. Remember the lessons you learned in prison. Think hard before making a step.

Hey, what do you think you are doing? Leave the heating element alone, it will stand us in good stead. You think it’s a bad omen to leave personal things in prison, means that you’ll be back. I didn’t realize you were so superstitious! Let me explain the true meaning of it: never leave behind personal belongings that had touched your body. As to the objects for general use, don’t be afraid to leave them behind. You won’t need them any more while in prison every little thing is more precious than gold.

You are returning to the world a different person. More liberated than before the arrest. However, the long-awaited freedom may not always be easy and pleasant. When you were behind bars prison took care of everything: when to get up , when to go to bed, eat or wash. It made you forget about the trivial things. You’ll feel like a swimmer who hasn’t seen water for years and all of a sudden found himself in an ocean. At the same time you have gained a unique life experience in prison. It’ll come in handy in your future life. Think of it as eliminating gaps in your education.

You have learned that cops can’t be trusted. You won’t hurry to open the door for them if they try again to get into your apartment. You know what to do during the search and won’t give the cops any documents, money or valuables. Cops are sure to steal something during the search. So keep valuable things out of their eyes and reach. It is worthwhile making it a habit, quite useful in your home life.

You also know how to behave during interrogations. You won’t fall for lies, provocations or blackmail. In prison you got used to those like a baby to its mother’s breast. It won’t be difficult for you to distinguish between a law-abiding citizen and a stool-pigeon. You know how to put a violent psychopath in his place.

You have learned a lot. You know how to render medical assistance including massage of the heart. Medical science can benefit from your experience of sharing the cell with carriers of numerous infections.

You have learned to understand prison slang and mastered special gymnastics workout for astronauts. You got used to running on the spot and daily sit-ups don’t seem as boring as when you first started. Daily physical exercises became a habit just like eating or reading newspapers.

You also learned to relieve stress by doing the washing or mending socks. Your sense of humor helped you to see things differently and laugh instead of flying into passion.

Do you remember the night when after the evening call the wardens forgot to lock the door of the cell? I got the kicks watching the way my three cell-mates reacted. The lazy and flegmatic one said it was nothing but a provocation and went to sleep as usual. The second was very excited and spent the night trying to remember the plan of the prison he had once caught a glimpse of in one of prison offices. He was seriously thinking over the details of possible escape. The most cowardly one got terribly nervous and went out looking for a warden to ask him to lock the door. “They might think we attempted to escape!” - he sighed nervously. He returned some time later having failed to find anyone in long prison corridors.

Behind bars you started contemplating seriously over the problem of Faith and gradually came to the realization of its importance in your life. Do you remember the night when we talked non-stop about John the Baptist, Pythagoras and mysterious meaning of symbols and numbers? I’m glad you had enough time in prison to read the Bible and now you know the difference between the Old and the New Testament. We have read verses from the Bible many times and every time found some new meaning in the familiar words.

I don’t know what might be waiting for you at home. But I’m sure you won’t be broken by all the misfortunes the uniformed beasts caused your family. You’ll never forget or forgive any of them. Hide your pain and bitterness behind a smile. People don’t have to know what you really feel. Retribution is a kind of dish that is served at the end of the meal when everyone is sure you have forgotten your grivances.

Take my beads as a keepsake. Remember the guy who got a death sentence? He gave them to me. Might be writing an appeal now hoping for mercy. The condemned are no longer put to the confinement cells - not enough room for everybody. And while the capital punishment is still being discussed in the government prisoners are still being put to death. Prisons are full. Substituting death sentence by life imprisonment is problematic.

But enough of sorrowful things. You should face freedom with enthusiasm. Prisoners are usually released at the end on the working day. You’ll be given a release certificate with all the necessary seals and your photo from your criminal file. Put it in your family album.

It’s time for you to go. In a few minutes you’ll be out of the prison gates and I hope never will never return. I’m glad for you and a bit envious. I’m sure you’ll remember us in your new comfortable life. You might even miss prison and its topsy-turvy world.

Maybe one day I’ll follow you. The first thing I’ll do is burn all my prison things. You can’t imagine how happy I’ll be to set them on fire. As if I’m burning not just things but part of my life…

Oh, I nearly forgot! Take my book with you. Throw it into the fireplace to make the wood burn better. I needed it to help me while away dull prison days. Now that I have turned the last page, it has become useless. I won’t need it any more. Neither will you.