“I’ll stay here at my station,” I[1] replied.

“Really?” Father Bishop asked.

“Yes, and if you don’t return within three hours—”

“That won’t happen,” he interrupted.

“No, if you don’t return within three hours, I’ll make sure to send some soldiers over to you. As I’ve mentioned before, you have three hours, Father Bishop,” I repeated.

“Alright. I’ll make sure to come back within three hours,” he agreed.

“The condition is not to use this meeting in their propaganda. You must tell them that, and when you return…”

“I’ll tell you the conversation we had, Yevkarina,” he said.

“I leave it up to you, Father Bishop,” I said.

“No, I should be the one thanking you. I’m sure you must have had a hard time approving my request… I’ll be going now,” he announced.

‘I’ll walk you to the entrance,’ I offered.

The conversation I had exactly two hours and twenty-two minutes ago rang in my head, and naturally, I doubted if I even did the right thing. Communicating between the forces during a war wasn’t unheard of, but this incident was definitely an exception. We didn’t even ask permission from...