Despite the bad weather, random passers-by eagerly show me the building where the Zohrabyans’ live. 

I reach the building, where I am welcomed by Andarnik’s father, Atom Zohrabyan.  He smiles amiably but is apparently not happy.  Zohrabyan immediately introduces me to Andranik’s mother and his two sisters. The house is silent: everyone speaks in whisper. It is calm like in the photo hung on the wall.

“Andranik was a bright boy,” I say, looking at the photo. His father immediately agrees: “When asked to describe Andranik in one word, I say he was bright.”

The photo was taken on the day of Andranik’s military recruitment: in it the 18-year-old boy seems to be 25-26 years old. The parents say he had had a serious look since his childhood, but a year after the military recruitment—in 2015—he seemed to have become quite a different man. He had grown up and become more serious. Andarnik would never speak about the army and would always give laconic answers to his parents “cross-examination.”

“He would never tell anything, but since the very first day of the military recruitment I had fear in my heart…In July 2014 he went to serve, in August the escalation started and I was constantly frightened.  He told me nothing but I felt everything connected with my Andranik,” says his mother, Mrs Alla.

Last time she talked to Andranik on March 29. The mother didn’t like her son’s voice, but the latter said nothing.  Mrs Alla recalls that in the recent period her son gave seldom calls, and when asked why he wouldn’t call frequently, Andranik would answer in short: “I’m preparing you, Mum.”And then he would change the topic.  Only now her mother starts understanding what he was preparing her for... In the morning of March 29, the family noticed that the clock had stopped at 6:15 am, but they didn’t pay attention to this. On the night of March 31 to April 1, Mrs Alla saw a dream, and in the morning she went to work already feeling unwell and in bad spirits.

“My daughter had also seen Andranik in her dream. She wanted to tell me about that but I didn’t allow her. I went to work but I felt very bad: I didn’t know what was wrong with me. Our entire family woke up at six o’clock in the morning of April 2. We were anxious but didn’t know why. It turns out these were the last minutes of my Andranik,” his mother recalls.

Hours later Zohrabyans learn about the tense situation and military actions in Artsakh. The next morning while preparing to go to church to pray for Andranik, the spouses learn what had happened to Andranik, who went to the positions on April 1.  The evil news was brought to the father of the family by one of Andranik’s friends. “Andranik is no longer alive,” his fellow serviceman had told him.

The family first didn’t know under which circumstances Andranik had died. At that time Mrs Alla had felt strong pain in the left side of her body. When Andranik’s body was exchanged on April 8, she asked her husband to look in which part her son had sustained injury.

“The same part where I felt pain,” Mrs Alla says, continuing: “It was in those days when we were looking forward to finding out where and how he was. Once I saw a dream: Andranik was walking with a boy; he was happy. Now I realize that he might have been with Robert Abajyan, since the Azeris wanted to take the bodies of both of them, but left them halfway in the neutral zone and went away.”

Now that the Zohrabyans know about the heroism their son and his fellow servicemen displayed, they think that what they had felt and dreamt might have hinted them about the imminent tragedy. Prejudice or fate?  The spouses find it difficult to give it a name. They note that Andranik was named after his grandfather, who was awarded a Medal for Courage and Combat Cross of the Second Degree back in April 1941.

“My Andranik grew up listening to his grandfather’s stories about the Great Patriotic War and Artsakh Liberation War. They say the little ones should excel the elders: Andranik excelled his grandfather, receiving Combat Cross of the First Degree,” his father notes.

Atom Zohrabyan wasn’t surprised by his son’s step. Andranik didn’t like to lose since his childhood: he had always to be a winner.  Although he never spoke about patriotism, his father was always confident of his patriotism, as if realizing that time will come when his son will prove it. And he did that on the night of April 1 to April 2.

Andranik—reserved, modest and responsible—fought till the last minute. He didn’t run away from the battlefield. In his father’s words, Andranik was so responsible that if he was entrusted a weapons, he would fight till the end and defend the position, which his superiors had entrusted him. And he did exactly that way. Andranik had got wounded only after the bullets finished. Robert Abajyan was the one who took him from the embankment to the trench, where he died. Afterwards, Abajyan blew up himself and several Azeris with the last grenade. Atom Zohrabyan notes that
although Abajyan, Sloyan and Zohrabyan served in the same military base, they were not close friends, being quite different by nature. However, on the night of April 1 to April 2, they united to defend the position.

“Everyone says that but for these four boys, everything would have taken a different course. The adversary aimed to advance exactly through their position all along Martakert.  Andranik said Martakert was very much like his native town Vedi. He defended Martakert as he would defend Vedi or any other place in Armenia and Artsakh. Andranik defended his land,” Zohrabyan says.

Those serving in the positions don’t stop talking about the heroism of Andranik and his friends. Months after the incident, the Armenian News – NEWS.am team visited the position which was defended by Armenak Urfanyan and his soldiers. Although the position was completely re-equipped, nobody touched the embankment, where Andranik Zohrabyan fought. Now a big concrete cross is installed here, which his fellow-servicemen built in memory of their friend.  One gets astonished listening with how much love and pride Andranik’s friends talk about him. They describe in detail where and what actions Zohrabyan carried out during the four-day war.