The Calling
By Cathy Roberts
huntersglenn@yahoo.com

This is another one of those song lyric challenge fics. Enjoy!

Timeline: Between Season 5 and Season 6, or a place out of time.

Disclaimer: "ER" and all its characters belong to Warner Bros. No infringement of their copyright is intended. This story was written for the enjoyment of "ER" fans everywhere, and may be downloaded for your own pleasure. However this story may not be used, distributed or archived without the permission of the author.

Author's Notes: "Dust In The Wind" was written by Kerry Livgren (thanks Ellen) and performed by Kansas. The essay on Vukovar is by Vladimir Stengl, Mayor of Vukovar.  It was taken from the following website: http://www.vukovar.hr/en/index.htm

I close my eyes, only for a moment, but the moment's gone
All my dreams pass before my eyes a curiosity.

Vukovar was beautiful. Had been beautiful. But, it had never been his city. His heart was still on the coast of the Adriatic, beating in time with the waves that crashed to the shore. His heart would always be on the coastline, but his soul would forever belong to Vukovar, for that was where he lost the other half of his being. Where he lost his most precious possessions, his gifts from God -- his beloved children.

Luka Kovac stood still and stared at the poster advertising a fundraiser for funds to help rebuild more of Vukovar. So far, a good portion of the city had been rebuilt, restored, even made better in some areas. The people who had been exiled when the Serbs were victorious had come back to claim their land.

It had never been his land.

Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do crumbles to the ground though we refuse to see

Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind.

The coast had been rough and hearty. Vukovar's rivers had been calm and peaceful, reflective of a city that had endured for hundreds of years. Indicative of a city that would endure for hundreds more. Luka had been one of the exiles, but unlike the people of Vukovar, when the city was reclaimed, he had not gone back.

There was nothing to go back for.

He had thought about going back. He had friends who went, looking to reclaim their old lives. Men hoping to find new wives, women were looking for husbands. Children looking for roots. Old people looking for a reason to continue living. Vukovar had born them, nursed them, and prepared them for the world. And then it called them home. Expected them to rebuild her, to make her a jewel in the crown of Europe.

Vukovar had never called to him.

Despite his misgivings about it, Luka had given in and had his wife cremated. His children, too, once their bodies were located and identified. The last thing he did before he left Croatia was to return to the coast, board a boat and scatter their ashes over the waves of the Sea. There was no way he would leave their remains in Vukovar. It had not been their city any more than it had ever been his.

And so, when his friends asked him if would ever return to Croatia to live, even in his old hometown, Luka would shake his head. His family was gone and there was nothing left for him there. Not on the coast. Not in Vukovar. Especially not in Vukovar.

Nothing but memories; and they followed him no matter where he went.

For some reason, the lakeshore of Chicago had spoke to his soul. He hadn't minded dropping anchor in Chicago. It didn't smell of the Sea, but Lake Michigan had its own charm. The waves would crash into the shore, constantly reminding the city that it was standing as a mere boon of the Lake. It could come in at any time and claim the land as it's own, erase the signs that man had ever walked the streets there. Make the buildings crumble to the ground, bury it all under water. The river that  snaked throughChicago was calm, just as the Vuka had been calm as it cleft Vukovar in half. But, Chicago wasn't Vukovar. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

Chicago called to him.

It wasn't Vukovar.

Don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away and all your money won't another minute buy

Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind.

The City of Vukovar

"For a thousand years already, Vukovar has stood on the banks where Vuka River flows into the Danube, one part is being on the broad Slavonian plain, the other on the slopes of the hills of Srijem.

It is proud of having been a free city since 1231.

Vukovar is a fastness, and a county center of the north east of Croatia, on the very borderline between eastern and western cultures and civilizations.

The majority of Croatian population, within the multi-ethnic environment, has maintained the Croatian identity for centuries in this area.

In 1991, however, the Great Serbian assailant started the war against Croatia, and Vukovar was the first to be attacked.

The people of Vukovar, defiant knowing themselves to be in the right, at first barehandly opposed that enormous military might.  With the help of defenders from other regions of Croatia, resistance was offered to the aggressor.

The world sought Vukovar on the maps, disturbed by the terrible destruction carried out by the Serbian aggressor. An urbicide incomprehensible at the end of the 20th century was committed in Vukovar. World public opinions was amazed by the heroism of the few defenders, and the determination of the people who lived in the town, but took no concrete steps to protect Vukovar.

During the three months of unequal conflict, hundreds thousands of projectiles fell upon the town. The city was razed to the ground, there were many dead and wounded, defenders and civilians.

On November 18, 19991, Vukovar was occupied by the Yugoslavian army.

The town was bereft of its churches, homes, factories and museums, even the trees and the birds ceased to live there. The Croats and the other non-Serbs were driven out, and their property was confiscated. Vukovar became an example of ethnic cleansing.

For seven years, the exiled people of Vukovar lived all round Croatia and in the world at large, far from their homes, quite often in degrading conditions.

Now a sovereign and internationally recognized state, the Republic of Croatia won back the occupied regions by military and police operations and diplomacy, bringing them back to the bosom of the homeland. The peaceful reintegration process and the departure of the international forces on January 15, 1998 meant that Vukovar was once again completely free, in an integrated republic of Croatia.

Vukovar is a hero-city, a symbol of the defense of Croatia.

Today it still lies in ruins; reconstruction and the return of the exiles are only at the beginning.

Vukovar has been grievously hurt. It has to be reconstructed, new spirit must be breathed into it, for it to be a distinctive and contemporary town. Vukovar needs to be loved, as it was loved by those who defended it."

The End.