Elena Pavlovna, are you really sure about your decision?” the chief physician inquired.
“Yes, absolutely,” Lena replied, carefully avoiding his gaze.
Andrey Sergeyevich had appeared at their hospital only recently, but a particularly warm rapport had immediately developed between them. He bestowed upon her unmistakable signs of attention that could not be misinterpreted, yet he never even hinted at any undue familiarity.
Lena had always been drawn to real men—men, not their pitiful imitations. And Andrey Sergeyevich was exactly that—a real man. Yes, he was a doctor, saving lives; he knew how to speak to patients so convincingly that they would instantly cease to doubt the necessity of an operation.
But when speaking with him, Lena realized that he never wasted words or made unnecessary movements, and yet—she was utterly certain—remained incredibly sensitive and caring.
There was only one step left before the start of their romance, when Misha fell ill. And his illness literally obliterated Lena—not her life, but her very self. She ceased to exist for herself, and now wished to disappear for everyone else as well.
“Andrey Sergeyevich, I am absolutely sure. Please, do not torment me, just let me go,” she said.
“I must say, Lena, you are an excellent doctor. If you leave, the hospital and the patients will lose so much. You know the staffing situation very well. Especially with talented people like you.”
“Andrey Sergeyevich… Andrey… I am a terrible doctor. I failed to save my own son.”
“But you understand that there was nothing you could have done. It happens. Rarely, yes, but it happens. Sometimes illness develops in a flash.”
“No, Andrey, I had to save him. I am not only a doctor, but also a mother, and I failed. I am worth a pittance as a mother and even less as a doctor.”
Andrey sat down at the table and took her resignation letter into his hands.
“And I… and we…”
For a moment, Lena closed her eyes. She felt unbearably heavy with grief. She clung to life with her last strength. She wanted to scream: “Don’t finish me off!”
Lena opened her eyes. “We are no more. More precisely, there is you, and I am no longer.”
With a sweeping stroke of his pen, he signed his name.
“I understand the pain you are feeling right now, but you have not only ended your own life, you have ended someone else’s too. Ended it because you want to wallow in self-torment. Well, that’s your right,” he said.
Andrey walked over to the window and turned his back to her.
Lena wanted to scream, “Don’t let me go! Stop!” but she silently turned and left. She had no idea where she would go or what she would do next. She only knew one thing—she would head to a place where very few people lived.
She didn’t want to see anyone. She understood that no one was to blame for her grief, yet they existed. They had children; they had a life. But her Misha—he did not. And neither did she.
Lena sold her apartment for half price to realtors who were ecstatic about such luck, and boarded a train after buying a ticket in some direction—if she was honest, she didn’t even remember where. But she knew the journey was supposed to take about a day. That suited her just fine.
As it later turned out, they only traveled for about six hours, and the rest of the time they were shunted around and delayed somewhere. However, all that was completely unimportant. Because she arrived at a station that in no way resembled a modern railway station.
Lena looked around. A wooden, nearly dilapidated platform, several old ladies selling some kind of snack. It was from them that she learned everything.
“Hello,” she addressed them.
The old ladies perked up and began offering their goods. Lena bought a little from each—just enough to ingratiate herself.
“Could you please tell me, is it possible to buy a house somewhere? Not in town, but somewhere out on the outskirts.”
The old ladies burst into laughter.
“Oh, I can’t! What town? Here it’s barely a kilometer to the nearest one. And here… here there’s only a village. There used to be a big collective farm. A ferry would go over to the other side. And there was a station. They used to transport animals—oh, the excitement! But now nothing remains, only the train stops, as it should,” one of them explained.
“Wait a minute, dear, why do you need a house?” another old lady looked at Lena suspiciously.
Lena shrugged her shoulders, deciding not to lie. If these were local grandmothers, they would eventually find out everything.
“I’ve buried my son. I want to live alone, so that no one bothers me.”
The old ladies pursed their lips as if on cue, then nodded in understanding.
“It’s hard for you… But you’re only hurting yourself by hiding from people. It won’t be easy. Listen—go down this street. At the very end stands a green house. Petrovna lives there. Her mother had a little house. Petrovna took her in, and then the old lady passed away. She still has the house.
It’s sturdy, well-built, though almost in the middle of the forest. Her mother had such a character that she couldn’t get along with anyone. And Petrovna said she would sell it, but then, who needs our backwater?”
“Thank you very much,” Lena thanked them, preparing to leave, but one of the old ladies stopped her.
“You… you shouldn’t shun people. No one is to blame for your sorrow. Otherwise, you’ll go mad in no time.”
“I know all that. I’m a doctor, too. Thank you.”
Lena immediately regretted mentioning her profession. “This is a village! They’ll know instantly!”
They sold her the house. She was allowed to move in the very same day, and the documents were to be processed later.
“Live here for a week. See how things are. I don’t want you to regret it later and not know how to get rid of it. Discard whatever you don’t need, but…” the landlady fell silent.
Lena looked at the woman questioningly.
“A cat has been roaming around here somewhere. I just can’t catch him. I’m exhausted from coming every day, feeding him. I see him sitting on the shed, but I can’t get him to come into my arms.”
Lena smiled: “No worries, maybe we can be friends?”
“I highly doubt it. He has exactly the same temperament as his owner, my late dear mother. Well, I won’t disturb you. If anything, you know where I live.”
Lena gradually settled into her new home. Although the house was well-kept, there was plenty of work to be done. She slowly busied herself: tidying up here, digging up there. Sometimes she cried while working. Sometimes she just sat, gazing at the sky, silently talking with Misha.
From time to time, the villagers would come to her. Lena had resigned herself to it. After all, the nearest doctor was almost a hundred kilometers away. She wasn’t a brute; she would help as best she could.
After about a month of persuasion, negotiations, and all sorts of treats, the cat finally approached her. She was sitting on the little porch and burst into tears again. Suddenly, she felt something wet and cold touch her hand. She froze. Immediately she realized—it was Vasiliy. Gently she lifted her hand and stroked the huge, shaggy cat between his ears.
“So, Vasiliy, shall we be friends?” she inquired.
The cat stared at Lena with a serious expression, and it seemed to her as if tears glistened in his eyes. She embraced the fluffy creature, held him close, and wept even more bitterly.
From that moment on, Vasiliy was always by her side. Lena would sometimes joke, “With such a guardian, I don’t need any other protector.” And whenever she became sad or started to cry, the cat would instantly leap onto her lap.
However, it eventually became necessary to get a dog. After all, the house stood almost deep in the forest. Either a fox might wander into the yard, or some other animal might come. Who knows what else might show up. And so—a barking dog could perhaps scare off any unwanted guests.
At first, the cat absolutely rejected the puppy. And although the little one was about the size of Vasiliy, the cat would occasionally swat him on the snout with his paws. But a week passed, then another… The puppy followed the cat as if tethered to him. Lena even thought that Sultan (that’s what she named the dog) regarded the cat as his elder relative.
The most astonishing thing was that the puppy began to behave exactly like a cat. In time, they became inseparable friends. And after a year, the cat seemed tiny compared to Sultan. The dog’s one paw was larger than the entire head of the cat. Yet even then, Sultan obeyed Vasiliy without question.
Lately, Lena began to wander through the forest more often. It was so calm and peaceful there. One could ponder everything. And somehow, she no longer felt like crying.
It was as if she was being cleansed of her pain. Sultan always accompanied her. Sometimes Vasiliy would see them off, but only for a short distance. Either he was too lazy to go far, or the forest simply did not appeal to him; he never strayed more than five hundred meters from the house.
That day, Lena ventured deep into the forest from early morning. She had already realized: if one must go, then one must go. Here, far from civilization, emotions seemed to intensify. With Sultan, she climbed farther than she ever had before. Lena kept walking and walking.
Sultan kept looking around nervously, and his anxiety passed on to Lena.
“Sultan, what’s wrong with you?” she asked, thinking there was some creature nearby.
But suddenly the dog crouched to the ground, sniffing intently for a long while, then bolted. Lena barely kept up with him.
“Sultan, where are you dragging me?”
And then the dog froze as if nailed to the spot. Lena gasped and dashed ahead. By a tree, leaning his back against the trunk, sat a little girl.
Lena began shaking the girl. She checked for a pulse. The girl was alive, though unconscious. Judging by her clothes and overall condition, the child had been in the forest for more than one day. The girl was no more than six or seven years old.
Lena picked her up and started walking. Then she ran.
“Sultan, take us home, lead the way!”
The dog trotted ahead, sometimes stopping to wait, while the woman panted heavily. At first, the child seemed as light as a feather, but with every step, she grew heavier and heavier. Lena thought she might not make it, but just a few more steps—and she saw the house. Then Vasiliy appeared as if from nowhere. The animals accompanied her on both sides, as if offering support.
By evening, the girl opened her eyes, looked around the room, and gave a faint smile. “Don’t be afraid. I’m home.”
“Sweetie, just tell me whom I should call so your parents won’t worry.”
“My dad. My dad is a doctor. He will save me.”
The girl closed her eyes, and Lena exchanged a glance with Sultan.
“Alright, I’m off to the village. A quick round trip. If anything happens—shoot me.”
Lena was convinced that the dog understood everything. He didn’t even move from his spot when she dashed out the door.
“Mikhailych! Mikhailych!” she shouted as she ran toward the local policeman’s house.
A policeman came running out. “Elena Pavlovna, what happened?”
“Mikhailych, come to me quickly. I’ll explain everything on the way.”
“Why should we go on foot? Let’s drive. There’s a motorcycle over there.”
When Lena briefly explained what had happened, the policeman gritted his teeth.
“I think I know whose child this is. In any case, we need to talk with the girl. Shall we call an ambulance?”
Lena shook her head. “I don’t think it’s necessary. We’ll only cause trouble for her parents. Nothing critical—just dehydration, fright, and exhaustion. All is curable.”
Mikhailych spoke with the girl for a while. She quickly grew tired and fell asleep. He stepped outside and sat down next to Lena.
“Oh, I didn’t want to do this, but I must call the girl’s father.”
“Didn’t want to? Why not?”
“You see, the situation is such… This little Mashenka lives with her mother. Her mother divorced her husband and moved here. She’s originally from around here. I don’t know what happened between them, but from what I understand, she cheated on her husband. Then, apparently, she came to her senses.
They say her husband is a difficult man. But there is no turning back now. Sometimes he snaps, gets drunk. And when he does, he does such things that, my goodness, no one could imagine. Mashenka immediately gathers her things and goes to her father. In short, it’s a tangled story.
He comes twice a year. He sees his daughter only in the presence of his ex-wife. I really don’t know what goes on between them. If the authorities get involved, the girl will be taken away. And the father, perhaps, won’t be able to do anything.”
Lena heard Mikhailych shouting into the phone for a long time on a nearby hill. The cell reception in the village was poor, and not everyone even had a phone.
“Lena, let her stay with you. You’re a doctor, you’ll watch over her if need be. Her father will arrive by tomorrow evening. Just don’t let it spread too much, or her mother might come running. She could even break windows.”
By morning, the girl felt significantly better. She even ate on her own.
“And who are you?” she asked, curiously examining Lena.
“I’m Lena.”
“Lena? What a strange name.”
“Why strange?”
“Because our neighbor, Masha, always curses her husband. She yells, telling him to get so drunk that he becomes ‘Elena the Beautiful.’”
Lena burst out laughing. “Oh, I can’t with you! That neighbor was talking about something entirely different.”
A car screeched to a stop by the house. Masha peered out of the window and rushed to the door.
“Dad!” she shouted as she leaped out.
Lena hurried after her. In the middle of the yard, a man was standing, holding the little girl tightly. Finally, Masha pulled away, and Lena slowly sank onto the steps.
“You? Lena?” Andrey Sergeyevich looked at her with such an expression…
Masha couldn’t hold back: “Dad! You know her? She found me in the forest, brought me home, and saved me!”
Andrey Sergeyevich looked sternly at his daughter. “And why did you go into the forest? What if Lena hadn’t found you?”
The girl sobbed. Immediately, Lena took her from Andrey’s arms.
“Oh, come now! The child had only just calmed down, and you…”
“Sorry, I got too worked up. Mashenka, forgive me; your dad was just so worried about you.”
Andrey Sergeyevich stayed the night— it was a long journey, and he needed rest. He explained that he had divorced his wife a year after his daughter was born, that he had tried to gain custody of her, but failed. And his wife at that time had been involved in a romance with some high-ranking official.
She left for the backwater, convinced that he would keep coming and begging for forgiveness. He tried several times to take Mashenka, but then things would get so out of hand… His ex would threaten to kill herself and ruin everyone around her.
“I never even imagined you had a daughter,” Lena confessed.
“Well, I was going to tell you, but I didn’t get the chance. You ran away. And how are you, anyway? Aren’t you thinking of coming back?”
Lena herself did not know the answer. She turned toward Andrey to explain her feelings but met his gaze and drowned in it.
Three days later, they prepared to leave. They were already sitting in the car when the ex-wife appeared, club in hand, but between…
