Alice was hurrying home late in the evening along a dark and deserted street, feeling waves of fear. She had spent the entire day in the library, finishing a term paper that was due in a week. Immersed in intense study, the girl hadn’t noticed how time had quietly flown by. There was only a short distance left to home when suddenly Alice heard footsteps behind her. This caused a sudden chill to run through her body, and she shrank with fear. She tried to take her phone out of her pocket, but at that moment a strange male voice spoke:
“Miss, where are you rushing off to? Maybe I can walk you home?”
From the tone of his voice, Alice understood the man was drunk. An unbearable fear gripped her. She quickened her pace, but the intoxicated man suddenly grabbed her by the hand and stopped her:
“Where are we running to? It’s still the perfect time for a romantic walk! Oh, you’re pretty! Come closer, let’s get acquainted.”
When he pulled her by the hood and pressed her to himself, Alice screamed at the top of her lungs. Desperately trying to break free, she realized she was physically too weak to overcome the attacker. At that moment, a homeless man passing by noticed what was happening and immediately rushed to help. Without hesitation, he grabbed a bottle lying nearby and struck the assailant on the head with all his might. The attacker lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground. Trembling from the ordeal, Alice stood over the fallen aggressor, crying.
“Let’s get out of here quickly before this scoundrel wakes up,” said the rescuer, and Alice hurried to follow him.
Soon they reached a busy street lit by many street lamps and neon signs, where the girl calmed down a little. Alice walked along the sidewalk with the man who had just saved her life. She still couldn’t come to terms with what had happened and did not dare to walk alone. Time and again, she glanced at her companion. He was a man of about fifty, dressed in dirty and torn clothes, with disheveled hair — clearly someone who had lived on the streets for many years. Seeing his appearance, Alice’s heart tightened with pity.
When he accompanied her all the way to her home, the girl offered:
“Let me make you a hot dinner?”
The tired face of the man lit up with a grateful smile. He gladly agreed and assured her he would eat with pleasure and had no intention of stealing anything.
“What are you saying? I wouldn’t even think of that,” Alice said emotionally, unlocking the front door.
“You never know,” the man shrugged. “Not every girl would risk bringing a homeless person home. But I’m not dangerous, you don’t need to worry. I just want some real, home-cooked food, which I haven’t tasted in a long time.”
“Go to the bathroom and wash your hands before eating. I’ll warm up some stuffed cabbage rolls.”
The man quickly washed and came out of the bathroom. At the entrance to the living room, he stopped and carefully looked around the room. His gaze accidentally fell on a photo standing on the dresser: little Alice between her mom and dad. Seeing the photo, the man trembled — his hands shook, his lips quivered. For several minutes he stood frozen, staring at the picture, then carefully took it in his hands and started to trace the surface with trembling fingers. Noticing this, Alice said:
“That’s my favorite photo. The only one where I’m with both parents.”
She noticed that her rescuer’s face had become pale and troubled, and asked:
“Are you okay? Did something happen?”
“I remembered…” the man muttered hoarsely.
“What exactly did you remember? What are you talking about?” Alice wondered.
“About this photo. That man here…” — he pointed to the image of the father — “I can tell you for sure that it’s me.”
Alice shook her head, deciding he was mistaken:
“Sorry, but you’re wrong. That’s my father.”
“And where is he now?” the man asked in a trembling voice.
“I don’t know,” Alice admitted honestly.
Later, when they were sitting at the kitchen table having dinner, Alice told him about her childhood:
“I remember almost nothing about my father. This photo is the only thing I have left from him. Mom always said Dad worked on long voyages and would come back soon. That’s how I grew up. When I got older, I realized it was painful for Mom to talk about it, so I stopped asking questions.”
Nikolai slowly pushed his plate aside and said:
“For so many years I lived as if in a dream, in a fog. Lonely, forgotten. I envied all those men who returned home tired in the evening but loved. They had families, children. But I had none of that anymore. I remembered that day that turned my whole life upside down. Back then, like those lucky men, I was coming home from work. I had a wonderful family: a loving wife and a little daughter named Alice, who was only three years old. But fate separated us. One evening, some men attacked me; they probably knew I had just received my salary and bonus. They beat me up and robbed me. By some miracle, I ended up in the hospital, where they saved me. But I lost the most important thing — my memory. When I woke up in the ward, I didn’t know who I was or what had happened. I had no documents with me. After discharge, I was alone, without money or a roof over my head. I tried to find a job, but no one wanted to hire a ragged man. Over time, my strength ran out… People avoided me as if I had leprosy… All these years I wandered, spent nights in basements and heating tunnels, scavenged for food in trash, and sometimes went months without washing. And today I found out that my family was nearby all this time, but I didn’t know it and remembered nothing. This photo seemed to turn on a light in my head, which had been in darkness for so many years. Alice, tell me, do you believe me? Do you believe what I told you?”
Alice was so shocked by what she heard that she couldn’t say a word. She looked at Nikolai with wide eyes, as if trying to understand whether this was really happening or if she was dreaming some incredible dream. His words swirled in her mind like shimmering autumn leaves. Suddenly Nikolai stood up decisively and, rolling up the sleeve of his worn jacket, showed Alice a large heart-shaped birthmark on his wrist.
“Your mom, Vera, said that angels kissed me on the hand,” he said softly. “She loved my birthmark very much, and when it was passed on to you, she was just happy. She said it was a sign of a special connection between me and you.”
Alice shakily rolled up her sleeve and revealed her wrist, where the same heart-shaped birthmark reminded her of an ancient family bond. The girl burst into tears, choking with joy and pain at the same time, and rushed into her father’s arms, laughing through sobs. It was a true moment of a miracle — after so many years of dreams and unanswered questions, she found the person she had been waiting for so long. Alice was determined never to let him go from her life again. She insisted that Nikolai stay at their home, laid out a place for him on the sofa in the living room. Her mother, Vera, was supposed to return tomorrow after spending two weeks visiting her aunt in her hometown.
All evening and night Alice couldn’t sleep. She lay awake, recalling every word Nikolai had said, repeatedly touching her birthmark, as if checking if it was all a dream. Now that she had found her father, the girl vowed never to allow his disappearance again. He had to be near to make up for years of loneliness, pain, and lack of love. At the first rays of dawn, Alice got up and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast but was surprised to find that Nikolai had already set the table: there were hot pancakes with sour cream.
“Homeless people aren’t used to lying in bed,” Nikolai said a bit shyly, noticing the surprise on his daughter’s face. “I used to love cooking a lot. When you were little, you often asked me to make pancakes and spread them with sour cream. You refused your mother’s — you only wanted mine.”
With warmth and gratitude in her heart, Alice sat down at the table and began eating her favorite dish prepared by her biological father. Vera was to return soon, unaware of what had happened at home. After breakfast, the girl quickly tidied up, and soon the sound of the front door was heard:
“Alice, I’m home!” Vera exclaimed happily, entering the living room.
Alice asked her father to stay in the kitchen and ran to greet her mother.
“Hello, Mom! How are you? Did you have a good trip?” she asked, hugging and kissing Vera.
“Tired, hungry, but overall fine. What do we have in the fridge?” the woman asked and headed to the kitchen.
Alice followed her. Vera froze in the doorway when she saw Nikolai by the window. Surprised, she dropped her bag.
“Welcome home, Vera,” Nikolai said gently, almost whispering, stepping forward but stopping, waiting for her reaction.
From the look on her face, Alice immediately understood: Vera recognized her husband. The girl’s heart fluttered with happiness. Running up to her mother, she took her hand and whispered:
“Dad is home again. He’s with us.”
But suddenly Vera’s expression changed from astonishment to anger. She sharply approached Nikolai and struck him hard on the cheek.
“You were gone for so many years, and now you suddenly decide to show up? What do you want?”
“Vera…” Nikolai stammered confusedly, “I’ll explain everything now…”
Father and daughter told Vera in detail about the events of many years ago: the attack, the lost memory, the long years of wandering, and the chance meeting that terrible evening. Vera was silent for a while, digesting information she had long considered impossible. Finally, she sat down, drank a glass of cold water, and spoke:
“All these years I hated you. I thought you left us yourself, betrayed us. I called all hospitals, morgues, went to the police, year after year going back there again and again — but you seemed to have vanished into thin air. Every day I hoped the door would open, and you would walk in as if nothing had happened. I couldn’t forget you. Couldn’t start a new life. And now I need time to understand all this. Over these years I got used to living without you, and I’m even afraid to imagine what it will be like to live with you again.”
After these words, Vera left the kitchen and locked herself in the bedroom. Nikolai comforted his worried daughter, assuring her that Vera needed time to come to terms with what had happened. He said goodbye to Alice and left, promising never to disappear from their lives again and to definitely return.
But fate tested the man once more. Not far from the house, four young men attacked Nikolai, among whom he recognized the same young man who had attacked his daughter the day before. The January frost was bitter outside. Nikolai lay in a snowdrift next to a trash bin, bleeding and unable to move. He lay there for several hours, sometimes losing consciousness, sometimes coming to. Then a thought flashed through his mind: this is how a lonely, forgotten life ends — useless and hard. But Nikolai did not want to die. After all, he had found his family, his place in this world, and could not just give up. Closing his eyes, he entrusted himself to higher powers…
“Dad, daddy, can you hear me?” Alice’s anxious voice sounded above him.
Nikolai opened his eyes with effort and saw his daughter leaning over him. His whole body ached, every breath was painful, but just knowing he was alive eased his soul.
“Daddy, you scared us so much. We almost lost you again. But now it’s all behind us. Nothing threatens your life anymore. I won’t let you go again. You will live with us.”
At that moment, Vera entered the hospital room. She silently approached her husband’s bed and, bending down, kissed his forehead. Alice told her father she had felt anxious all evening, letting him go out in such cold. She had called her boyfriend, and together they went to look for Nikolai. The search was successful — they found him nearby, next to the trash bin, and immediately took him to the hospital, where he received the necessary care.
After discharge, Nikolai returned to his native apartment to start a new life with his family. In his heart, he realized one important truth: the truth always finds its way to the light, regardless of time, pain, and obstacles.