A small town in the Urals. Narrow streets, old houses with peeling paint, gray five-story apartment buildings lining the only wide road.
Right in the middle of this modest landscape stood Lena’s house—a wooden, two-story building with a crooked fence. She had inherited it from her grandmother. Though it was in poor condition, it had been the only place where Lena felt safe since childhood.
Every morning, Lena woke up at five o’clock. Her shift as an orderly at the local hospital started early. After work, she would clean the stairwells of several buildings or help neighbors. Her mother, Nadezhda Ivanovna, was bedridden, so Lena worked twice as hard. Caring for the house and her mother, plus trying to save a little for much-needed roof repairs, all fell on her shoulders.
“Lena, you ought to take at least one day off,” said her neighbor, Aunt Valya, watching the young woman sweep the yard.
“I can’t, Aunt Valya,” Lena replied with a smile, though fatigue flickered in her eyes. “There’s too much to do.”
Aunt Valya just shook her head. Lena was kind and hardworking, and everyone around felt life was treating her far too harshly. The local women often talked about her as they sat on a bench:
“Poor thing. Young, pretty, and life has worn her into the ground.”
“Yes. No family, no rest. Just her mother and her job…”
One evening, Lena came home after a tough day. She’d worked her shift at the hospital, cleaned a couple of stairwells, and popped into the store for groceries.
She had barely placed a pot on the stove when there was a loud knock at the door. It was her neighbor and childhood friend, Marina.
“Lenka, are you ever going to live a little?” Marina said, stepping inside. “You’re stuck in your routines, and a traveling circus has come to town!”
“A circus?” Lena asked, wiping her hands on a towel.
“Yes, a traveling one. Let’s go tonight! There’s a show, then an open-air dance. When was the last time you did something nice for yourself?”
Lena hesitated. She didn’t like noisy events and felt uncomfortable in crowds.
“Marina, I have to get up early tomorrow… And I don’t want to leave Mom alone for too long.”
“Of course,” Marina scoffed. “As usual—just work and home. But your mom told me to get you out of the house. Come on, Lenka, you need a break.”
After much persuading, Lena reluctantly agreed. She changed into the nicest dress she had—plain, but clean.
On the main square, a large crowd had gathered: children ran about with cotton candy, music blared from the stage. Lena kept to herself while Marina chatted with friends. Suddenly, a stranger approached her. Tall, with a confident smile, he stood out from the local crowd.
“Hi, I’m Igor,” he said.
“Lena,” she replied softly, feeling a bit shy.
“Are you from around here?” he asked.
“Yes,” Lena nodded.
Igor was talkative. He mentioned he was born in this town but had moved away to study in the regional center. Now he was back, “looking for something simpler.” Lena listened, trying to figure out what exactly attracted her: his confidence or his easy way of talking.
“You’re quite something,” he said suddenly, looking straight into her eyes. “So modest, comforting somehow. You don’t see that much nowadays.”
Lena blushed. It had been a long time since anyone had spoken to her like that.
From that evening on, Igor began to show up in her life more and more. He’d drop by under the pretense of bringing treats for her mother, fix broken things around the house, and even chop firewood. Nadezhda Ivanovna, Lena’s mother, was initially wary of him but gradually warmed up.
“He’s a good fellow,” she said one day. “Lenochka, maybe he’s your destiny?”
Lena just smiled, but she found herself more and more drawn to imagining a future with Igor. Yet he was interested in more than just Lena.
“You’ve got a decent plot of land here,” he remarked one day, helping to saw firewood. “How big is it?”
“Why do you want to know?” Lena asked with a playful smile.
“Just curious. It’s in a convenient spot.”
She laughed it off, assuming his questions came from genuine concern. She had no idea how dramatically that “concern” would turn her life upside down.
Three months passed after Lena met Igor. He was practically part of the family now: buying groceries, helping clear snow from the yard, even driving her mother to the doctor. Lena was starting to believe she’d found real happiness. However, Igor increasingly brought up the subject of the house.
“Len, look at it,” he’d say, sitting at the kitchen table, poking at his food. “The house is old. It needs repairs. Pouring money into it is like throwing it away.”
“What are you suggesting?” Lena asked carefully.
“Sell it, of course. Let’s buy an apartment. New, clean—no headaches.”
Lena glanced out the window. She didn’t want to argue, but the very thought of selling the house made her uncomfortable. It was her only home, inseparably linked to her childhood.
“My mom lives here,” she said quietly. “She’s used to it. An apartment would be difficult for her.”
“What’s so difficult? There’s central heating, an elevator. Meanwhile you’re here, shoveling coal like Cinderella,” Igor grinned, though impatience flickered in his voice.
Lena pondered his words. They were laced with concern on the surface, but something about them put her on edge.
A week later, Igor introduced a new idea: taking out a loan.
“Len, hear me out. If we sell the house, we can borrow a bit and open our own business. What do you think about a café? I know a great spot.”
“A café?” Lena was surprised.
“Yes, a little local place—pies, homemade cooking. We’ll thrive! The money will pour in. Then we’ll buy a bigger apartment in the regional center.”
“Are you serious?” Lena laughed nervously.
“Sure! Don’t you trust me?”
She wanted to refuse but hesitated. Igor, looking wounded, pouted as if begging for approval.
“Well, I’ll think about it,” she muttered.
“What’s there to think about? I’m doing this for us. Or do you not trust me?” He leaned closer, gazing straight into her eyes.
Lena felt a pang of guilt and nodded.
A month later, Igor convinced her they needed a major renovation on the house.
“With what money?” Lena asked. “I can’t even save enough for the roof right now.”
But he promised to cover all expenses. Lena signed some documents that transferred ownership to Igor—he explained it was “just for convenience.”
“Don’t worry,” he insisted, waving his hands. “Everything’s under control. I’d never let you down.”
But from that moment, Igor started changing. He came around less, always claiming “important business.” One evening, Lena waited for him with dinner ready, but he never showed.
“Where were you?” she asked over the phone, when she finally got through.
“Len, why the interrogation?” he snapped. “I was working. I’ve got tons of stuff going on.”
“You could have at least let me know…”
“I don’t have time for this,” he said, hanging up.
Lena set the phone down, anxiety washing over her.
A week later, she noticed strangers around her house. One man in a dark coat was taking photos of the property. Lena approached him.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“A buyer. The house is old, but the location is great. The owner said it’s an exclusive offer.”
Lena felt her knees go weak.
“What owner?”
The man raised an eyebrow. “Your husband, I assume. Igor.”
She rushed inside, trembling. She tried calling Igor, but he didn’t pick up. Her thoughts were racing in panic—how could he do this? Why? What now?
That evening, Igor finally showed up but acted distant and brazen.
“Len, what’s your problem?” he said dismissively. “Yeah, I put it up for sale. That’s what we planned, isn’t it?”
“Without me? Without my agreement?”
“Come on,” he said, gripping her shoulders. “Don’t you realize you’re safe with me? I’ll handle everything.”
“This is my mother’s and my house, Igor! Ours!”
“It’s mine now,” he said coldly. “You signed it over.”
His words cut her like a knife to the heart. Lena froze, realizing she had been deceived.
That night, Lena couldn’t sleep. She tossed and turned, looking for a way out of this nightmare. At dawn, she made her decision: first, she needed to find out how to get her house back.
When Aunt Valya heard, she suggested going to the local police station.
“Lena, do something instead of sitting here crying,” Aunt Valya insisted. “Go and fight for your rights.”
“What can the police do?” Lena asked, doubtful.
“They can at least start investigating. Better than you doing nothing.”
At the station, the older policeman, Sergey Vasilyevich, listened carefully to Lena.
“All right, Lenochka,” he said, rubbing his face wearily. “Did you read the papers before signing?”
“I did,” she nodded through tears, “but he said it was only temporary.”
“He said, sure—but how do we prove it? He’s a crafty one and likely covered his tracks. Write a statement; we’ll start an investigation.”
Sergey Vasilyevich summoned Igor for questioning. Igor arrived, brow furrowed and clearly irritated.
“Why are you on my case?” he snapped. “Everything’s legal. The documents are signed. Lena gave it all to me herself.”
“Did you pay her for it?” the policeman asked sternly.
“What money? We were living together. It was a gift. Isn’t that allowed?”
Lena clenched her fists.
“A gift? You tricked me! You said it was temporary!”
“You were the one who wanted it.”
“Stop lying!”
Igor laughed, but there was worry in his eyes.
“Come on, why are you hounding me?”
But Sergey Vasilyevich had seen many like Igor before.
“Son, you’re no hero. You’re not the first to exploit someone weaker. Don’t worry—we’ll get to the bottom of this.”
Lena left the station feeling a tiny bit of relief. She knew it would be a lengthy process.
“It’s all right, Lena,” Aunt Valya encouraged her. “Just hold on. People like him get what they deserve.”
Lena began searching for others who had been victimized by Igor. The first was Galina, a middle-aged woman with a hard expression. Initially unwilling to talk, she finally agreed when she learned Lena was fighting for her house.
“He took my money,” Galina confessed with a heavy sigh. “Said he’d invest in a car to start taxi work. Then he disappeared.”
Lena noted down her story and added it to her statement. Over time, more victims turned up in nearby towns: one had given him gold jewelry, another had taken out a loan in her own name. Igor preyed on emotions, deceived people, then vanished.
After about a month, the case gained momentum. Igor tried to flee, but was caught. In court, he looked pitiful: his smile gone, his confidence shattered.
“I didn’t mean to fool anyone,” he mumbled to the floor. “It just… happened.”
But Lena, standing before the judge, spoke firmly:
“He ruined my life. Yet I believe in justice. I want him to answer for everything.”
Igor was sentenced to prison for fraud. Lena regained her house through the courts.
After the trial, she sat on her porch for a long time, staring out into the yard. Her mother, seeing her, smiled for the first time in ages.
“Lenochka, I always knew you were strong.”
Lena smiled back. She felt she had not only won back her home but also found the confidence she’d always lacked. Now her life truly belonged to her.
Several years went by. Lena continued living in her house, which had become her fortress in both the literal and figurative sense. She renovated it and turned the yard into a beautiful garden where she grew fruits and vegetables. Life settled into its usual rhythm: work, occasional get-togethers with friends, and caring for her mother. She no longer allowed herself to rely on others, though that didn’t mean she’d stopped dreaming.
After Igor was released from prison, he tried returning to his old ways. He came back to town once, only to find everyone still remembered him—unfavorably. Rumor had it he moved far to the north and took a job as a warehouse guard. Since then, no one had heard from him. For Lena, it was only a faint reminder of a past she had finally left behind. Her story was about how a person can discover the strength within to overcome any hardship.