Mom, how am I supposed to explain this to her?” Roman sighed. “You know how hard it is to confess something like this when your heart drops to your feet from fear.”
Elena Ivanovna sat down on the chair opposite her son.
“Let’s think it through. Vika isn’t going to recover. Everyone in her family died young—you know that very well. She has a strange illness; the doctors can’t figure out a diagnosis. What if she infects you? Aren’t you thinking about your future? Look at the woman who shows interest in you!”
Igor slammed his palm on the table.
“Mom, she’s my boss, and she’s ten years older than me!”
Elena Ivanovna repeated his gesture.
“So what if she’s older? Think about the prospects! You’ll never become a manager because you were too lazy to get up in the morning like everyone else. Do you remember how much money I spent on gifts for the teachers so you wouldn’t get expelled from the institute?”
Igor stared at the floor.
“Mom, how do I tell her? You understand, a two-person apartment… and, well…”
“Don’t be a complete fool,” Elena Ivanovna interrupted him. “Act like you’re worried about her health. She has a house in the countryside. Take her there and say it’s a doctor’s recommendation. We’ll figure it out later. She definitely won’t come back from there. And she won’t last long.”
“That’s inhuman.”
Elena Ivanovna laughed.
“So, it’s acceptable to keep mistresses on the side while your disabled wife is in the hospital? Living off her for five years—is that right? And now suddenly your conscience wakes up?”
Igor dropped his head again. He was used to everything being convenient for him. First it was convenient with Mom, then with Vika. But Vika had let him down: she fell ill and stopped giving him enough attention. She cared less about him, abandoned her previous concern. Igor had to seek solace elsewhere, and he only blamed Vika.
“I don’t know… What if it doesn’t work?”
Elena Ivanovna remained silent.
“Okay, I’ll do as you say. Mom, then you too can start a new life.”
Igor decided not to postpone the conversation. That evening he returned home on time.
“Vika, I’m home!”
Vika slowly appeared from her room. He looked at her.
“How are you feeling?”
“Bad… I get tired even after walking a meter. Why me?”
Igor smiled cheerfully.
“Vika, I’ve consulted with experts. Everyone unanimously recommends fresh air, the countryside, and natural food. After all, you have a house in the countryside.”
“I do, but it’s my grandfather’s house, and nothing has been renovated there for ten years.”
“That’s why I’ll help. I’ll take some time off and come on weekends. I’ll even take a vacation in the summer. I’m sure you’ll feel better.”
“How am I supposed to spend a whole week without you there?”
“Oh my God, are you really scared? We’ll find a helper.”
Vika lacked the strength to resist. The next day they started packing.
“Igor, you’re taking too much, as if we’re leaving for good.”
“Nonsense. Why look for something later? We’ll take everything we need right away.”
Vika understood his logic, but an uneasy feeling lingered. Just like when Igor convinced her to postpone having a child. He said she needed to think about herself. She took contraceptives for six years, and when she stopped—pregnancy never happened. Then Igor himself called her inadequate. She desperately wanted a child, but nothing could change that.
Then she got sick. Actually, she didn’t fall ill so much as feel herself weakening more with each day. Perhaps she’d feel better in the countryside.
The house didn’t look impressive. The paint was peeling, but inside it was dry and smelled of grass, just like before when Vika used to visit.
The next morning he began preparing to go back to the city.
“We’ve just arrived. Why go to the city?”
“Mom is sick, she called. I need to go.”
“Igor, what about me?”
“You’re not dying, and you’re younger than Mom. Right now, she needs my help more.”
“When will you be back?”
“In a couple of days.”
But Igor didn’t return—not after two days, nor after a week. At first, he didn’t answer calls, then his phone became unreachable. Vika pondered for a long time before finally calling a neighbor.
“Vika, I didn’t want to say it, but you’re going to find out anyway. He’s not single. It’s serious. His mom… she moved here, it seems permanently.”
Vika was shocked. There was almost no money left, and the medicine would last only a couple of weeks. She was so exhausted that she fell asleep. She woke up when it got dark. Vika left the house and headed toward the cliff by the river. Sitting on the grass, she clutched her head in her hands.
“Oh God, why?”
She cried so hard that she didn’t notice the man standing nearby at first. He was watching her with a smirk.
“What’s the matter, darling? Did you break a nail? Or did your haircut turn out badly?”
Vika didn’t understand his irony, but somehow felt calmer. She hoped he would leave, but he didn’t hurry.
“Come on, tell me what brought you out here tonight.”
Vika looked at him and saw a serious expression on his face. She felt the need to talk. She began speaking, and he listened silently.
Vika didn’t know who he was or where he came from, but she couldn’t stop talking.
“Get up.”
Vika stepped back in fear.
“Don’t you care? Weren’t you planning to die? Just kidding. Don’t worry, let’s go to my grandmother’s, she’ll help.”
Overcoming her weakness, Vika stood up and, leaning on his arm, moved forward.
“Where are we going? Isn’t it to the countryside?”
“And who said my grandmother lives in the countryside?”
“Oh…”
“You know, we started off on the wrong foot. I’m Sergey. I came here for a vacation, but my grandmother is already old, so I think I’ll stay. I work in the IT field, so I can work remotely.”
Vika calmed down a little, deciding that he didn’t seem dangerous.
The dwelling was located not far from the village, beyond the forest. Vika remembered the scary stories from her childhood about this place: that a witch supposedly lived there. Sergey led her inside. Despite the external dilapidation, inside there was warmth and coziness. The grandmother seated her guest and offered tea.
“Drink up,” she said.
The beverage exuded the aroma of roses and herbs, its warmth spreading throughout the body. Vika began to feel drowsy. The last thing she remembered was the grandmother covering her with a blanket.
“Rest; you regain strength in sleep.”
When she woke up, Vika sat up and looked around.
“Where am I?”
Seeing the elderly woman, she immediately remembered.
“How are you feeling?”
“Thank you, I’m better, I think.”
“Excellent. Sergey told me your story. Why didn’t you leave them before?”
“Why would I leave?”
“What do you mean, ‘why’? All your ailments appeared because of the absence of love and care. You were needed by no one, only used. Here, in the countryside, you’ll feel much better.”
Igor listened to another round of moralizing from his mother.
“Mom, what should I do now?”
“You’re almost forty and haven’t achieved anything,” Elena Ivanovna stated.
“You were the one who suggested I break it off with my boss! And now she chose someone younger, and even fired me. What now?”
“Don’t drag me into your affairs! You started it all yourself.”
“Mom, I’m left without a job and my finances are nearly gone!”
“Money, money… I don’t even remember how you went into debt over gifts for her?”
“Wait, what about my wife?”
“The doctor said she’d hold on for a maximum of six months.”
“So, a year has passed… Probably already… I need to go get the death certificate, then arrange the inheritance. A good house, we can sell it profitably.”
“Right! Go. Just remember what to say. The house is worth something; you can make a good profit. Say that she left on her own, didn’t want to live with you. No one will care about her. The key is a mournful expression on your face. Got it?”
“Yeah, got it—I’m not a child!”
“Sometimes it seems you’re only three years old.”
Igor parked his car on the outskirts of the village. Where to go? To the house where he left Vika, or straight to the rural council? After some thought, he decided to check the house first. Is Vika alive? This uncertainty left him paralyzed. He wondered if he should go to the council. What would he say if someone reported the news? Who was the informant, and when did it happen? But for now, these questions were irrelevant.
An elderly man approached him.
“Who are you looking for?”
“A woman who arrived a year ago, Vika Savelieva. Do you know her?”
“Of course. Go to the club; today there’s an opening.”
“What’s opening?”
“Business, as they call it now, or simply—a herb shop. There will be many people from the city. Sergey’s grandmother is a healer. They’ve decided to share experiences. I bought tea from Vika, helped with stomach issues.”
“But Vika was sick, very ill.”
“What are you talking about! She’s healthy! She can cure anyone herself.”
Near the club, Igor noticed a stir: modern cars, tents with colorful jars and labels. He looked around, planning to return to his car, when suddenly he saw Vika. The same Vika, but full of energy and life.
He stepped toward her, but suddenly a bearded man, resembling a bear, appeared before him. In jeans and a t-shirt, yet his presence exuded power instinctively. Igor froze. “I wonder who this is? Why did he come? I brought her here to die. What now?”
The man stood in front of Vika.
“Well, dear spouse, I remember you!”
Igor stood there in confusion.
“You must be mistaken,” he quickly replied. “I didn’t bring her here to die… I just wanted to see how she was.”
But the man wouldn’t let go of Vika. He moved closer to Igor.
“Don’t you know she needs peace? I’d have dealt with you already, but stressing her out is harmful. It’s bad for her and the baby. Hand over your phone, and I’ll explain everything later.”
Igor backed away, then ran to his car. Jumping inside, he closed the door and sped off.
“Cheater! You’re all the same!”
“You’re not getting anything! Pay for the divorce, and then I’ll sign!”
He accelerated, and Vika sighed:
“How many times does he have to come and apologize before I sign the divorce?”
“Three times is enough.”
Vika clung to her companion. The past no longer mattered. A new chapter had begun for her—a chapter filled with happiness and love.”