Darina had been working as an emergency medical doctor for several years. Sometimes she thought she couldn’t handle the pressure — the workload was enormous. But quitting the profession was impossible: the city was desperately short of qualified doctors. Getting into a private clinic was almost unrealistic, and switching to a local therapist position meant doubling her workload. And who would then take care of little Ruslan?
Working in the ambulance service was tough. Endless false calls, when someone was just messing around, and serious cases where they literally had to bring people back from the brink of death to get them alive to the hospital.
Just think about yesterday alone. Calls came one after another.
The first — to an elderly woman who nearly suffocated in a stuffy room. Meanwhile, her grandson calmly watched TV, sipping beer, not even turning his head while the doctors did everything possible to stabilize her condition.
The second — to a middle-aged woman who suddenly lost consciousness while walking with her husband. Upon arrival, Darina realized there was nothing to be done. Yet, for the sake of her relatives — her husband and daughter, who had run ahead of the ambulance — she still started resuscitation efforts: heart massage, injections… But the woman never regained consciousness. After such a case, Darina returned to the station and couldn’t calm down for a long time — she took Corvalol, repeating to herself that she had no choice. She had to hold on. After all, Ruslan depended only on her, and she had no right to fail her son.
So, when she received another call — a road traffic accident — she tried to pull herself together. She decided not to take everything to heart anymore. She would do everything possible but wouldn’t let herself fall apart after every case.
There were two injured, but only one seriously hurt. A truck had collided with a car. The truck driver got off with just a fright and a bruise on his forehead, but the young man behind the wheel of the small car was less lucky. He lay unconscious, his face and chest covered in blood. All signs pointed to internal bleeding. While Darina administered medications, nurse Katya wiped his face, brought ammonia to revive him. They needed to check if he was breathing, where the pain was strongest, and what other injuries there were.
But at one moment, Darina froze. She looked closer — almost dropped the syringe. It was Vladislav. The same Vlad who once called her “Darochka,” said she was a gift from heaven. Then disappeared as soon as he found out she was pregnant. Not just disappeared — refused to acknowledge the child, ignored all her attempts to contact him, even sent a cruel message: “Let the father be whoever you cheated with.” After that, he blocked her on all messengers.
She swore to herself she would never turn to him again. Even if Ruslan got seriously ill, she would sooner beg at church than call his number.
And now fate had brought them together again. Katya shook her sleeve, asking how to set up the IV drip. Vlad’s life depended on her. If they were inside a hospital, she would hand the patient over to another doctor. But now — no options. Only she and the decision that had to be made.
Darina didn’t think about how his life had turned out over those years. Maybe he now had a family, children. But one thing she knew for sure: she had no right to tell her son, “I killed your father because I could have saved him but didn’t want to. I wanted revenge.”
She crouched beside him, as if weighing the decision. Then suddenly stood up:
“Stretchers! Quickly!”
People gathered around willingly helped. Together with Petya, the ambulance driver, they carefully loaded the injured man into the vehicle. The siren wailed, and the ambulance rushed to the hospital.
On the way, Darina administered necessary drugs, painkillers, monitored his pulse. Vlad never regained consciousness, only wheezed through the pain: “It hurts… hurts so much…”
At the hospital, they were already waiting. The patient was immediately sent for an X-ray, then to the operating room.
“Now we have to clean the whole ambulance — it’s covered in blood,” sighed Petya. “And what’s this? Looks like a medallion dropped.”
Darina looked at the pendant. A simple metal charm on a thin chain. She recognized it immediately. When they studied together, she had no money, so she ordered this modest gift herself. Their initials — hers and Vlad’s — were engraved on it.
“Give it to me,” she held out her hand. “I’ll give it to the owner when I visit the ward.”
But she didn’t personally hand it over. She gave the pendant to a familiar orderly, asking her to deliver it. She later learned that Vlad had surgery, his spleen removed, a cast applied. He would have to lie still for a long time.
Darina walked home on foot. She needed to gather her thoughts. Giving the pendant away was silly of course — a trinket, but Vlad had worn it for many years. Maybe out of habit? It happens — people wear something without noticing.
Remembering everything, she thought of her grandmother. It was she who supported Darina when she found out she was pregnant. Of course, the girl never planned to get rid of the child, but the fear was huge. University, scholarship, not a penny to spare… How to combine studying with motherhood?
She transferred to another medical university — the one where her grandmother lived.
“We’ll manage!” said the old woman. “There’s a roof over our heads, a pension too. It’s not wartime now, there’s plenty of food.”
And indeed they managed. Sometimes they ate only porridge or potatoes with cucumbers, but they held on. Grandma took care of Ruslan while Darina prepared for exams. And Ruslan grew attached to her with all his heart. It was a pity she had long been gone.
Now, it seemed, the worst was behind. Darina returned to her hometown — friends were here, good universities where her son would one day study. Years would change one another. She would raise Ruslan, give him an education, make him happy, even if he had no father.
In the evening, a call came from nurse Natalia:
“Darina Alekseevna, I did everything as you asked — gave him the pendant. He was so happy he almost cried! Said: ‘A very valuable thing for me.’ And immediately asked: where did you find it? When I explained that you gave it, he practically begged — wanted your phone number and address. But I didn’t say a word, not a hint. Without your permission — no way. That’s what I told him.”
“You did the right thing, Aunt Natasha,” Darina replied slowly. “I don’t need his gratitude.”
Days passed, but Darina could not completely forget what happened. The meeting with the past shook her to the core. Yet she firmly reminded herself that the decision made once was final. She would not seek meetings with Vlad, would not stir up old things.
But why did he want to contact her? Maybe lonely? Or family life had failed, and he remembered old feelings? Or just wanted to spice up his life with a new fling? Whatever the reason — the nurse did right not to give him her contacts. There is no going back to the past.
So she was very surprised when one morning near the ambulance station she saw Vlad himself. He was sitting on a bench, barely able to stand — thin, pale, drawn. In his hands was a huge bouquet of roses.
Darina approached quietly. If a conversation was inevitable, better to start it herself.
“You came to see me?” she asked directly.
Vlad hurriedly stood up. Tall, exhausted, he stood before her without his former confidence, without defiance. His gaze was tired but attentive.
“How do you feel?” she asked, glancing involuntarily at the flowers.
“Thanks, almost recovered,” he replied. “Don’t worry, I’ll leave now. I just… want to know you’re okay. Can I look at you at least once after all these years? Just stand nearby… In memory of what was?”
“You have no right,” she said sharply. “After you called me a woman who doesn’t even know who the father of her child is… That doesn’t get forgotten.”
“What?” he asked in surprise. “Are you serious? Did I say that?”
“Oh, don’t pretend you don’t remember. If the years have sobered you up a bit and you realize what a jerk you were — I accept your apology. But there can be nothing more between us.”
“Wait,” he stopped her. “We need to talk. This is some terrible misunderstanding. But let’s not here and not now. Are you working? What time do you finish?”
“In twenty-four hours. Tomorrow at eight in the morning. And believe me, after the shift, I won’t have strength for any conversations.”
But the very next morning, just after nine, as Darina left the hospital, she saw Vlad again. He was waiting for her.
“Let’s go somewhere where we can talk quietly,” he suggested.
“I’m not going anywhere with you. First, you’re a terrible driver. Second, I’m so tired I could fall asleep standing up. Third…”
But Vlad ignored her, took her arm, and led her to the car.
“You wrecked your own car,” she sneered. “Did you manage to steal a new one?”
“Borrowed one from a friend.”
He took her to the park where they used to walk often. While he went to get coffee and ice cream, Darina waited on the bench. Returning, Vlad sat next to her.
“Let’s sort this out,” he said. “We agreed to meet right here, on this bench. But I got sick — appendicitis. Went into surgery. Left my phone at home, so I asked Tamara to tell you I was in the hospital and would contact you soon.”
“And Toma told me you went to the sea with another girl, and that you don’t want my child. I tried calling you, but you didn’t answer. Then came that message…” Darina’s voice trembled.
“And Tamara told me you flew to Cyprus with a guy you love, who is the father of your baby. I almost went crazy.”
They fell silent, looking at each other.
“Now it’s clear,” Vlad finally said. “Tomka wanted me to marry her friend. So she decided to split us up. As a result — two broken lives. I never loved anyone since. And you?.. Did everything work out for you?”
“Let’s go,” Darina stood up. “Take me home. I’ll introduce you to my son. Your son. And I don’t have a husband, so don’t worry.”
In the car, kissing her, Vlad asked:
“So, what do we do about Tamarka? Drown her in the fountain?”
“Let’s try to understand and forgive first,” she said with a smile, mocking a famous phrase.
They laughed.
And ten minutes later, when Vlad saw the boy who opened the door to them, he realized — this was himself, but in miniature. Complete physical resemblance. Looking at Ruslan, full of strength and potential, Vlad felt for the first time in many years that time could still be turned back. He and Darina could start over too.
Sitting down in front of the boy, he held out his hand:
“Well, hello, Ruslan Vladislavovich…”