He stopped, listened, and hurried toward the pleading voice, straight through the snowdrifts. He hadn\u2019t gone far. Nearby there was a pedestrian path, and on it lay an elderly woman. She was trying to get up, leaning on her Nordic walking poles, but she couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d Alyosha asked, running up to her. \u201cWhat happened? Did you twist your ankle?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, I don\u2019t know, young man,\u201d she said. \u201cMaybe I twisted it. Or maybe I broke it. I can\u2019t stand up\u2014my right leg hurts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t try to get up for now,\u201d Alyosha stopped her. \u201cI\u2019ll call an ambulance. They\u2019ll come and help you up. You shouldn\u2019t stand up on your own\u2014your bones could shift, and then it\u2019ll be even worse. Please, just hang on a little.\u201d<\/p>\n
With that, Alyosha pulled his smartphone from his pocket and called for an ambulance.<\/p>\n
The ambulance arrived quickly\u2014about fifteen minutes later. They loaded the old woman into the vehicle and took her to the hospital. But before they left, she managed to hand Alyosha a USB flash drive. As she passed it to him, the old woman said:<\/p>\n
\u201cTake this little thing, young man. I don\u2019t know what it is. I found it this morning at the entrance to the park, across from the university. I don\u2019t need it. I wanted to take it to the lost-and-found there, but now I can\u2019t. Maybe you\u2019ll take it? I can see you\u2019re a decent person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alyosha took the flash drive, turned it over in his hands, and slipped it into the pocket of his track pants.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlright,\u201d he told the woman, \u201cI\u2019ll take it where it needs to go. Don\u2019t worry\u2014and get well soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ambulance drove off, and Alyosha hurried home. He needed to shower, eat breakfast, and make it to work. He still had a whole hour before his shift started.<\/p>\n
At the office, Alyosha remembered the flash drive. He pulled it out of his pocket, took off the cap, and was about to plug it into his work PC\u2014then changed his mind. Who knew what was on it? What if it had a virus? The security system would trigger, the whole office would get an \u0443\u0433\u0440\u043e\u0437a warning, and then there would be an internal investigation. They\u2019d identify the culprit behind the incident and fire him\u2014Alyosha. And then he\u2019d have to look for another job.<\/p>\n
No. Not worth the risk.<\/p>\n
He put the cap back on and returned the flash drive to his bag. He decided he\u2019d check what was on it at home after work.<\/p>\n
That evening, back in his modest apartment and after a quick dinner of a slice of pizza he\u2019d bought on the way, Alyosha opened his laptop. While the system was booting up, he studied the flash drive carefully. It didn\u2019t look new. There were small scratches on it. But the cap was still there\u2014meaning it had been used often, yet handled with care. A keychain was attached to the cap: a small heart made of red plastic.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe I really should just take it to the university,\u201d Alyosha thought. \u201cLooks like an ordinary student flash drive. The old woman said she found it near the uni. Probably nothing valuable on it\u2014some assignments or something.\u201d<\/p>\n
By then the laptop had finished loading and was ready.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell then, flash drive\u2014let\u2019s see what you\u2019re hiding. If it\u2019s some nonsense, I\u2019ll post on the city\u2019s free classifieds site; maybe the owner will turn up,\u201d Alyosha muttered, and decisively plugged it into the laptop.<\/p>\n
There was no password. It opened quickly and easily, and Alyosha saw the contents: just two folders. One was titled \u201cMelodies for the Soul,\u201d the other \u201cDocuments.\u201d<\/p>\n
He opened the first folder and skimmed the track names. Nothing interesting\u2014pop music.<\/p>\n
Next came the second folder. Alyosha hesitated again\u2014did he really need someone else\u2019s secrets? But his index finger had already clicked.<\/p>\n
The folder titled \u201cDocuments\u201d opened. Inside there was only one Word file. When Alyosha opened it, he found himself staring at a diary.<\/p>\n
The first entry was dated 01.09.2019. The diary belonged to a girl who wrote daily. As it turned out, she was a first-year student at one of the faculties of the local university. Alyosha himself had only graduated two years earlier\u2014he\u2019d finished the economics faculty in 2017.<\/p>\n
As he read, it was as if he was plunged back into student life. So much felt familiar.<\/p>\n
The girl who kept the diary lived in the same dormitory where Alyosha himself had recently lived. Everything she mentioned was painfully familiar to him\u2014like the Saturday-night discos on the ninth floor after eleven p.m. that the freshman wrote about. Which former dorm resident didn\u2019t remember them?<\/p>\n
On Saturdays dancing was allowed, but only until eleven at night. After that, the official disco ended\u2014either the dorm supervisor came, or, on her orders, the security guard. The lights in the hall would switch on, and the evening\u2019s fun would be cut short to the annoyed howling of the students. But it only ended on the first floor\u2014so it could unofficially continue in the ninth-floor passageway.<\/p>\n
It had always been like that, and probably would be as long as there were restless, carefree students and student dormitories.<\/p>\n
Reading on, Alyosha learned more about the freshman\u2019s private life. He found out her name: Natasha. Natasha had been born and raised in one of the regional villages. She finished school there with a gold medal, and then entered the university.<\/p>\n
He also learned that Natasha\u2019s parents were very strict\u2014they didn\u2019t even let her go dancing until she graduated.<\/p>\n
Of course, once she became a student, she gained a freedom she\u2019d never known. And, naturally, she fell in love.<\/p>\n
Alyosha didn\u2019t want to dive into her love story at all. He\u2019d never been interested in romantic lyricism. So he didn\u2019t read the girl\u2019s emotional \u043f\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0436\u0438\u0432\u0430\u043d\u0438\u044f. Skipping a large chunk of the diary, he stopped at the last entries.<\/p>\n
Natalya wrote that she was pregnant. The news shocked her. It shocked her beloved too. When he found out about the pregnancy, he stopped seeing her\u2014disappeared. He even changed his phone number.<\/p>\n
The last entry was dated 19.02.2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday I called Vlad again. But his phone doesn\u2019t answer. I don\u2019t know what to do. I don\u2019t know how to live. Soon the pregnancy will show. The fourth month has started. I can\u2019t go home. Dad will kill me. Mom won\u2019t save me\u2014she\u2019s afraid of Dad herself. It\u2019s shameful. I\u2019m not needed by anyone. No one will hire me. You can\u2019t live in a dorm with a baby. That means tomorrow, 20.02.2020, at exactly 20:20, I won\u2019t be here. On that date, made of twos and zeros, I\u2019ll be gone. I\u2019m a failure. I have no reason to live. I\u2019ll jump from the roof of our dormitory. I failed the exam called \u2018adult independent life.\u2019 Life gave me nothing but zeros and twos. I\u2019ll do it where he first kissed me. Where he destroyed me. I think it won\u2019t hurt. Maybe my heart will tear apart even while I\u2019m falling, before I hit the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n
The last entry\u2014written yesterday\u2014stunned Alyosha, and he almost shouted, outraged, protesting this turn of events:<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?! Why hit the ground?! Have you lost your mind?! Idiot!\u201d<\/p>\n
Alyosha looked at the clock. It was 19:40.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlright, there\u2019s still time. I\u2019ll get to the dorm in about twenty minutes. Then the front desk,\u201d Alyosha calculated feverishly. \u201cThey might not let me in. But I hope the guards still remember me. Then the elevator and the stairs to the roof. I should make it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He got dressed fast, slammed the door behind him, and rushed downstairs.<\/p>\n
Luckily, the dorm desk was staffed by Glafira Ivanovna. She knew Alyosha and treated him well. He greeted her and asked her to let him in:<\/p>\n
\u201cAuntie Glasha, I\u2019ll be quick. Literally ten minutes. I really need to. It\u2019s a matter of life and death. Can I go in?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlright, Alyoshka, go on,\u201d Auntie Glasha smiled indulgently. \u201cBut next time I won\u2019t let you through without a chocolate bar.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alyosha dashed toward the elevator, promising:<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll bring one for sure, Glafira Ivanovna! Thank you!\u201d<\/p>\n
Thirty seconds later he was on the ninth floor. Sure enough\u2014the hatch to the roof was open. Alyosha automatically glanced at his watch: 20:17. He grabbed the iron handrails of the ladder and, in one sharp rush, climbed up onto the dorm roof.<\/p>\n
She was standing by the parapet. All she had to do was climb over\u2014or tip herself over\u2014and leave this world forever\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cNatasha,\u201d Alyosha called out to the girl. \u201cHere\u2014take this! I have to return it to you. An old woman from the park asked me to. She\u2019s in the hospital now. I promised her. Take it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Alyosha held out his hand and moved slowly toward the girl.<\/p>\n
\u201cTake it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned her head at the unfamiliar voice. For a couple of seconds she stared at Alyosha in confusion, then asked:<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are you? What old woman? What do you even want from me?\u201d<\/p>\n
While she was confused and firing questions at him, Alyosha came within arm\u2019s reach. Now she couldn\u2019t jump. Alyosha would never allow it.<\/p>\n
It seemed that in that moment the girl herself forgot why she had come up to the top of this cursed building. Now she was focused on one thing\u2014who was this guy?<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m Alexey,\u201d Alyosha answered. \u201cAnd the old woman\u2026 I don\u2019t even know her name. She\u2019s in the hospital\u2014or maybe not anymore, maybe they already sent her home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t understand anything,\u201d the girl began to snap. \u201cAnd how do you know my name? We don\u2019t know each other. What do you want? Say it\u2014I don\u2019t have time\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll explain everything,\u201d Alyosha soothed her. \u201cBut let\u2019s get off the roof first. Let\u2019s go to a caf\u00e9. It\u2019s warm there, and there\u2019s music. I\u2019ll tell you everything at a table.\u201d<\/p>\n
For about ten seconds she stayed silent, completely lost\u2014should she go to the caf\u00e9, or carry out what she\u2019d planned?<\/p>\n
Finally she agreed:<\/p>\n
\u201cFine. Let\u2019s go. I\u2019ll still make it. I\u2019ll still have time\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
In a small caf\u00e9 near the university dorm, after seating the girl at a table and ordering coffee, Alyosha handed her the flash drive.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is probably your flash drive. Here.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at it and said:<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah\u2026 it\u2019s probably mine. At least the keychain is definitely mine. Where did you get it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAn old woman gave it to me,\u201d Alyosha admitted. \u201cShe found it at the entrance to the park, across from the university building. I guess you lost it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. Exactly. I\u2019ve been looking for it all day,\u201d Natasha said, relieved.<\/p>\n
But then her expression changed sharply and she added:<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I understand how you know my name! You read my diary. It\u2019s disgusting to read someone else\u2019s private things without permission.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI honestly didn\u2019t want to read anything,\u201d Alyosha tried to justify himself. \u201cI\u2019m not nosy. I just needed to find out who the owner was so I could return it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo\u2014did you find out?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. I did. And I want to tell you, Natasha\u2014I\u2019m glad I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alyosha and Natasha sat in the caf\u00e9 until closing time. Alyosha talked a lot that night. Natasha listened to his arguments, believed again\u2026 She didn\u2019t go back to the dorm that night. Alyosha simply wouldn\u2019t let her\u2014he was afraid to leave her alone.<\/p>\n
Two years passed. Natasha had been staying with her parents for the second week. Alyosha missed his wife and their little daughter Alyonushka. He talked to them on the phone every free minute, but he wanted to see them for real, in person. Tomorrow was Friday. After work he would go to them and, at last, hug the two girls he loved most in the world.<\/p>\n
Today he happened to find Natasha\u2019s flash drive on the computer desk\u2014the very same one. He smiled and, like back then, decided to read the secrets stored on it again. The diary ended with an entry Natasha wrote before leaving for her parents\u2019 home:<\/p>\n
\u201cHow happy I am! How I love my daughter Alyonushka! How I love my Alyosha! Fate, thank you for everything! In my life now there are nothing but straight A\u2019s again\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
He stopped, listened, and hurried toward the pleading voice, straight through the snowdrifts. He hadn\u2019t gone far. Nearby there was a pedestrian path, and on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3054,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-viral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorssite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorssite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorssite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorssite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorssite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3053"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/humorssite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3053\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3055,"href":"https:\/\/humorssite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3053\/revisions\/3055"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorssite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/humorssite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorssite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humorssite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}