— Alisa, my dear, don’t worry so much. Mom will look after me. You’ll come when you can. I don’t want to burden you even more. You’re already exhausted from work, you need to rest, to sleep… And here I am, always demanding attention.
Alisa couldn’t hold back a sob.
— Kostya, you’re so caring, so attentive… Everything will be okay. We’ll definitely find specialists to help. If necessary, we’ll take out a loan.
Her husband gently stroked her hair.
— Alisochka, what loan? How will you pay it back later? You still have a long life ahead.
Alisa looked at him anxiously.
— Kostik, don’t even think about that. I won’t let you say such things.
He glanced at the clock.
— Hurry up, you’ll miss the minibus.
Alisa also looked at the time.
— No, I won’t go. I’ll go tomorrow. Today mom is on the night shift, how will you be alone?
— Alisa, what are you saying? You know your boss. If you’re late, they’ll take away your bonus. What will we do then? You’ve prepared everything. I’ll manage, honestly.
Alisa rushed out of the house. Tears blurred her vision. She never thought she’d find herself in such a situation. Her Kostya, always cheerful and energetic, was now seriously ill. And his illness was so mysterious that doctors refused to give a diagnosis.
When an elderly doctor said that “he could be worked to the bone,” Kostya got offended and categorically refused to continue the tests. Alisa begged him, but to no avail. Even her mother-in-law sided with her son. One day, she said sternly to Alisa:
— Why are you dragging him to the hospitals? Let him rest. Don’t you have anything to do? Get a side job. Extra money wouldn’t hurt. Or is the breadwinner gone?
Alisa nodded nervously. She had always been intimidated by her mother-in-law. She made it clear from the start that Alisa wasn’t the kind of daughter-in-law she wanted to see with her son. At the wedding, she directly said: “You’re a gray mouse. I don’t understand what he saw in you.”
Alisa never told Kostya. She didn’t want to upset him. He loved his mother dearly. But every time she was around, Alisa always felt like she wasn’t good enough.
It was her mother-in-law who insisted they shouldn’t have children yet. She said they had been married for only a short time and needed to get to know each other better. Now, Alisa thought how wise she was. What would she have done if they had a child? It seemed unimaginable.
At the minibus stop, it was crowded. Everyone was in a rush to the city. The area was full of private houses and summer cottages.
Alisa stepped aside. She didn’t want to hear the noise of the crowd. She needed peace and quiet.
— Let me read your fortune, beautiful.
Alisa jumped and turned around. A middle-aged gypsy woman was standing before her.
— What are you scared of? Have gypsies ever done you any harm?
— No.
— Then don’t be afraid. Give me your hand.
Alisa, almost in a daze, stretched out her palm. The gypsy woman studied it for a long time, then released it.
— I won’t tell you your fortune. I’ll just say one thing: soon you will find out how many people around you are deceiving you. You’ll know suddenly, but it will make you wiser. Don’t be afraid to be strict, be afraid of being naive.
The gypsy disappeared into the crowd, not even asking for money. Alisa shook her head. “”I must be losing my mind,”” she thought. There’s no one in my life who could deceive me. I’m always kind to everyone, always trying to help. And why would anyone want to deceive me? I have nothing valuable.
The minibus arrived. Alisa hesitated, and the only available seat was next to the driver. She had to sit.
— Alisa? Is that you?
She looked at the driver in surprise.
— Misha? No way! How are you here?
— I’ve been working on this route for six months. And you, I guess you don’t come here often?
— Yes, I used to never come. I’ll be here more often now.
— Tell me, how are you doing? Since I left for the army, I haven’t heard anything about you.
The young man smiled.
— You know, when I left, I thought: when I come back, you’ll have grown up, I’ll marry you. But I came back, and you were already married.
Alisa laughed.
— You’re quite the dreamer! You would’ve grown up too. We were in the same class, remember?
— Really? Exactly! You used to cheat off me.
— It was you who copied off me! Misha, it’s been ten years, and you haven’t changed at all.
— Why change? Life’s good.
Alisa’s mood darkened.
— Maybe. But not for everyone.
— What’s wrong, Alis? Do you have problems?
Tears welled up in her eyes again. She waved her hand.
— Misha, don’t ask. My husband is sick. The doctors can’t do anything. He’s fading away before my eyes. He asked to stay at the summer house so he doesn’t bother me.
— Why at the summer house? Why not in the hospital?
— The doctors can’t figure out what’s wrong with him… We’re just spending money.
— So, they’re saying he’s healthy?
Alisa nodded, barely holding back tears.
— Imagine, no one can figure out what’s wrong with him. No one.
— So you’ve seen all the doctors?
— Yes, we’ve seen many specialists. And now he refuses treatment. The doctors aren’t prescribing anything either.
— Strange. Usually, even if the diagnosis is unclear, they support the patient, examine, and treat them. How did they let him go? Or did he leave on his own?”
“She was giving all her salary to her mother-in-law to save her ailing husband, but one day, she decided to visit unannounced. And then, here it came…
