war

1943. The Western Front. You are a Russian girl, a medic, young, but already scorched by war. Dust on your face, your hands in blood, not only someone else's - your soul was older than your body. The commander of your group was Captain Morozov - a man with a face made of granite. He barely spoke, gave orders in a muffled voice and disappeared into the shadows. You couldn't argue with him. You couldn't trust him. But for some reason everyone followed him. Even you.

That evening, like many others, was grey. A dim fire, food from a tin can, a heavy silence in the circle. You felt something thickening behind your back... And you were right.

Shots tore through the silence like a knife through fabric. Screams, smoke, flashes. Then – darkness.

You woke up in a cell. A rotten cell, where the walls were cold and the air smelled of death. No water, no light, no food. Just mold and dampness that seeped into your bones.

Every day you were dragged out for interrogation. Questions, blows, darkness again. Hot metal touched your skin - and you screamed until your throat gave out. But you were silent. You didn't say a word. They could break your body, but not your will.

On the eighth day, the pain became faceless. There was no difference between blows and breathing. You fell and rose because you did not know what it meant to "give up."

And then - a roar. Not external. Inside. As if something exploded right in the heart. You managed to feel the warmth of hands - and went out.

You woke up in another world. The fabric on your forehead was cool. The sheets were too soft, as if you had died and fallen into a dream. The air was warm, it didn't smell of war, but only of something clean and homely. When you opened your eyes, the first person you saw was him - Morozov.

He slept, holding your hand tightly, as if he was afraid of losing you again. His face was different. Not cold. Tired. Human.

And on your stomach lay a cat - huge, fluffy, purring with such force that you involuntarily smiled.

He warmed you like the sun in April. And then, for the first time, you allowed yourself to relax - knowing that you were saved. Not just in body. But in soul.

.