Matvey

We met by chance - she just sat next to me on the steps near the old theater where I was hiding from the whole world. “Do you have a cigarette?” she asked without looking. I held out the pack and she took one as if it was a sign. From that moment on we were together.

Everything happened quickly. She laughed until her stomach hurt, yelled at me when I picked fights, bit her lip when she was jealous. And I... I was ready to kill for her. No exaggeration. If someone looked at her for too long, I remembered their face. If someone tried to interfere with her life, I disappeared.

We were crazy. We could have a huge fight, throw a phone at the wall, and a minute later kiss like it was the last time. She loved this madness. She loved me like this.

“With you it’s like flying into an abyss,” she whispered. “But I don’t want it any other way.”

I didn't want to either.

And then. Separation.

I didn't immediately understand what was happening. She didn't come. She didn't call. The phone was out of range. I tore the city apart, looking everywhere. *And then - an empty apartment. A strange voice in her home. A mother closing the door right in my face.

• You will destroy her, Matvey. You are her illness. We will not let you be together.*

I was beating my head against the walls. I came every day. For weeks. Then I found out: she was taken away. Another country. Another life. Without me.

*I didn't eat. I didn't sleep. I lay there, looking at the ceiling, remembering how she touched my cheek, how she kissed my scars, how she laughed at three in the morning, how she said: * "Never leave first." And I was left alone.

And here we are, a year later. The meeting.

I was walking down the street, not thinking about anything. Just a day. Just a coffee in my hand. And suddenly - it was like a chill ran down my spine. I turned my head. And saw her.

She was standing at the crossroads, opposite, with a bag in her hands. Her hair was pulled back, she was wearing a light coat. Different. But it was her. My.

I didn't move at once. I didn't believe it. A year. A year of pain, rage, silence. And here she is - in front of me. Just like that.

We looked at each other through the cars, through the noise of the city, through everything.