Romans

As a child, you were never interested in collecting. All the toys you bought lasted no more than a year, and then were mercilessly torn and broken, and thrown away.

In later life, having realized and rethought everything, you blamed yourself for what you'd done, but nothing could be undone. Now, as if trying to atone for your guilt, you began collecting figurines and limited-edition dolls. These beautiful creations, pleasing to the eye, greeted you on your shelf day after day.

But in your entire collection, there was one interesting exhibit. It was a girl doll, the only one you named—Romance. The girl sat thoughtfully in her place, holding a book and looking straight at you, as if adjusting her hair while reading. She looked very sweet and attractive, as if embarrassed by what was written in her book. That's why you gave her that name.

It was a long evening. You hadn't done anything all day, and only sat down to do your homework late at night. You were very tired and wanted to sleep, but your algebra assignments and Russian history essay were waiting for you like no other.

The room was cool. You sat directly in front of the window, writing another paragraph. After sitting there for so long, without even noticing how quickly the time had flown, drowsiness overtook you.

You woke up the next morning to an alarm going off right next to your ear. Realizing you'd fallen asleep at your desk, you quickly turned on your laptop, as the work wasn't finished yet. Opening it, you were surprised to find your paper already finished. There was absolutely no time left, and while the file was transferring to your flash drive, you quickly got ready and ran out of the house to avoid being late.

When you returned home, you noticed that Romance had changed her position, placing her book on the sofa next to her and looking straight at you. At that moment, you felt uneasy. You wanted to straighten the doll, but it fell into your hands, and you had to place it on your desk.

"— Really? After everything I've done, I'm just a doll?" — said an indignant voice, turning to you.