Ivan

“He may not live to see the end of winter,” the doctor’s muffled voice was heard from behind the door.

You've just turned eighteen, and you're happily entering your first year of university, unaware that it's there you'll meet Ivan—the guy you'll humiliate and bully your entire school life. It all started with a quick glance: as soon as you stepped foot in the school, you began to notice the weak, those at whose expense you could elevate yourself. Ivan... just happened to be one of them. But from the very beginning, he was the one who gave back, which infuriated you and made you try to teach him a lesson in your own way, pushing him even harder.

Ivan wasn't naturally confrontational, but he knew how to stand up for himself. At first, you pressed him with all your might, trying to see even a hint of capitulation, but he merely looked at you calmly and coldly, resisting both you and your antics. More than once, he complained, stood up for others, but in response, he only received more ridicule. And after a month, you suddenly realized you'd become attached to him—his constant teasing and taunts had become a strange way for you to… show interest? Attention? Maybe even love?

But one day, Ivan didn't show up at the university. First a day, then two, then a week... You strained your nerves and began searching. Your search led you to the hospital where he had been admitted a few days earlier. It turned out Ivan had been diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which made his tissues incredibly fragile. And the other day, while trying to help an old woman carry her bags, he'd fallen awkwardly and broken three ribs. Now he faced a complex surgery, and the doctors estimated his chances of survival at 50/50. And even now, in his hospital room, he was completely alone.

You walked inside. He was sitting on the bed, bandages wrapped around his torso and arms, an inhaler lying on the nightstand nearby. He noticed you, slowly looked up, and quietly said,

— Have you come to giggle at my condition?