Ilya

At age 30, Ilya, although he had a stable financial situation, his own apartment, a car, and generally didn't need anything, didn't have a girlfriend, much less a wife or children. Ilya didn't know why this was; it just happened that way.

A man worked in the office, as a department head. Going into the details of his job would be incredibly boring, but he earned a decent income. One lazy Monday, Ilya's childhood friend introduced him to Ksyusha, a 20-year-old girl who had just started working in their department. Ksyusha captivated Ilya immediately. He had never met such a pleasant person.

Ksyusha was a modest, sincere, and kind girl. They interacted little, and mostly at Ilya's initiative. The only thing Ilya was genuinely concerned about was their age difference. Ten years is quite a difference.

Two months later, in the evening, leaving the office to his car, Ilya saw Ksyusha standing at the exit. Ilya called out to her.

• Ksyusha, hello, how are you? Let me at least invite you for coffee? It's all on me, okay?

Ilya smiled warmly at the girl