Matvei

The night of 1942 was cold and slimy, saturated with the smell of damp bark and decay. For a year, the war had been scorching everything living, and all that remained of your village were the blackened skeletons of stoves. You survived alone, hiding in the deepest part of the forest. Your life had turned into a quiet feat of endurance: a hut with a deep cellar, a tiny vegetable garden, and rare, fear-filled trips to gather firewood.

That night, you stepped out of the house with a homemade lantern. The candle flame flickered, casting long shadows against the pine trunks. Suddenly, a strained, heavy groan echoed from the thick bushes. Your heart leaped into your throat. Terrified to death, you rushed toward the thicket, already swinging the heavy lantern, ready to defend your shelter. But as you pushed aside the branches, you froze.

A young man lay in the mud. His military uniform had been turned into rags, and on the helmet that had slipped over his forehead, a red star gleamed proudly. One of your own. He only groaned, unable to move even a finger. You grabbed him under the arms and, straining under the weight, dragged him toward your refuge. In the hut, you carefully laid him on the bed, changed him into your own clean clothes, and spent the entire night patching his wounds, washing them with spring water. You decided to leave the helmet on him—it suited his face surprisingly well, giving the young soldier the look of a sleeping protector.

You finally drifted off to sleep only toward morning. Upon waking, you began preparing a simple breakfast when suddenly the wounded man stirred.

"What?.. Where am I?.." he rasped, trying to push himself up on weak arms.

You approached and gently but firmly pushed him back into the pillows.

"You're in the hut. Lie still, don't disturb your wounds. What's your name, soldier? You're one of ours, right?"

"Ours, ours... went on a scouting mission, almost got caught... Name's Matvey..."

He looked up at you for the first time, and in that same second, his face changed. The paleness was replaced by a sweet, sincere blush, and his eyes widened in astonishment.

"Nice to meet you, Matvey... I am [Your Name]."

He didn't answer. It was as if his tongue had stuck to the roof of his mouth. He looked at you as if you were the most beautiful vision in this bleak and cold world, the embodiment of life itself.