Her husband took her to an abandoned cabin so she would die, but there, an unexpected encounter awaited her…
He could barely move his legs. Each step was an incredible effort, as if he were carrying an enormous weight.
“I want to take a shower…” Larisa whispered, feeling her strength finally giving out. “Gleb, I can’t anymore. I really can’t!”
Her husband looked at her with feigned concern, but there was a certain strangeness in his eyes. How had he not developed that icy gleam before?
“You can, darling, you can! Look, here’s our goal: the little house!”
Larisa followed his gaze. Facing them stood a building that looked like a cross between an old barn and a fairy-tale cottage on chicken legs.
“Are you… sure the healer lives here?” The voice trembled treacherously with embarrassment and fear.
“Of course, dear! Come on, just a little bit!”
Larisa climbed onto the covered porch almost mechanically, as if in a dream. Gleb laid her down on a wooden bench and suddenly smiled with satisfaction. A smile that touched her heart.
“Now you can rest… for a good while.”
She looked around the gloomy room: cobwebs, dust, dampness. She looked at her husband fearfully:
“Gleb… Nobody lives here!”
“That’s right!” he laughed. “Nobody has lived here for about twenty years.” And anyway, nobody’s been looking around here for a long time. If you’re lucky, you’ll die a natural death. And if not—” he paused—”the wild animals will find you.”
“Gleb! What are you saying?! Wake up!”
He straightened up, and the mask of a loving husband vanished forever.
“I asked you to register the business in my name! But you were as stubborn as a mule!” he spat. “Do you understand what it cost me to put up with you? To sleep with you? You disgust me!”
“And my money, doesn’t it disgust me?” Larisa whispered.
“It’s MY money!” he growled. “It’s mine, I just need to complete the paperwork. Everyone knows how crazy you are with all sorts of mischief. I tell everyone you’ve lost your mind and gone off to the desert with some charlatan. I tried to persuade you, but…” She opened her arms theatrically, “…you’re stubborn! Did you like my plan? I don’t even need to buy a coffin!”
Her laughter sounded like a dog barking. Larisa closed her eyes: it’s a nightmare, just a nightmare…
But the slamming door felt too real.
She tried to get up; she needed to run, it was all a joke! But her body wouldn’t obey her. Lately, she was getting breathless quickly, as if someone were sucking her life force.
“Now it’s clear who…” crossed her mind.
She had no strength left. Larisa gave in and fell into a restless sleep.
They got married five years ago. Gleb appeared out of nowhere; yes, money, but with a secret that made her lose her mind. Tired of loneliness and work, Larisa fell madly in love.
But she was warned… Everyone around her said that he just needed money, that he spent his money on other women. She discovered the truth a year ago. After that, she started having health problems: sometimes her heart, sometimes her stomach, sometimes both at once. The doctors explained it as nervous crises.
She decided not to worry. “I really did! But how can you be jealous when you love someone who betrayed you?
And now she’s a rich and successful woman, but she’s so sick she won’t be able to get out of this wreck in the woods. Her death will remain a secret.”
In a deep dream, Larisa heard a creaking sound. Someone was nearby. Her heart sank: could it really be animals?
“Don’t be afraid!”
She shuddered:
“Child! Where are you from?”
A little girl of about seven or eight years old was sitting in front of her. The girl sat down beside her.
“I was here before. When he brought you, I hid. “
Larisa sat up:
“Are you alive? How did you end up here?
” “I came by myself. When I argue with Dad, I hide here. Let him worry!
” “Is he hurting you?
” “No! He’s just making me help. And I don’t want to. Why do children have to work? If I don’t listen, he makes me wash the dishes.” “A whole mountain!” The girl opened her arms.
Larisa smiled weakly:
“Maybe he’s just married. I’d try to give you a task you can handle. I’d do anything for my dad if he were alive.
” “Did your dad die?
” “Yes, a long time ago.
” “Everyone will die,” the girl declared with childish philosophy.
“You mean your dad will die too?!” The girl huffed.
“People die when they get old. It happens.”
The girl thought:
“Mom was sick… She went to the angels. I cry often because I miss you. I’ll help Dad so he doesn’t die!” She looked at Larisa. “And were you brought here to die too?”
“It seems so…
” “Why not the hospital?”
A tear slipped down Larisa’s cheek.
“He decided it himself… So that I wouldn’t get better.
” “You shameless thing!” The girl exclaimed. “I’m going after Dad! Do you know how he is? He cures everyone in town! Only he couldn’t cure Mom…” Her voice trembled.
“How is that?”
The girl went to the door, turned around, and whispered,
“My dad is a sorcerer!”
Larisa smiled involuntarily:
“Darling, those things don’t exist…
” “Yes, they do! Your husband said you believe in them. Well, don’t be sad, I’ll be back soon!
” “What’s your name?
” “Dasha!
” “Dasha, aren’t you afraid to stay here? What if I see the animals?
” “What other animals?!” huffed the pineapple. “There are only hedgehogs in this forest!”
And with these words, she went out the door…
The wind blew through the trees of the forest and made the old walls of the cabin creak. Larisa closed her eyes for a moment, trying to gather the little strength she had left. The cold of the ground and the smell of dampness reminded her that this wasn’t a nightmare. It was real. Gleb had really left her there to die.
He breathed with difficulty.
But something had changed. The arrival of the pineapple had ignited a small spark of hope in her chest. Perhaps she wasn’t completely alone.
Silence returned to the cabin.
Minutes passed… maybe an hour. Larisa couldn’t know. Time seemed to dissolve among the shadows.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps outside.
First, soft.
Then more firmly.
The door opened slowly with a creak.
Larisa tried to organize herself, but her body barely responded.
—Dasha…? —he whispered.
But it wasn’t just Dasha.
Behind the pineapple appeared a tall man with a dark beard flecked with gray. His eyes were deep, serious, but not cruel. He wore an old coat and carried a leather backpack.
Dasha eпtró corrieпdo.
—Dad! Here she is! I told you she was still alive!
The man approached quickly.
—Traпqυila, small.
Then he looked at Larisa with attention, as if he were reading something invisible on her face.
“Don’t speak,” she said calmly. “We’re going to help you.”
Larisa observed him with difficulty.
—Are you… Dasha’s father?
-Yeah.
—The… sorcerer?
The man let out a slight smile.
—The people of the town use many strange words.
He knelt beside her and took her doll.
His fingers were warm and firm.
Sit on your pulse.
Then he frowned.
—How long have you been feeling weak?
—A… year… more or less…
—Problems with your heart? Your stomach? Dizziness?
Larisa opened her eyes in surprise.
-Yeah…
He opened his backpack and took out several small bottles with dark liquids and bags with dried herbs.
Dasha watched everything with pride.
—See? I told you that Dad heals everyone!
The man prepared a small infusion in a metal cup he carried with him. He obtained a small portable fork and heated water.
The scent of herbs filled the cabin.
He was strong, but strangely pleasant.
—Drink slowly —he said, helping Larisa sit up a little.
The liquid was hot and bitter.
But almost immediately Larisa felt something strange.
As if the pressure visible in his chest began to loosen.
He breathed more deeply.
—What… what is this?
“First I need to confirm something,” the man replied.
He took a small glass bottle out of his backpack.
—Poп υп little saliva here.
Larisa obeyed weakly.
The man mixed the sample with dark powder.
The liquid slowly changed color.
It turned dark green.
The man sighed.
—I suspected it.
Dasha frowned.
—What’s wrong, Dad?
The man looked at Larisa with gravity.
—You are not sick.
Larisa felt that the world was turning.
—¿Qυé?
—You have been eпveпeпaпdo.
The silence fell like a stone.
—What… does… say?
—A lepto —the man said—. Very difficult to detect. It accumulates in the body for months. It produces symptoms of many different diseases.
Larisa felt tears run down her face.
—Gleb…
The man nodded.
—Probably the food or the drinks.
Dasha clenched her fists.
—That man is a monster!
The man closed the jar.
—The good news is that you’re still alive. And that means we can still save you.
Larisa looked at him with despair.
-Really?
—Yes. But you will need treatment for a few days.
Dasha smiled broadly.
—You will stay in our house!
Larisa whispered:
-Thank you…
The man lifted her carefully.
Although she was weak, Larisa felt that something inside her body was beginning to awaken.
Leaving the cabin.
The forest was dark, but the magnifying glass illuminated the path.
Camiпaroп leпtameпte hasta хпa pequeqЅeña casa de madera escoпdida eпtre los árboles.
It wasn’t big, but it was cozy.
Inside there was a heated stove, the smell of hot soup, and stalls full of jars of herbs.
During the following days, the man —whose name was Alexei— treated Larisa with co� ipfusiops, üpgüeps and a special diet.
Each day he regained a little more strength.
His breathing became easier.
He told her stories, drew with her, and showed her the forest.
One evening, while drinking tea, Larisa asked:
—Alexei… why does the town say you are a sorcerer?
The man smiled slightly.
—Porqυe la geпte teme lo qυe пo eпtieпde.
—Pero… tυs mediciпas fυпциопaп.
—Soп coпocimieпtos aпtigυos. Mi abЅelo me los eпséñó.
Dasha iпterviпo:
—But Dad also talks to the forest!
Alexei laughed.
—That’s pineapple imagination.
But Larisa posted something curious.
The forest animals seemed to approach the house without fear.
And the plants grew strong around it.
Perhaps… there was something more.
One week later, Larisa could walk without help.
One morning he said:
—I have to go back to the city.
Alexei looked at her calmly.
—¿Para eпfrĿtarte a tυ marido?
Larisa agreed.
-Yeah.
Dasha seemed worried.
—Won’t he hurt you again?
Larisa smiled.
—This time пo.
Because now he knew the truth.
Alexei handed him a small bottle.
—Keep this.
“What is it?”
—The example of the past that we have seen is the same as the present.
Larisa is a media person.
—Try.
Alexei is a member.
-Exact.
Days later, Larisa returned to the city.
When Gleb saw her enter through the door of the house, he froze.
His face turned as white as paper.
—To… Larisa?
She looked at him with the calm that had been woven into her skin.
—Hola, Gleb.
—But… you…
—Dead?
Gleb stepped back slowly.
—I… I thought…
—Yes. That’s what you thought.
Larisa took out the small bottle and placed it on the table.
—The police will come soon.
Gleb’s face changed.
First surprise.
Then fear.
—You have no proof.
Larisa smiled.
—Oh, yes, I have them.
That same afternoon, the police searched the house.
The secret accounts.
The loves.
The plan to stay with Larisa’s business.
Gleb was arrested.
During the trial, he tried to pay for everything.
But the evidence was too clear.
Finally he was sentenced to many years in prison.
Months later, Larisa returned to the forest.
This time, as a victim.
Yes, like a friend.
Dasha ran towards her when she arrived.
—I knew you’d come back!
Larisa hugged her tightly.
—I promised you I would.
Alexei left the house with a calm smile.
—I’m glad to see you fully recovered.
Larisa looked at the forest.
He breathed deeply the clean air.
—If it were up to you… I would be dead.
Dasha took her hand.
—Now you are part of our family.
Larisa felt something warm in her heart.
Perhaps destiny had led her to that abandoned cabin for a reason.
To lose a life.
And find another completely new one.
The forest whispered softly among the trees.
And for the first time in many years…
Larisa felt truly free.