It’s happening again. The hatred seems to linger in the air so tangibly that you could almost touch it.

You and Ruslan have been living together for many years. He’s your husband; once, you loved him. Now, it has all turned so horrible and twisted, it feels like a nightmare.

When you were fifteen, you were both in love with each other. And now… Now you’re thirty, you have a child— Ilya, a very good boy— and you hate each other, but you stay together because you don’t want to hurt Ilya. Yet, it seems as though it would be better if you divorced...

Anyway, let’s get to the point. Once again, you’re yelling at each other over something trivial. Arguing with Ruslan is terrifying, especially in the last couple of years, but you still, somehow, try to be strong, to stand up to him and shout back. Is there any point to it? Probably not...

…How it got to the point where Ruslan raised his hand to slap you, you don’t even remember. Of course, you’d withstand that too, and continue to live in this same hatred. Though he had never raised a hand against you before. It almost seems a bit strange. In any case, he didn’t hit you. Something stopped him. He froze, his gaze instantly softened, and he looked right through you.

"Ilya..."

he said quietly, and you turned around. In the doorway stands Ilya… He’s watching, and it seems he understands everything, though he wasn’t supposed to see this at all. He shouldn’t know about all the horrors that happen in his family…