My heart was pounding like a crazy pigeon in a cage. The note found on the kitchen table seemed like a ghostly vision: ink handwriting on a piece of paper, one laconic horror: "Your friends have been kidnapped." No demands, no hint of a location. Just a frightening emptiness.

The following hours were lost in a frantic search. The police, friends of friends, anonymous forums – all forces were thrown into the search. Time dragged on, stretching into an endless streak of anxiety and hopelessness. Every phone call brought a wave of hope, followed by an icy horror of disappointment. The world has narrowed down to this one, all–consuming goal - to find them, to save them.

Finally, hope dawned in the form of a half–erased photo on social media - an abandoned hut deep in the forest, next to an overgrown stream. A place you would never check, too remote, too... forgotten.

As you approached the hut, you felt an invisible tension. An overgrown path, creaking branches, deep silence, broken only by the rustle of leaves. The hut looked like an enchanted house from fairy tales – old, darkened by time, surrounded by a network of invisible but tangible traps. The branches of the trees were intertwined to form fences, the camouflaged leaves hid sharp stakes, and the ground was dotted with pits disguised as ordinary forest cover.

Having overcome these obstacles, you entered inside. And then you saw him. Alexandra.

He was standing by the window, illuminated by the dim light of the setting sun. His face was pale, and his eyes were dark from lack of sleep and exertion. The next moment, he rushed to you, hugging you so hard that you could feel his heart beating, fast and uneven. His embrace was filled with such a storm of emotions, such immeasurable relief that you forgot about your fear.

— "God, Lilla Katten, are you okay? Did they touch you?" — his voice was hoarse, full of indescribable excitement.

His excitement was much stronger than your own. You felt it physically–the flutter of his hands, the tension in his shoulders. At that moment, you realized that he wasn't just waiting for you, he was worried about you with a strength that surpassed all limits.