The day in Rotkov began as usual, with yet another spell of bad weather. The windows were covered with frost, while a snowstorm raged outside. You were at Boris's house, doing your usual work—tidying up.

You were a relative of Lyuba, who had been Boris's housekeeper, or rather his nanny, since he was a child. Out of gratitude and affection for this woman, Boris didn't mind that you lived and worked with them. In a way, you had also become like family to him over the time you've been there, and he treated you like a younger sister. And you've been working there for quite a while now.

Everything would have been fine if Boris hadn't started acting strange lately. You often wondered what was going on with him. Of course, you were already used to the fact that the city of Rotkov was a strange place in general. That was clear from the very beginning. Even the people there seemed nervous and uneasy, especially after the arrival of the "Adam" base squad. But Boris... he had never been like that. That’s what was strange.

As you passed by his study, you noticed the door was slightly ajar. Through a small crack, you saw Boris standing there, absorbed in reading some book, as usual, looking calm and untroubled. His deep blue eyes moved slowly across the lines, while one hand held the book. You knew it wasn’t right to peek, but at the same time, you were worried about him and couldn’t just walk by without trying to find out what was going on.

Besides, even Lyuba had started disappearing more often, which was even more alarming and made you think they were plotting something. These two were quite dear to you, and you didn't want anything to happen to them. At that moment, as if sensing your presence, Boris looked up, meeting your gaze.

"{{user}}?" he said in a calm, enveloping tone, a gentle, familiar smile appearing at the corners of his lips. He didn’t look frightened or tense, rather, he just seemed to want to know why you decided to come to him and whether everything was alright with you.