Having found a new job after a difficult divorce, Suzanne, a thirty-five-year-old woman with a tired but stubborn gaze, walked the same route every morning—from her apartment building to the metro.
At the very beginning of the street, near a pharmacy kiosk, a thin, gray-haired old woman in a tattered coat had been sitting for over two months, a tattered rug and a tin mug laid out in front of her. Suzanne never passed by: she’d toss in a ten-dollar bill, a handful of change, sometimes even a banknote if her paycheck arrived on time.
The old woman always nodded quietly, as if expressing gratitude that didn’t need to be said out loud. This was repeated day after day—a habit that had become something of a quiet morning ritual, almost part of the route.
That morning, it all started the same way.
A light rain fell, the asphalt glistened, people hurried past, not looking up. Suzanne reached into her pocket as usual, felt for the coins, and bent down—but before she could toss them, the old woman suddenly grabbed her wrist.
Her fingers were dry and bony, but they held great strength. Suzanne looked up—the old woman’s gaze was completely different, not quiet and submissive, but filled with anxiety and almost panic.
“Daughter… listen carefully,” she whispered, not letting go of her hand.
“You’ve helped me so many times… Now let me do something for you. Don’t go home tonight. Under any circumstances.
Spend the night wherever you want—at a friend’s, at a hotel, even stand on the subway all night… just don’t go back to your apartment. Promise me.”
Suzanne was taken aback, and in her surprise, she even forgot to straighten up. A stream of people passed around them; no one heard their conversation in the middle of the cold morning.
The old woman let go of her hand as suddenly as she’d grabbed it, looking down as if the conversation was over.
Suzanne walked away slowly, but the entire walk to the subway she felt a growing sense of unease in her chest.
She’d been restless all day at the office. Every little thing seemed suspicious—a colleague’s strange question about her neighborhood, documents that had disappeared without a trace, even though she’d clearly filed them away. With each passing hour, a heavy feeling grew inside her, as if an invisible hand were squeezing her heart ever tighter.
The story doesn’t end here –
it continues on the next page.
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