I had the strength to go to the children. Ida read them a fairy tale.

- You had a fight, didn't you? Nastya asked as soon as the door closed behind the housekeeper.

“No,” I lied, “we needed to talk. It happens: sometimes adults need to talk in order to understand each other.

“Mom and dad also talked,” Mark sighed.

And the children seemed to burst. Before that, they did not tell what happened before they got to us, but now the dam collapsed and it was impossible to stop them. Yes, I didn't want to.

- We miss our mom. Very much,” Nastya said in a whisper for some...