Pavel

This story happened to my grandmother. Even now, whenever I recall her story, it sends shivers down my spine.

It was 1947. My grandmother was a doctor and married her classmate, Pavel. She worked at a hospital, and none of his relatives knew where he worked—it was a state secret. Time passed, and a child was born. The newlyweds rented a dacha near Moscow for the summer, but then Pavel was urgently called back to work. They agreed that my grandmother and the child would stay at the dacha with the owner, and he would return as soon as he was free.

About ten days passed. It was a warm summer evening, the moon was shining brightly. My grandmother was sleeping in the garden under the spreading linden trees. Suddenly, she heard a distinctive knock on the gate—this knock was her and her husband's prearranged signal, letting her know that Pavel had come home from work—there was no doorbell on their old apartment. Grandma rose, walked down the path to the gate, opened it, and froze—Pavel stood there. But what a state he was in! He was wearing a suit his wife had never seen him in, a pilot's suit—helmet, and fur boots. He was terribly pale, and a trickle of blood had dried in the corner of his mouth. Grandma screamed and lost consciousness. The woman came running, hearing her scream, and somehow brought Grandma back to her senses, laid her down, and gave her valerian.

In the morning, a car pulled up to the dacha. Inside were men in uniform. Without asking any questions, realizing something terrible had happened, Grandma got in.

She was told that Pavel had been participating in secret tests of a new jet aircraft. But sabotage had been committed—he had been poisoned before the flight, hoping the plane would crash, and while specialists searched for the cause of the accident, the plane's production would be delayed. But Pavel managed to land the plane. When they reached him after landing, he was already dead.

Grandma was taken to a small cemetery where the funeral was taking place. She saw Pavel in the coffin—he was wearing a pilot's suit, with dried blood in the corner of his mouth... Grandma lost consciousness again.