Guys

There's a lonely old lady living downstairs from my building. She has no one but her nephew, and that nephew lives in Moscow. He used to come visit her when she had money, but then it ran out, she transferred the apartment to him, and he disappeared completely. Soon after, her legs gave out. He always refuses my requests to come and help her. So, it turned out that she's being cared for by me and a social worker.

It all started about four months ago. I go to see the old lady as usual, and she says to me:

"Larisochka, put some pants on me."

"Why? It's so hot in the house..."

"I'm embarrassed in front of people, put them on."

"What people? You're the only one here."

"I went visiting today, and when I got to them, they were all lying on the same bed."

"Who's lying there?!"

 "Men and women, how shameful... And then there's my mother, she's become so terrible, she's changed so much..."

"But your mother died a long time ago..."

"No, she's alive, she's alive! And those men have worn me out, I've had no more strength!"

"What men? There's none!"

"No, there they are, right there!"

After those words, my hair nearly went gray. I never understood what men they were talking about, but she's been complaining about them ever since. And here's the thing: the old woman is paralyzed, she can't even sit up. One day, I come to her, and there's a chair on her bed, and all the pillows are upside down. The chair was between her bed and the table, and it was jammed so tightly—how she managed to pull it out, I can't imagine. According to the old woman, those men threw pillows and chairs at her, and then tried to throw her by the legs. There were times when she'd end up covered in bruises—and she'd also complain about these obnoxious men...

So who are these men, exactly? Okay, if those were just words, I'd chalk it all up to a mental breakdown in isolation. But sometimes I see clear signs of what they're doing in the old woman's apartment...