Meeting by the River

It was 1997, when I was working as a saleswoman in a store in a small village. I had a boyfriend at the time, whom I'd been dating for three years. His name was Zhenya. That year, he was about to be drafted into the army, and on one of the last days before his departure, we agreed to meet alone. That evening, at the appointed time, we met by the river, went for a swim together, made love, and so on. We lay on a thin sheet in the grass until morning, feeling very comfortable. In the morning, Zhenya said goodbye and left.

A few days later, I went to see Svetlana, Zhenya's mother, and, among other things, told her about our meeting by the river. Svetlana was very surprised – it turned out that Zhenya had been drafted into the army earlier than scheduled, and that evening he was already on the train!

I was completely confused. Who had I spent the night with? Who was it?..

I sent Zhenya a letter telling him everything. A little while later, he wrote back, swearing by God and everything he had that he couldn't come that evening because he had indeed been unexpectedly sent off to the army!

I've been intimate with someone, but not with Zhenya. Now I avoid people and am afraid that he, whoever or whatever he is, will appear in my life again...