“Don’t Hold a Grudge Against the Past” — But the Past Doesn’t Disappear
Marina was walking home from her neighbor’s house carrying a two-liter jar of goat’s milk. Her daughters had asked for it for breakfast. From a distance, she immediately noticed that something was wrong.
The small gate was wide open.
Yet she was certain she had closed the latch.
A strange shadow moved quickly around the corner of the house.
Marina stopped, then carefully walked around the veranda.
And froze.
Standing there, leaning against the wall, was Artyom.
In one hand he held a piece of construction chalk, and in the other a rolled-up sheet of paper.
— Hi, Marina. Is Gena home?
The woman simply stared at him.
Ten years.
Ten years since she had last seen this man standing in front of their house. And now he was acting as if he had only come over to borrow a cup of sugar.
— Artyom? How did you get here?
— The door was open. I waited for a while, then looked around. It’s been a long time since I’ve been here. Nice house. Strong.
Marina placed the milk on the steps.
At that moment, Gennady appeared from behind the house. He had been repairing the fence.
When he saw his brother, he stopped.
— Artyom?
— Gena! Brother! How many years, how many winters!
Artyom hugged him. Gennady hugged him back, but confusion filled his eyes.
— Did you come alone? — he asked.
— Yes. Darya and Polinka are at my parents’ place. They’re living in a one-room apartment. It’s cramped for them. But I didn’t come here to complain.
— Then why are you here?
Artyom unfolded the paper on the veranda railing.
It was a blueprint.
— Look. We could make a new entrance here. A wall here. A separate kitchen or a shared one, however you want. I already have the building materials. I’ll build it myself.
Gennady slowly raised his hand.
— Wait. You want to move here?
Artyom shrugged.
— We have nowhere else to go. Our house collapsed. You know that.
Marina silently went into the kitchen.
She took out three cups.
Then she put one back.
Gennady noticed.
He said nothing.
Artyom sat down and placed the blueprint on the table.
— Kuzmich told me about your house, — Gennady said. — Is it true you knocked out a supporting wall?
— I didn’t mean to. I thought it wasn’t an important wall. I installed a support beam, but it couldn’t hold. During the night, the roof started shifting. Darya grabbed Polinka and jumped out of the window. I followed them.
— You could have died.
— But we didn’t.
Artyom leaned forward.
— I’m not asking for charity. I have materials, and I’ll work. I just need a place where I can build an extension.
Gennady looked at Marina.
— What do you say?
— I’ll tell you. But first, let him listen.
Artyom sighed.
— I know there were old issues between us…
Marina laughed quietly.
— Old issues?
She sat down across from him.
— Then let’s talk about them.
Silence filled the room.
— Do you remember when you were eighteen and demanded that our parents’ house be divided into three parts?
— I had the right.
— Yes. That’s what you always say. I had the right.
Marina looked directly at him.
— You were afraid Gena and I would get ahead of you. We weren’t even married yet, and you were already dividing the inheritance.
Her voice hardened.
— You left. Gena stayed. We built our life in this house.
— That was your choice.
— Yes. But then came that November night.
Gennady lowered his head.
— The accident.
Marina nodded.
— Gena fell asleep while driving. He crashed into a truck. He broke bones in six places. He spent weeks in the hospital.
Artyom quietly said:
— I helped him.
— Yes.
Marina looked at him.
— You paid for repairs. You helped with the medical bills.
She paused for a moment.
— And then you stood beside his hospital bed with papers and said: “I’ll get back every single penny.”
Artyom said nothing.
— Do you remember?
— I had expenses too.
— And because of that, you took his share of the house. And the apartment we had been paying for four years.
Gennady clenched his fists.
— Because at that time I couldn’t defend myself.
Marina’s voice trembled.
— We were left on the street with two little girls. A four-year-old and a one-and-a-half-year-old. I worked, cried at night, and pretended to be strong during the day.
Artyom lowered his head.
— I didn’t force Gena.
— No.
Marina looked at him coldly.
— You just waited for the moment when your own brother was too weak to say no.
Artyom suddenly stood up.
— You’re nobody in this family! You’re only his wife. This is between brothers.
Gennady slowly stood up.
— You said the same thing ten years ago.
Artyom looked at him.
— I saved your life!
— No. You gave money. And in return, you took everything.
Artyom pointed at Marina.
— She filled your head with lies. She has always been a bitter, hateful woman.
Then he said:
— A snake.
The sound of the slap filled the kitchen.
Marina calmly looked at him.
— That was for the insult.
She paused.
— And for those ten years when I stayed silent.
Gennady stood beside Artyom.
— This house is not mine. Marina’s parents gave it to us. I am also a guest here.
Artyom stared at him in disbelief.
— You’re saying no to your own brother?
— I’m saying no to someone who once took my family’s home away.
In the end, Artyom was allowed to stay only under one condition:
With a contract.
With a separate entrance.
With separate lives.
Within two months, he built the extension with his own hands.
But Marina did not erase the chalk lines from the wall.
One day Gennady asked:
— Aren’t we going to paint over them?
— No.
Marina looked at the marks.
— These aren’t just lines.
— They’re reminders.
Six months later, Artyom’s father, Vladimir Petrovich, came to visit them.
Alone.
— I transferred the apartment to your daughters, — he said.
Marina was surprised.
— Why?
The old man lowered his head.
— Because ten years ago I stayed silent. Even though I should have shouted.
When Artyom found out, he became furious.
But the papers had already been completed.
He could not change them.
Later, he met Marina in the yard.
— You won.
Marina shook her head.
— No, Artyom.
Silence.
— I wasn’t playing a game.
She turned away.
— You were the one who played your whole life.
— I was just living mine.
Time eventually erased the chalk lines.
But the memory of them remained.
Inside Marina.
And inside Gennady too.
