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      Marianna opened Facebook2 on her phone. New friends, or rather a new friend. In the picture, there was a man in front of a waterfall, with a round face, big sparkling eyes, dark-haired, probably not of Russian nationality. Okay, I’ll add him. The stranger started a conversation, as usual, beginning with “hello.” Marianna responded reluctantly, answering only after she got home. The correspondence continued.

      Marianna read on her phone:

      – I am alone with my son.

      Alone with his son… (Marianna’s thoughts).

      – Are you married? – came another message.

      – No, – Marianna replied.

      The stranger continued:

      – How do you think I know? Whether you are married or not?

      Strange, maybe he knows… (Marianna’s thoughts).

      – Are you from South Africa? – Marianna wrote, concluding from his profile page.

      He was probably from Nigeria, as the profile indicated an African country.

      Marianna imagined him sitting in a poor shack, while his son ran around barefoot and poor.

      The stranger with his son sent a video to Marianna’s messenger:

      – Watch the video, what do you understand?

      That evening, lying in bed, Marianna watched the video. A globe appeared on the screen, representing Earth, showing continents, forests, mountains, and different countries: what am I supposed to understand? Watching again, maybe he wants to say that Earth is beautiful?

      The next day. Marianna in thought: he’s not writing today… what’s going on? Who is he? She looked at the stranger’s profile picture with his son: there was a waterfall like Qi-energy, and in front of the waterfall, the round-faced image of a person.

      Marianna decided to ask first and wrote in the messenger:

      – Sorry for asking, tell me: what is your name?

      A reply came to the messenger. Marianna read the line:

      – Fool.

      Marianna looked at the word again, not believing her eyes: yes, it said: “Fool.”

      Marked

      And why did she approach my son… Marianna muttered, stirring the fish soup, “Now we have to go to court.” Marianna replayed the entire incident with Nikolash. Nikolash was playing with a boy on the street, the boys had a spat, and Nikolash kicked the boy. Out of nowhere, the boy’s mother appeared and slapped Nikolash on the cheek, leaving a red mark. And I had to call the police, now we’re being summoned to court. At least let me finish cooking the soup, Marianna continued stirring the fish head in the large pot. Done. She quickly grabbed the hot pot and carried it from the kitchen to the dining room. Ouch, it’s hot… Marianna couldn’t hold the pot, and the boiling water spilled onto her legs, burning her dress. Oh God, quickly under the water. A massive burn formed on her left leg. Will there be a scar? And I had to get involved with this court case…

      From the War

      Marianna stayed up too long at the computer, it was already half past midnight, her eyes closing in a half-daze. In front of her was a wooden shed, someone was sitting inside: a soldier, looking out through the doorway, leaning against the wooden wall of the shed. Shots were heard. He was scared, peeking through the opening and hiding again, a weapon lay on his legs, whether it was a rifle or not, it was hard to tell. The person was dressed in gray clothing, like a quilted jacket. It felt like a scene from a past war. What happens next… Will he survive or not… the shots sounded closer. The images disappeared.

      Accident

      Her body was sprawled on the stretcher. The gurney, surrounded by nurses, was being wheeled into the operating room. Her face was a bloody mess, blood stains appearing on her dress.

      – Internal bleeding, spleen is gone, bones shattered, – the doctor whispered nearby.

      – Does she have insurance? – the doctor asked the nurse.

      – She had nothing on her, they brought her like this. People found her by the side of the road.

      The gurney was wheeled into the operating room.

      – Pulse?

      – Blood pressure?

      – Let’s begin. The nurse searched for a vein, administered the drugs. The patient on the gurney was Amina. She was simply crossing the road when a car sped by, driven by either drunk or high young men. Amina rolled to the roadside, and the car immediately sped away. Now there was hope in the doctors, hope that she would survive.