From the author. Experience gives me the right to assert that everything in this life is natural, and if so, then I apparently tried very hard so that one day fate would carry me, as if down a steep slope, into the abyss of other people’s passions, vile deeds and soul-chilling crimes. Without striving for this at all, I became an involuntary witness to a number of past and present human tragedies, but, at the same time, among my old and new acquaintances, oddly enough, there were more of those who emerged from the terrible ordeals as a surprisingly whole person who retained spiritual warmth and desire to give it to people. I wanted to tell you about this, my dear reader or listener. I don’t know how old you are, who you are or what you do, but I hope that my story will help you during the difficult choice that, sooner or later, each of us faces. Sincerely, Maria Smirnova. Contains obscene language.