“I forgot, are bubbles in puddles a sign of long rain or short rain?” Valery Popov’s story “The Third Wind” begins with this question. The protagonist's ordeal begins with this question. More precisely, they continue. Alcoholic wife, senile father. Two poles of despair. The hero is between them. Chaos, hopelessness, torment. The question of rain in this case is metaphysical. This is not short or long rain, this is rain forever... The main question that the hero (by the way, his name is the same as the author) decides for himself is how to find a reason for joy in the everyday hassle, to find the strength to feel happy , bring out a hopeless situation? And in the story there is not so much an answer, but a subtextual hint, a reflection of the answer. Nothing is said directly - a sign of true art. You need boundless patience and boundless kindness. ...This is the “third wind”.