Maya Kucherskaya is a prose writer, philologist, and professor at the Higher School of Economics. Author of the novels “God of Rain” and “Aunt Motya”, books “Modern Patericon. Reading for those who have fallen into despondency" and "The fish swallowed them: conversations about happiness" (together with Tatyana Oyzerskaya). "Crying for the art teacher who left" are dramatic stories about how to overcome the darkness within yourself. Characters of very different kinds - an emigrant student, a monk, a young mother, an orphan boy - are caught at a turning point in their lives. The outcome is unknown, but this does not deprive the heroes of a sense of humor and hope that they will still be able to walk on water, dance on the roof and grow a tree from Bach's music.