The morning began with the arrival of an unexpected guest. Right after the doctor’s rounds, someone knocked on the door of my hospital room.
“Come in,” I said, setting my phone aside.
I was just arranging a meeting with Arseny.
“Good morning,” a familiar voice said. “May I come in?”
“Come in.”
Maxim entered the room and sat down on the chair beside my bed. It felt uncomfortable. He believed I had forgotten everything. I smiled—and he smiled back.
“My name is...” he began.
“Maxim,” I interrupted. “Right now you’re probably going to say that I don’t know you and that we can get to know each other better. Then you’ll start apologizing for the accident, which wasn’t your fault. Am I right?”
I said the last words without a trace of a smile.
Maxim turned pale but didn’t answer. So I con
