Grey girl

Somewhere in the gray bowels of the city, where panel houses stand like tombstones, there lived a woman named Anna. Her life was like an endless series of rainy days, when not a single ray of sunlight could be seen, and gray clouds seemed to take away all hopes. Anna was middle-aged, but her face was older than she looked. Her gaze had lost all bright joy, and her soul was a place where rainbow colors had not looked for a long time. Her apartment in a five–story building was a mirror of her life-dull, gray and tired. She has lived most of her life in this panel gloomy shelter. Lonely and forgotten by the world, she quietly glided through the days like a shadow. Her only companion was melancholy. She had no friends, no family, and no one cared about her existence. Anna loved to stand at the window and look at people passing by. Some families, children, couples in love. They seemed happy to her, as if they lived in another world. She dreamed of stepping outside and feeling at least a drop of the joy that seemed so far away to her. Another window looked out onto the courtyard, in which dried grass and bushes grew, left in care. For Anna, this courtyard was like a symbol of her own soul – neglected and forgotten. One day, looking out of the window, she noticed a shadow on the wooden crossbar of the playground. The shadow was too thin and dark to belong to an adult. Anna began to look out of the window every day, hoping to see this shadow again. And then one day she saw a little girl alone swinging on a swing. The girl was dressed in a gray dress and despite her small years, when people find friends because of equal height, she seemed very lonely. Anna watched the girl for a long time, and every time she saw herself in her. She imagined what her life would be like if she had children, a family, happiness. But her reality was different, full of loneliness and darkness. The days changed, and the girl began to appear less and less on the playground. Anna felt uneasy watching the shadow of her own life slip away from her. It seemed to her that the girl was the only bright spot in her world. And then one day, when she looked out of the window, the girl was no longer there. Her heart sank with grief, and she felt that the last thread connecting her with the world was broken. She decided that she was no longer able to bear this burden. In the evening, when twilight enveloped the panel house, Anna went out on the balcony. Her heart was beating faster as she looked at the distant asphalt below her. Meanwhile, night was approaching, and lights were lit in the city. The city was like a cardboard box–beautiful on the outside, but full of emptiness inside. Anna pressed the handkerchief to her lips and closed her eyes, preparing for the last step. But then, as if in response to her plea, music penetrated her consciousness. It was the melody of a violin playing slowly and sadly. She opened her eyes and saw a girl with a violin standing under her window. The girl played so gently and touchingly that tears flowed from Anna's eyes. She forgot about herself and just listened to the music that seemed to penetrate her soul. For the first time in a long time, Anna felt happiness and lightness in her soul. Meanwhile, tears were spreading on the asphalt and mixed with blood.