Their daughter disappeared in 1990, at her graduation. And 22 years later, her father found an old photo album.
Their daughter Lena disappeared in 1990, on her graduation day.
It was a warm June night. The sky was strewn with stars, the house smelled of lilacs and fresh baked goods – her mother had baked her favorite vanilla pie. Lena was spinning in front of the mirror in a blue dress, laughing, and her father, Nikolai, looking at her, suddenly thought: “This is it – real happiness …”

But no one could have known that this would be their last evening together.
After graduation, Lena never returned home. Not that evening, not the next day, not a week later. The search lasted a long time, but all in vain. The police threw up their hands, the witnesses’ testimonies contradicted each other, and the only clue – stories about a girl on the highway – turned out to be false.
The years passed. Olga, her mother, almost never left the house. Nikolai was aging prematurely. Hope, like a flame in an old lamp, was gradually fading.
And here it is — 2012.
One rainy October day, Nikolai went up to the attic to tidy up. The air was full of dust, boxes of books, old toys, and junk were all around. And suddenly he found a photo album. The very one with Lena’s childhood photos: school parties, summer trips, first grade…
Opening it, he felt his heart squeeze from the memories. Here she is in a school uniform, here she is with her friends in the yard. But one photo looked alien. It definitely hadn’t been there before.
The photo shows an adult Lena, about thirty years old, standing by a wooden house against the backdrop of mountains. On the back is the inscription: “2002. I’m alive. Forgive me.” Nikolai almost dropped the album. His hands started shaking.
From that moment on, a new chapter of his life began — the search for answers. Who put this photo? How did it end up in the album? Where was Lena all these years?
Having gone downstairs, Nikolai silently handed the photo to his wife. Olga took it with trembling hands, looked at it — and froze. A cautious, painful hope lit up her eyes.
— It’s her… It’s Lena…

They sat in silence for long hours, unable to tear their eyes away from the photo. The color had faded a little, but the details were clear: the house, the mountains, and in the background — a sign: “Gostinica ‘Zvezda’”.
Nikolai brought a magnifying glass. With difficulty, but they read: “2002. I’m alive. Forgive me. L.”
— She was alive… — he whispered. — Twelve years later… and she didn’t say a word. Why?..

The next morning Nikolai began searching. He found a hotel with that name on the Internet — in Kyrgyzstan, in a small mountain village. He didn’t hesitate: he packed his things, withdrew money from his account, and set off.
The journey turned out to be long: a train, transfers, a bus, and finally an old minibus that wound through the mountains. The higher he climbed, the colder the air became. When there was very little left to the place, Nikolai’s heart was beating as if it wanted to jump out.
The hotel was in place. An old sign, a familiar façade. Inside, it smelled of wood and time. A middle-aged woman was sitting at the counter.
“Excuse me,” Nikolai began in a trembling voice. “Don’t you know a woman named Lena? Lena Nikolaeva. Perhaps she lived here about ten years ago…” The woman looked at him intently.
“Wait. Are you Nikolai? Her father?”

He froze.
– Yes…
She came up, opened the drawer and took out a worn envelope. On it, in large letters, was written: “To Dad. Only if he comes himself.”
Nikolai’s hands were shaking as he tore the envelope.
“Dad.
If you’re reading this, then I was wrong. I ran away then, in 1990. Not from you, but from fear. I fell into bad company. And then it was too late to go back. I was ashamed.
I’m alive. I have a son. His name is Artyom. He never knew you.
I was going to write many times, but I couldn’t bring myself to.
If you come, find me. I’m not far.
I’m sorry.

L.”
Nikolai reread the letter several times until tears began to drip onto the paper. He didn’t even notice how his hands were shaking.
“She lives in the neighboring village,” the woman said. “If you want, I can take…