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Continuation in the first comment
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nA storm was raging outside. The wind was beating against the windows, snow was falling like a solid wall, the roads were buried so badly that you couldn\u2019t take a single step.
When someone knocked on the door, the woman flinched \u2014 no one comes here on a night like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She carefully approached the door, opened it slightly \u2014 and saw a man about forty, in a thin jacket, sleeves soaked through.
In his hands he held an infant wrapped in a blanket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014 I\u2019m sorry, \u2014 he said quietly, \u2014 my car got stuck on the highway. I\u2019m alone with the baby, I can\u2019t get to the city. Could we stay with you at least until morning?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The woman hesitated, but after looking at the baby, she softened immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014 Of course, come in. In weather like this you can\u2019t stay outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She lit the stove, put the kettle on, warmed some milk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014 And where is the child\u2019s mother? \u2014 she asked carefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The man looked away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014 She\u2019s gone. I\u2019m alone with him now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He didn\u2019t talk much, but there was no malice in his eyes \u2014 only exhaustion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The woman made them a bed by the stove, brought an old blanket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014 Rest. In the morning the storm will calm down \u2014 you\u2019ll be able to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But in the morning the woman discovered something terrible
Continuation in the first comment <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the morning she woke up from the silence.
The house was cold, the stove had long gone out.
On the table stood an empty mug and a note lay there:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThank you for the warmth and kindness. Forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The woman smiled \u2014 clearly, he didn\u2019t want to wake her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But when she looked out the window, she noticed that footprints led to the gate \u2014
small ones, as if from children\u2019s boots, and large ones, men\u2019s.
The footprints led to the road and disappeared in the snowdrifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She was about to clear the table when her gaze caught the turned-on TV.
The news was on the screen. The presenter spoke in an agitated voice:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPolice continue searching for the man suspected of kidnapping an infant from the city hospital.
According to preliminary data, he may be dangerous.
Together with the child, he escaped in a dark-colored vehicle.
We ask everyone who has seen him to immediately report it to the police.
His photo is on the screen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The woman froze. Her heart pounded. Her hands began to tremble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe child\u2019s mother begs to return the baby alive. The woman ran to the window in panic. A storm was raging outside. The wind was beating against the windows, snow was falling like a solid wall, the roads were buried so badly that you couldn\u2019t take a single step.When someone knocked on the door, the woman flinched \u2014 no one comes here on a night like this. She carefully approached the door, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wowzy.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wowzy.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wowzy.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wowzy.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wowzy.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2016"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wowzy.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2018,"href":"https:\/\/wowzy.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2016\/revisions\/2018"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wowzy.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wowzy.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wowzy.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wowzy.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
In the photo \u2014 him<\/strong>.
The very same man who had sat in her kitchen the day before, drank tea, nodded when she poured milk for the baby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She is certain the man headed out of town, in the northern direction\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The footprints were still visible \u2014 disappearing into the white emptiness.
She stood there, unable to move, and only now felt how the cold crept under her skin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"