A PASSENGER in the carriage has gone into labor!

— A long time ago. I… after one incident, I preferred solitude. I thought it would be easier.

Irina remained silent, afraid to frighten this moment.

“I was a doctor at the district hospital,” he continued. “Once… I lost a patient. A baby. It was a serious case. No one blamed me. But I couldn’t forgive myself. I left medicine. I left people.”

He paused.

“And then… I saw you in that carriage. And I thought: if fate gives me another chance, I have no right to miss it.”

Irina felt her eyes filling with tears.

“You did everything right,” she said quietly.

Andrey nodded.

— Thanks to you. Your trust. Your courage.

They sat in the café for a long time, talking as if they’d known each other forever. It turned out Andrey loved old books, was a keen fisherman, and dreamed of someday building his own house on the shore of a lake.

And for the first time in many years, Irina felt like not just a guide between stations and people, but a person who could be trusted with the most precious things.

When they went outside, it was snowing.

Andrey took Irina by the hand, carefully, as if he was afraid of scaring her.

And suddenly it became clear: the train of their lives had finally converged on the same track.

And now they faced a shared journey. A journey without loneliness. A journey full of new encounters, hopes, and, perhaps, happiness.