— Do you have no brains at all?! Couldn’t you check everything right away?!
— Step, I was dressing Olya, and somehow I forgot…
— Did you forget your head?
The man stopped abruptly when he saw his neighbor in the doorway. They barely knew each other, as the neighbor had only moved into their building a couple of weeks ago. Stepan didn’t like anyone seeing or hearing their arguments with his wife.
— Good morning, — Stepan greeted gruffly.
— Good morning to you too, — replied the neighbor Roman, observing the man and his companions: a young and somewhat frightened wife and a little daughter.
Stepan’s wife, Anya, gave a modest smile and immediately lowered her gaze. They all entered the apartment, and from behind the closed door, Roman once again heard Stepan shouting.
Roman frowned but didn’t intervene. After all, it might just have been a rough morning. Still, he couldn’t understand how a man could allow himself to yell at a frightened woman, especially in front of a child.
But soon, Roman became preoccupied with his own matters and forgot about his neighbors. At least for a while.
One evening, after returning from work, Roman parked in his yard. He stepped outside, breathing in the fresh spring air. The snow had already melted, and everyone was eagerly awaiting summer. Some people had already taken off their heavy winter coats, now wearing light jackets. Of course, it was still a bit chilly, but the air had a distinct spring scent.
Suddenly, his enjoyment of the warm evening was interrupted by shouting. Roman frowned and then walked toward the direction of the voices.
— Don’t you dare humiliate me! — a man’s voice shouted. — Or else, you know what will happen!
— Stepan, not in front of the child… — the woman pleaded.
Roman got closer and saw a very interesting picture. His neighbor Anya was standing, pressed against a car, with her husband looming over her. Nearby, a little girl stood, shifting her weight from foot to foot, holding a toy to her chest and quietly crying.
— What’s going on? — Roman asked loudly and rather sternly.
— Nothing, just our family business, — Stepan dismissed him, stepping away from his wife.
Roman didn’t rush to leave. He approached Anya, standing between her and Stepan.
— Is everything alright?
Anya looked at her husband and nodded uncertainly.
— Listen, Roman, go on your way. We’ll sort this out ourselves! — Stepan began to get angry. And then, louder, he added, — go, what are you standing there for? He grabbed the daughter’s hand and dragged her toward the entrance. Anya immediately rushed after them, and Roman didn’t know what to do.
On one hand, he should intervene, but on the other hand, he was sure that after his intervention, Anya would just face more trouble.
For a moment, Anya turned back, and in her eyes was such hopelessness.
Roman felt his heart fill with anger.
He knew men like Stepan. His cousin was the same. A domestic tyrant who had intimidated everyone. And when Roman saw his cousin hit his wife, he punched him so hard that the man fell. Afterward, Roman warned him that if he touched her again, he would kill him.
In the end, his cousin’s wife left him. And the cousin stopped talking to Roman, saying, “Why intervene?” But Roman understood that it had to be done. He was happy his cousin’s wife had gotten rid of those shackles.
But it was easier for her: they didn’t have children. Anya, on the other hand, was clearly worried not just about herself but also about her daughter. But why didn’t she leave her husband? Roman didn’t understand that.
The next day, Roman bumped into Anya in the hallway. She was taking her child to kindergarten, and fortunately, Stepan wasn’t around.
— Good morning, Roman, — Anya smiled. Her smile seemed embarrassed, probably remembering how the neighbor had stood up for her.
— Good morning, — Roman replied, and then couldn’t help but ask, — Anya, is everything alright with you? Sorry, but I have to ask, does Stepan behave like a tyrant?
Anya blushed. She adjusted her daughter’s jacket and then looked at Roman.
— Stepan, he’s quick-tempered… It’s hard sometimes. But I’m often to blame too, I can be so scatterbrained.
— Anya, you’re not to blame. Please understand that. And if you have any problems, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’ll help.
— Thank you.
It seemed Anya really believed Roman could help.
A week later, she needed his help. Anya had caught a cold and asked her husband to take their daughter to kindergarten. That’s when another argument between them happened.
He shouted so loudly that probably everyone heard it, including Roman, who had just left his house.
Angry, he knocked on the door. But Stepan, still yelling at Anya and calling her lazy, didn’t even hear the knock. However, little Olya, who was always afraid when her father shouted, did hear it. She was terrified of her father and couldn’t understand why the other children at kindergarten were so happy when their fathers came to pick them up. When Stepan came for Olya instead of her mom, she just wanted to hide somewhere.
Olya, afraid for her mother, opened the door.
— What happened? — Roman asked the little girl. He would talk about not opening doors to strangers later. Right now, he needed to help.
— Daddy is yelling at mommy, — she quietly said, — now he’s going to hit her again…
Roman’s eyes filled with rage. He rushed into the room, and just as Stepan raised his hand…
Without thinking, Roman hit him. Stepan, not expecting any witnesses to his cruelty, froze for a moment, holding his chin where Roman’s fist had landed.
— If you ever raise your hand to her again, you’ll have to deal with me, do you understand?! — Roman barked.
Anya immediately got up and ran to the hallway where her frightened daughter was.
Stepan tried to argue, but when he saw Roman’s threatening stance, he became scared. It wasn’t like fighting with his weak and fragile wife.
Roman left the room and approached Anya.
— You need to leave. At least for your daughter’s sake.
Anya nodded and then quietly said, “Thank you.”
Roman hoped she heard him. But by evening, he realized she hadn’t left.
When they met again, Anya lowered her head and quietly murmured.
— I have nowhere to go. And you scared Stepan so much that he won’t raise his hand to me again.
— He will, Anya, — sighed Roman, — I won’t always be around.
— I still believe people can change, — she quietly said.
— Well, you’re wrong.
But for a while, there was calm. Stepan avoided his neighbor, and when he saw him, he tried to run away. Anya and Olya seemed calmer; the fear was gone from their eyes. Roman thought maybe he had really had such an impact on Stepan.
Anya, on the other hand, was enjoying the peace. Yes, it was easy to judge her, but she really had nowhere else to go. Stepan’s apartment, she was from the village. She came to the city and almost immediately met Stepan. At first, he seemed like such a good man. He gave her gifts, did everything for Anya. It was no surprise that the naive girl, who had little experience with relationships, fell in love with him.
He quickly suggested they move in together, which should have alarmed Anya. But no, she thought he just loved her so much.
Then tragedy struck. Their house in the village burned down, and Anya’s parents died in the fire. She was left with only Stepan. That’s when he felt the power. It’s easy to control someone who has nothing left in life. Someone who now sees you as their whole world.
The arguments and violence didn’t start right away. At first, Stepan mentally pressured her, demanding everything be the way he wanted. When Anya stayed home on maternity leave and stopped working, he started to lash out. He knew his wife and little daughter were completely dependent on him. For the same reason, he forbade Anya from going to work. Otherwise, it would be harder to control her.
And Anya put up with it all, even got used to living like that. Until a superhero named Roman appeared in her life, who stood up for her. She thought no one would ever help her. And she was very grateful to Roman because Stepan really became more restrained. Roman had scared him.
But then everything returned to the way it was. One day, a month after the incident, Anya stood up to Stepan. She decided to fight back, said she was going back to work. He forbade her to do it, but she suddenly decided not to back down. She declared he had no right to stop her.
And then Stepan lost it. He started beating Anya, yelling that she should never argue with him.
He forgot about the daughter. He often forgot about her. But Olya was unusually smart for her age, and last time, she figured out that their new neighbor might be able to protect them.
She quietly slipped out of the apartment and started knocking on the neighbor’s door. Luckily, Roman was home.
He understood everything right away. From Olya’s tear-streaked and frightened face.
Roman asked the girl to sit in his apartment, and then he rushed to help her mother.
If not for Roman, Stepan might have killed his wife. When Roman dragged him off and punched him, Stepan became scared. He knew it would all end badly for him.
Roman knew when to stop. As soon as he saw that Stepan was afraid, he called an ambulance and the police.
Stepan was arrested for attempted murder. Anya was taken to the hospital. Roman reassured her, telling her he would look after Olya. Although Anya didn’t want to leave her daughter with a neighbor, she had no choice. And for now, he was the most reliable person in her life.
Stepan was sentenced to prison for attempted murder. This wasn’t just a domestic dispute anymore, considering Anya’s condition. Once she recovered, she immediately divorced Stepan. She continued living in his apartment, but she went back to work and started saving money. She knew that when her husband got out of prison, she and her daughter would need to run away.
Anya was deeply grateful to Roman. And she was heartbroken when he had to move to another city. He had essentially saved her life.
When he was leaving, he gave her his new address.
— If you decide to make a big change, come. I’ll help.
— Thank you, Roman… If it weren’t for you…
Roman interrupted her.
— You’ll manage. You have your own guardian angel, — he nodded toward Olya. — And never let anyone treat you badly. You’re important to your daughter.
Roman left, and soon met his love and married. Anya also moved to another city. She didn’t want anything to remind her of her past life.
Even when Olya grew up, she still remembered Uncle Roman. And whenever she watched a superhero movie with someone, she always said that they really exist.
