After New Year’s, strange things started happening at the company: the number of orders began to drop, and the overall situation was getting worse. Although I wasn’t aware of all the business details, I vividly remember the sudden arrival of the company owner, who had always stayed in the shadows. Besides Olga Borisovna, we had another, main boss. Later, I learned that this person lived wherever he pleased and used our company simply as a source of income. However, when things went south, he suddenly showed up and decided to take matters into his own hands. Olga Borisovna stepped aside, and the owner personally started managing the company.
From that moment, complete chaos began: every day brought new changes. Noise and commotion flooded our workdays. Massive layoffs began, employees faced changes in their responsibilities, and soon the situation spun entirely out of control. It seemed like things were only getting worse, and it became obvious that the company’s condition was deteriorating.
The situation continued to worsen, and soon the crisis peaked. One of the key moments that influenced later events happened at a corporate event. From the very start, Nikolai K. tried to build a close relationship with the company owner, using various methods to move up the career ladder. He looked for personal gain and tried to appear indispensable. However, behind the scenes, something else was happening: Nikolai K. got involved in a shady scheme, which turned out to be very disadvantageous for someone in the company. He used his position to pull off this deal, deceiving either a colleague or a client of the company. Even for me, the details of the scheme were not entirely clear, but rumors spread quickly.
This behavior didn’t go unnoticed. Despite Nikolai K.’s attempts to befriend the owner, the latter soon found out what had happened. Shortly after this incident, Nikolai K. was fired.
Around this time, big changes were starting to happen across the country. The authorities decided to rename the “militsiya” to the “police,” and starting from March 1, 2011, the new law officially took effect. This event became a symbol of transition and a new order, associated with other changes both in society and inside the company where I worked.
After Nikolai K. was fired, the owner’s attention shifted to me. One day, at the end of the workday, he unexpectedly invited me to a restaurant. This was my first conversation with him on such a level, and I felt the full weight of the moment. We met in the evening, and instead of a business conversation over a cup of coffee, as I had expected, the evening quickly became more informal. We drank, and the conversation became more relaxed.
Over a glass of strong liquor, the owner started talking about the company’s future and soon offered me the position of head of the internet department. This offer caught me off guard. I was flattered by his trust, but even so, I kept thinking that the company was rapidly falling apart. I wasn’t sure I could handle such a huge responsibility amid all the chaos.
The next morning, thinking about the situation with a clearer head, I went over the offer several times in my mind. I discussed it with my manager, but in the end, I decided to decline. The company was too unstable, and it seemed wiser to stay in the position where I felt more confident—handling programming, managing databases, and maintaining our websites.
Some time later, it became clear that keeping the main office on Khokhlovsky Lane no longer made sense: the rent was too expensive for a company in such a crisis. As a result, departments started moving to other offices, and our internet department relocated to a basement on Yauzsky Boulevard.
Soon after, the situation became even more unpredictable: the owner suddenly disappeared. He was replaced by a woman named Ekaterina—his wife, who took over the company’s management. The leadership changed again, but this brought no stability. I finally realized I couldn’t stay in this chaos any longer and decided to quit.
After quitting, an unusual period began. Honestly, I had no strong desire to immediately look for a new job, especially since summer was coming—a wonderful time of year. Besides, I had already managed to save enough money thanks to a good salary and extra gigs. I felt like I had caught my “bird of happiness”: I felt confident, calm, and enjoyed life.
During that period, I started hanging out more with Vasya and Zhenya. Neither of them had a steady job and continued to do their own thing around the neighborhood. Since I was no longer tied down by work obligations, I had more free time, and they started appearing in my life more and more. One day I decided to buy a poker set, and this idea brought us even closer. We started gathering at my place regularly, learning the rules and subtleties of the game. The first rounds were full of mistakes and funny moments, but gradually we became more skillful players.
During our get-togethers, we often listened to the song “CENTR – Gorod Dorog” (“City of Roads”). Its lyrics about friendship, searching for your own path, and living in a big city deeply resonated with us. The song reflected our own feelings and emotions, strengthening the sense of unity and understanding. It became a kind of soundtrack to our time together, binding us even closer. We spent time together as if we were back in school days, when friendship seemed indestructible. Vasya often said that school friendships were the most important thing, and looking back at our shared memories, I really started to appreciate these relationships. We’d known each other for about 13 years, and that feeling of long, “time-tested” friendship seemed to tie us more strongly than any misunderstandings or his questionable activities.
On my twenty-third birthday, Vasya brought something unexpected—cocaine. He suggested we try it, and honestly, it was one of the most unusual moments of my life. The sensations from cocaine were strange but exciting. It’s like instantly winning the lottery—euphoria, an immediate high. We sat on the balcony, listened to an Argentine song dedicated to cocaine, and at that moment it felt like time had stopped. That was the first time I tried the drug.
But from that point, events started to unfold very differently than I expected. The next day, Vasya asked to borrow 60,000 rubles from me. For me, it was a significant sum, about two thousand dollars, and I had never lent him that much before. Still, I felt our friendship, based on many years together, demanded support, and I thought I could trust him. I’d always been an honest and responsible person, earning my money by honest work, so I expected the same from those around me. Despite my inner doubts, I agreed to lend him the money.
Soon, I decided that my disabled brother and I needed to spend some time together, get away from it all, and recharge with positive emotions. We chose Turkey as our vacation spot. My brother had long dreamed of seeing the sea, and I was happy to make his dream come true.
We spent an amazing week there. The sun, sea, and warm Turkish climate gave us unforgettable moments. Every day was filled with walks along the coast, excursions, and pleasant conversations. Seeing my brother enjoying each new day, I realized this trip wasn’t just an escape from everyday worries, but also an important experience that strengthened our bond.
In the evenings, after a full day, I liked to relax with a bottle of beer and listen to my favorite song—“CENTR – Nebo, Mne by Eyo Pozabyt’” (“The Sky, I Wish I Could Forget Her”). In those moments, I often thought of Masha. We had broken up a long time ago, but her image and memories of our time together still stayed with me. This song became a symbol of that period for me, when I could forget my worries and sink into my thoughts. Along with this track, I also liked listening to “CENTR – Legko Li Byt’ Molodym” (“Is It Easy to Be Young”)—it, too, reflected my inner thoughts about life and about time, which seemed to be flying by too fast. Those quiet minutes spent with music and beer let me truly appreciate the moments of happiness my brother and I had experienced in Turkey, and reflect on everything that was happening in my life.
Returning home, I felt satisfied and happy that I’d been able to give my brother such memories. Turkey left us with many warm memories in our hearts, and this experience became one of the brightest moments of our lives.
