In the summer of 2008, we often spent time at Masha’s dacha, not far from the town of Chekhov. On weekends, we would go there to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. Sometimes these were quiet days with her grandmother and mother, where I helped with the household and worked in the garden. I especially remember the attic at the dacha—spacious, cozy, and quiet. I even dreamed of making it into a small study for myself.
But there were also times when we gathered with Masha’s friends. Her best friend Nadya Sh., her boyfriend Volodya, Tanya with her boyfriend Dima, and Asya—all of them often joined our get-togethers. Usually, this happened on someone’s birthday or simply to enjoy the country atmosphere, grill shashlik, and have a good time.
One episode stuck in my memory especially well. One morning, when Nadya Sh. and Volodya just wouldn’t wake up, and it was already almost lunchtime, I decided to wake them up in an unusual way—I poured a jug of water right onto their bed. Nadya didn’t let it slide. Sometime later, as I was sitting at the table, a whole pot of water was poured over me. It was her revenge. We all laughed, and although it was a funny incident, surprisingly, it strengthened my relationship with Nadya Sh. After that, we got along even better, and it became one of those memories of cheerful, carefree times.
Masha’s mom often hosted gatherings at home with her friends. Masha and I were often invited to such meetings, to sit together, chat, and meet new people. It was at one of those gatherings that I met several of her friends whom I hadn’t known before. Everyone spoke very well of me, calling me a nice and cool guy.
Once, at the birthday party of one of Masha’s mom’s friends in the Moscow suburbs, I was even asked to act as toastmaster. I gladly agreed and improvised all evening. Judging by the guests’ reactions, I did well: many thanked me and laughed heartily.
However, the evening ended on a strange note. One of Masha’s close friends, after drinking a bit, came up to me and asked if I was going to marry Masha. Honestly, I didn’t feel ready for that then and didn’t know what to answer. I said that maybe it would happen someday. In response, I heard something like “time is passing,” and that was the end of the conversation.
My relationship with Masha gradually deteriorated, especially after our trip to Europe. We started to argue often over trifles. Masha was offended more and more frequently, and I couldn’t understand why. I constantly tried to figure out what exactly was causing her discontent and what I needed to do to fix things. But I didn’t understand what I was doing wrong, and that put a lot of pressure on me. I began to think that maybe the problem was with me—surely a person couldn’t be so upset without a serious reason. So our relationship became more and more tense and confused.
Nevertheless, despite our frequent quarrels, the spring of 2009 was marked by a few events that brought us closer, if only for a short time. One of the most important moments was in April, when Masha supported my decision to change jobs. At that time, I was deeply disappointed in my previous company, where I had worked for four years and saw no prospects for further growth. Masha noticed my dissatisfaction and encouraged me to quit.
On April 30, I finally left my old job, then posted my resume on HeadHunter and started going to interviews. Soon I was offered a job at the Association of Further Professional Education (ADPO)—a company that offered courses in various fields and needed a programmer to develop and support their online presence. I gladly accepted the offer, looking forward to a new stage in my career.
On May 16, the Eurovision final took place, which Masha and I watched at her home. That year, the contest was held in Moscow, on the stage of the Olympiyskiy Sports Complex, and for us, that was a big event in itself. We thoroughly enjoyed following the entire show: the performances, the festive atmosphere, and how Moscow was hosting one of Europe’s most famous music competitions.
We were enjoying the evening in a cozy family atmosphere—Masha’s mom and grandmother were with us. Discussions, jokes, and commentary on the performances made the evening lively and warm. Naturally, Alexander Rybak’s performance from Norway with the song “Fairytale” stood out the most. He won confidently, scoring a record-breaking 387 points, and this victory delighted everyone.
Almost immediately after the final, Masha received a message from her best friend Nadya: “Congratulations to Igor on the win!” Masha, laughing, immediately showed me the text. Nadya explained that she thought I looked a lot like Rybak—both in appearance and manner. She even pointed out a few of our shared character traits. These words made everyone laugh and lifted the mood even more.
At my new job, I met Alexander K., my boss, and Nikolai K., who worked as a contextual advertising manager and SEO specialist. I was to take over management of the company’s billing system and database. After a few successful weeks at work, Alexander unexpectedly offered me a side project—developing a plugin for the popular blogging platform WordPress. The plugin was called WP-Shop, and without hesitation, I agreed. This became my first serious freelance job in this field and was an important step in my further professional growth.
On June 19, it was my birthday, and it turned out to be one of those rare bright moments in that difficult period. We celebrated at the Yolki-Palki restaurant near Tretyakovskaya. Masha’s friends came to the celebration: her best friend Nadya with her boyfriend Volodya, Tanya with her boyfriend Dima, and Asya. On my side, there were my university classmate Slava A. and my best friend Lyosha. The atmosphere was light and joyful, despite the hidden tension in my relationship with Masha.
I was given a DVD player, which at that time seemed like a real technological miracle, and I felt the support of my circle of friends. That day, it seemed to me that maybe things weren’t so bad, and there was something good ahead for Masha and me.
However, there were some unpleasant moments. During the meal, Slava began to show off in front of Nadya. He suddenly announced that a woman shouldn’t tell a man what to do, which didn’t sit well with the others. The tension grew when Slava insulted her boyfriend Volodya. This behavior displeased everyone, and despite the generally friendly atmosphere, I was given a hint that Slava was far from the best friend. Unfortunately, I didn’t pay attention to it then, although now I realize I should have listened.
Meanwhile, my relationship with Masha remained difficult. Despite her support in changing jobs, the tension between us kept growing. We decided to redecorate my room and started putting up new wallpaper together, hoping that this joint project would bring us closer. But the opposite happened. The renovation, which we began with hopes for a better future, turned into a new source of arguments. Every little thing became a reason for another conflict.
By August 2009, our relationship was completely ruined. Instead of bringing us together, the renovation became a catalyst for all the accumulated problems. At the end of the summer, after many attempts to save what we had, we broke up.
At that moment, I felt like I lost not only the person I loved but also the support that had helped me move forward. Before we broke up, Masha said she had turned into a “mommy” for me, and that I needed to learn to be an adult and independent. Those words hurt and made me think. I had always felt I should follow her advice, because she seemed more experienced and mature. Masha had a family—a mother, a grandmother—and lived in a stable, well-established home life, something I could only dream of. Having been an orphan for three years already, I felt lost, with no solid footing in life. That’s why I trusted her judgment, believing her life experience and wisdom could help me cope with my own difficulties.
But over time, this led to the fact that, in Masha’s eyes, I started to look insecure and dependent. She saw how I was losing my independence, how my decisions depended more and more on her opinion. Instead of strengthening our relationship, this undermined its foundation. Everything that seemed right to me became the reason for our alienation. In the end, our once-strong relationship crumbled, like overripe tomatoes.
Even before everything became clear, we had bought tickets to Turkey for September. It was our last attempt to save the relationship—we hoped that a vacation and a change of scenery would help us bring back what we had. But unfortunately, by the time our trip came around, we already knew everything was over.
Our last important conversation happened in the fall in Orekhovo Park, shortly before the trip. We sat on a bench surrounded by falling leaves and talked about how our relationship had run its course. We both understood that this was the end, but still, that evening was important to us. There was no drama—just a calm discussion that our paths had diverged. We decided the breakup was inevitable and parted on good terms.
Still, we didn’t cancel the trip to Turkey. In September, we flew there anyway, but as friends. A couple of Masha’s friends joined us, but even that didn’t help smooth out the sense of finality in our relationship. We decided to get separate beds at the hotel, which was the final sign that the feelings we once had were gone. It was a strange trip—despite all our efforts, we both felt it was the end. When we got back home, it became completely clear that it had been our last trip together.
