In May 2014, while walking along Tretyakovskaya, I stopped by a McDonald’s and saw a sign: “Time to get a job.” That phrase felt like a sign from above, pushing me to try searching for a job again. Over the past year, I had learned Java quite well, taught it to others, and even completed a project for one of my students. These skills gave me confidence in myself.
When I got home, I immediately updated my resume on HeadHunter and made it visible to employers. The calls didn’t take long to come. One offer caught my attention—I was invited to interview at a company that specialized in promoting SAP products. I went to the interview, and I instantly clicked with the team. The interview went well, and soon they made me an offer. My job would be developing online stores on the SAP Hybris platform. This was my first real experience working as a programmer in a large development company, and I gladly accepted the offer.
This was the beginning of a new chapter in my life, one that changed both me and the world around me. Interestingly, this event happened almost exactly a year—eleven months, to be precise—after I had a dream in which angels promised that my life would improve in a year. At the time, I took that dream as something mystical. And now, looking back, I could see how that prophecy slowly came true. It seems that from this moment on, fate began to turn in my favor, and I felt that I was finally moving in the right direction.
Indeed, getting this new job had a huge impact on my mindset and outlook. It was something completely new and exciting because it was my first real job in an IT company. Unlike my previous workplaces, where IT was only a part of the overall process, here I found myself at the very center of development, surrounded by professionals who followed the best industry practices. It was really cool to work in such an environment.
The salary was good, which boosted my confidence. The team was great—I quickly made friends with my colleagues. Interestingly, just a week after I started, our client invited us for a boat ride along the Moscow River. It was a breath of fresh air after a long period of struggling to find my place in the world. I felt like I was finding myself again, connecting with interesting people and rejoining a business environment.
I became friends especially quickly with Marina, one of the developers. She turned out to be a very pleasant and intelligent conversationalist, and we immediately hit it off. We often talked not only about work but also about personal topics, which brought us closer. Soon I met another team member—a designer who worked on the visual aspects of our projects. To my surprise, she was also into pole dance, just like Nadya. I even thought it was some kind of epidemic—suddenly everyone was getting into this sport! But honestly, it made me think of Nadya. At that moment, I took it as a sign—as if higher powers were reminding me that I wouldn’t be able to forget her.
I also befriended the girls at the reception desk, who were always friendly and welcoming. Their warmth and support created a special atmosphere of comfort and coziness in the office, which helped me adapt more quickly to my new workplace. Thanks to these relationships, I felt that I had found not just a new job but a new team where I was genuinely appreciated and supported.
Additionally, the company started inviting me to various conferences, which helped me get even deeper into the IT world. At one of these conferences, I met representatives from SAP, and it was an incredible experience. These events broadened my horizons and allowed me to dive into the most advanced developments and ideas in the industry.
Thanks to my new job, I was able to quickly pay off all my debts, including the car loan I had taken out for Nadya back in 2012. I hadn’t had the car for a long time, but I finally paid off that loan, and the sense of freedom was incredible.
My life began to improve: I joined a swimming pool and started swimming regularly, mastering all the main styles—freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, and breaststroke. To improve my technique more quickly, I hired an instructor who started teaching me how to swim. We trained regularly, and I often went to her sessions right during my lunch break. It became a great way for me to stay in shape and take my mind off work. The training took place at the X-Fit sports club in Nagatinskaya, which, by the way, was also where my office was located. Thanks to this, I could easily combine work and sports, which noticeably improved my well-being and boosted my confidence.
However, by the end of summer 2014, with the onset of sanctions and the rising dollar exchange rate, I began to feel a gradual decrease in my real income. Although the situation was not yet critical, this change started to affect my overall mood. Nevertheless, I kept playing sports, trying to distract myself from these changes and focus on improving my physical and emotional state.
One day in August 2014, Kolya K. called me. He suggested I come visit him, have a chat, and spend some time together. Kolya was curious about how I was doing and whether I was still involved in those training programs. I replied that I wasn’t participating anymore.
Kolya welcomed me warmly, along with his girlfriend, and we spent the evening talking. During dinner, I got an unexpected call from my aunt Galya. She said she couldn’t reach my grandmother and asked me to try calling her as well. As soon as Kolya overheard this conversation, his reaction was unexpected—he literally choked and stared at me in surprise. “You told me you had no relatives,” he said, clearly confused. At that moment, I realized that his plans were not going the way he had hoped.
Later, I realized that Kolya, along with Vasya, had never given up hope of taking my apartment, and the appearance of additional relatives ruined their schemes. I noticed that Kolya’s behavior changed, but I decided not to pay much attention to it. After that visit, I never saw Kolya K. again. Only once did we exchange messages on VKontakte, where I told him directly what I thought of his attempt to take my apartment. His reply was a brief “Wish me to burn in hell.” We never spoke again.
This situation brought me new pain and an even stronger awareness that I was not living in a world of illusions. My problems were real, and they were not the result of my own mistakes or wrong actions. I was deliberately being attacked, deceived, and used, and I had to do everything I could to defend myself and fight back against these attacks.
