It was about ten o’clock at night at the time. We were getting ready to go to bed as a family. The kids were barely put to bed, and I was just pouring milk for the youngest and was excited to get in the shower. Suddenly, the intercom rang.
Due to the fact that our windows overlook the courtyard, from the balcony you can see who came. I wondered who it was that decided to drop by so late, knowing we had small children. You never know who it could be: neighbors had forgotten their keys, emergency workers, an ambulance for one of our neighbors. Understandably, I opened the door without question.
I saw some young guys on the porch of the house, who probably wanted to go into the entryway to get warm. But I decided not to, because I was well aware that it would be enough to let them in once, and then they would come back all the time.
For example, I always get calls from the letter carrier and the cleaning lady. During the daytime I always pick up the phone and try to do it as quickly as possible so that the loud sounds don’t wake up my son, as it so happens that when they come, my child is asleep.
I’m about to have my third baby and my pregnancy is coming to an end, I’m getting slower every day and I have to do a lot of things by force.
I started putting my son to bed. I had turned off the lights all over the apartment by then. There was silence in the house. My baby began to peacefully snooze, another ten minutes, and I too could go to sleep. There was the long-awaited rest!
But this was not destined to happen, as the doorbell rang again. My husband went to answer it. The kids immediately jumped up and went to meet the overnight guests. I shouted to my husband that he did not open, because it is the youth of mischief.
However, the husband picked up the intercom. At first he expressed his dissatisfaction with the night visit, but then let the guest in. The night visitor was the man from whom we bought this house almost two years ago.
We bought the apartment with furniture at the time, despite the fact that it was all still Soviet, it was in perfect condition. We then got a wall, bed, kitchen cabinets, a few rugs, two armchairs, sofa and benches from the previous owners. We then with difficulty, all this furniture gave away, because we wanted to, as soon as possible to start to make repairs in the new house.
The former owner of the apartment came with the purpose that we returned him all the furniture that was in the apartment at the time of the sale. The man, when he came in, did not even apologize for coming so late.
– Good evening, I came by to tell you to give me back that chair on wheels.
– There was a lot of furniture here, but no chair.
– That can’t be, it was to the right of the balcony door.
– We gave away all the furniture you left behind and didn’t keep anything, but the chair you’re talking about was gone.
– What do you mean it wasn’t there, I know it was. You can go see if it’s still there! You just didn’t see it!
– You can go and see for yourself that it’s not there, there’s nothing left of the last furnishings of the apartment.
– When the apartment was sold, my son told me to take whatever I wanted as a keepsake for my mother-in-law. I took some things back then, but I forgot about the chair. But now I need it badly, please give it back!
– You understand that there was no chair! – I was beginning to get angry.
– I understand, you just don’t want to give it back, you need it yourself. I understood everything, goodbye!
– If you next time you want to see how things have changed in your former apartment, then please come in the afternoon and do not think up any silly excuses.
When the man left, I asked my spouse if he remembered the chair, since I don’t think I saw it. The spouse didn’t know which chair was in question either. We bought the apartment in the late summer of 19 and if I had known at that time that exactly one year later we would also buy a cottage, I would never have given this furniture away, because we would have needed it so much ourselves.
I even felt sorry for the man, as not even an enemy would wish for him to be alone at the age of sixty. His son now lives in St. Petersburg, his wife died eight years ago, and three years ago his mother-in-law, with whom he had an excellent relationship, also died. The man visited her regularly, and they also went to his dacha together. It is clear that he is very lonely now. That is probably why he decided to visit the old apartment.
But he found a rather unusual reason!
