Two

But the man said calmly, "Tell me, Paul, how were you? How did you constantly treat your sister? And it's no different today, is it?"

"Damn you too! You're annoying me already! I'm uncomfortable and cold in my house ... and you're asking me questions like that! What do you actually want? What do you want to hear?"

The voice paused, then said softly,"I want to hear your conscience. I want to know how you were and how you are now. I want to know if you feel sorry for yourself."

"Do I feel sorry for myself? You are crazy? After all, these things happened thirty years ago! Who cares today!"

"Who? Well, me. I need to know so I can let you move on. So again. How did you treat your sister?"

After these words, Paul succumbed to the pressure of the unknown and began to pour ashes on his head:"Damn you! Yes, I treated my sister like an idiot! What a total rubberized and heartless idiot!"

Paul's words were repeated in the receiver. - If an idiot! What a rubbery idiot! Heartless! Then there was silence and Paul hung up. Unable to calm down, he ran nervously from room to room, trying to gather his thoughts, but he couldn't. He ran out in front of the house. He realized that thick snow was falling, which together with the strong wind he created in his garden snow kicks. When he saw a forest immersed in a thick fog behind the fence, from which the screams of game sounded, he had no desire or courage to go any further, to enter the forest. He stood in front of the house. The distress of what he was experiencing came over him, he felt like a wheel in a fence. After a while, he returned to the bottom of the house. He thought he should try to find a clue to his daughters and his wife, Kiara. He didn't know where they were going. When did they leave. Even when they will return and whether they will return at all. They've been gone a long time. And he found himself abandoned in isolation in his own house. The only companion was an old telephone that had never worked before. He didn't find a single cell phone in the house. You could not explain what had happened and why everyone had left him. He felt terribly depressed. Where are all the neighbors and where is the river? What actually happened here was that he was left completely alone… The phone started ringing again. It was around twelve o'clock in the afternoon. Paul picked up the phone in disgust. "So what would you like to know this time?" An unknown man on the phone laughed softly. "Paul, tell me. What were you like once and what are you like now? I'm interested in that. Would you like to change something for yourself? Paul no longer wanted to deal with himself, he couldn't think much.

"Change to yourself? There is nothing to change about me."

The man asked in surprise.

"Really ?! And why did they all leave you? Because you're so perfect?​​"

Paula's chest twisted, his breath quickening, and he began to respond more quickly to the stranger's questions.

"How do you know everyone left me? Where did they go? Do you know where they are? Can you give me someone on the phone? Please, I want to hear them!"

The man mumbled something softly, it was incomprehensible, then he asked Paul the question: "So you ask me? Do you understand how much power I have? It's not time to talk to anyone yet, Paul. The time will come when you will answer all my questions."

Paul was completely nervous about the stranger and provoked him to express his feelings: "I will answer you! Ask what you want! I want my wife Kiara and my daughters back! I'm here alone and I can't go anywhere. I'm numb here and I'm starting to cry out for everyone. Where are they? I don't care about a life like this!"

Instead of answering, Paul again asked Paul, "How did you treat your wife Kiare most often?"

Paul swallowed blankly and gasped for breath.

"Well, how should I treat her. Normal. Although sometimes I didn't have much time for her because of work."

"Really? Did you treat her normally? And that's why she's left you and your daughters now?"

That was too much for Paul. His tension escalated, raising a lot of doubt in him. He began to realize that probably not everything was as he had thought. One-sided. Each situation had a different impact on its participants. People near Paul mostly suffered when he was rude, rude, arrogant and hurt them.

"Then I'll tell you how I behaved," Paul said into the phone, "as ignorant and wisest in the world! I didn't notice Kiara when she had a hard time and needed my support. I was selfish and inattentive. I was just acting blind. As if I didn't see her pain and suffering. Literally blind ignorant!"

After this confession, Paul's words were repeated on the receiver. Blind ignorant! Blind ignorant! Blind ignorant! And there was silence. Paul hung up and, being very mentally exhausted, lay down on the couch for a while. He pulled on a blanket as the dog was cold all over the house. In his thoughts, he wandered far into the past until childhood. The memories became painful for him. Now he realized what a bad person he was who required the admiration and respect of those around him. His ego has never been defeated. Only today is the time to make amends. Paul had no idea where the voice of the unknown came from. All he wanted was his family and everyone close. In his mind, he imagined what little Joy might look like today and how he would probably react if he met him face to face. Suddenly he saw people he was hurting, directly or indirectly. Everyone left him and he remained trapped in this house in the middle of an unknown forest. There is no leakage. And he doesn't dare go to the forest. Nobody knows the pitfalls in it. Around two o'clock in the afternoon, the old telephone rang again. Paul didn't hesitate for a moment and picked him up again. But there was silence on the phone, so the first one began to say, "Are you there? Why don't you say anything? What would you like to know again?"

The man spoke in an exalted tone.

"What would I like to know? I know everything you've done in your life, Paul. My job is to remind you of all this! So, for example, what about the little neighbor's dog you're throwing sticks at?"

Paul was stunned again, unable to say a word. And the man continued to speak.

"People everywhere in the world have a lot in common. Only at the end of their lives will they see repentance. For me, it is very funny and sad at the same time, what mistakes you are making and many of you do not even try to correct it. Only when you find yourself alone and abandoned in life will you understand everything. Nothing is more than love and forgiveness. The rest is irrelevant. And that's your case, too. Can you forgive? Can you really love and love your loved ones? To this day, he has shown no regret. Hardness, cruelty, arrogance, ignorance, arrogance, pride - these are your predominant qualities. You haven't shown me a single good trait yet. And that's why you're here now. Tell me, what would you like to do in life?"

Paul gasped and gripped the receiver until his palms began to sweat.

"And who are you if you are not human? How come you know everything about me? Where do you have such power that you imprisoned me in my own house?"

Paul asked. "You only have questions, Paul, and no answers I'd like to hear. Who am I? Maybe in your understanding of the world, I could have a name - Karma. You will be responsible to me for everything you have done in your life and how you have behaved all your life. I will give you back everything you deserve. I will remind you endlessly of every single situation in which you have sinned, even your worst deeds. And your old phone is enough for that. I don't give you a choice. You will have to answer, because now is your time. All you have to do is give me a brief answer to everything. So I ask you again: Why did you hurt little Joy? What made you do that?"

Paul shuddered and began to despair at this strange situation in which he found himself.

"I ... I was a bad person! Had enough! I don't want to live like this anymore! I want to go to Joy and apologize to him! I'm so sorry! God, forgive me all this !!!"

The man on the phone changed the tone of his voice again: "So you want to apologize? What made you do that? If I gave you such a chance, would you look for him and apologize to him? And what about other people? Your sister who always lived in your shadow… and your wife Kiara? What would you say to your wife? Did you understand that she felt alone in marriage to you? Have you understood your behavior towards your surroundings since you came to this world? And what is your mission on this earth, do you know ...? You don't have to answer me right away. I...am your karma. Once you understand where your place is and how to live and love all the people around you ... then I will release you. But if your ego does not undergo transformation, you will become my prisoner in this house forever. And I will remind you every day of all your missteps and mistakes you have made in your life. It's all up to you. But the third hour is approaching in the afternoon."

"And what does it mean that the third hour is approaching?"

Paul asked, confused by this information. There was a moment of silence, then an unknown man said his last sentence in a low voice that day.

"Paul, it's possible to make contact now. Maybe you can do it."

"What contact? Who will I contact?" Paul demanded. But there was silence in the receiver, so Paul hung it up. He looked at the clock in the living room and marvel at the world - it showed exactly three o'clock in the afternoon. He didn't understand ... he sat down on the couch and tried to figure it out. But he was pretty nervous ... and very lonely. He began to doubt that his strange hell in the house would ever change. Then he began to walk soullessly from one room to another. It was empty and dark everywhere. He opened the front door and immediately heard screams from the forest ... from the terrifying forest that held his house captive. Perhaps for the hundredth time he had asked himself the question: What does all this mean? Well, he didn't figure it out. He closed the front door and considered. Who can I connect with ?! He walked over to the old phone. He told himself that he would try to call his wife Kiare on her cell phone again. He dialed her slowly and waited for what would happen.