AFTERWORD FROM THE WIFE (THE REAL ONE)

We were an ordinary family. He was into books and his quest for truth. I was into lessons, checking notebooks, reports, and pickles in jars. We didn't expect anything special from the future. We just wanted to be together. Just to live.

When he disappeared, I thought he had left. When she appeared, I thought he had betrayed me. It turned out that he had been called up for military service. And I was left with nothing but my son, my memories, and the care of the state.

I knew he wasn't a coward. He always said, “You can't speak the truth loudly if you don't have the strength to defend it. But to remain silent forever is to betray yourself.”

He wasn't a hero. He didn't rush into battle. But he went where others didn't dare to go. Even if it meant putting on someone else's face. Even if it meant giving us up.

I didn't forgive him. But I don't blame him either.

He was honest with himself. And I was honest with my son. I taught him to count, and he taught him not to be afraid. I wanted him to be loyal, and he wanted him to know the truth. Maybe that's what made him the man he is.

If you've read to the end, know this: behind every historical doppelganger, there are those who loved the real person. And as long as we remember who he was before all this, he is still alive.

Angel, his wife. The one who stayed.