The whole fate of Vasily Fivevsky seemed to be subservient to a cruel and inscrutable fate. As if marked by some unknown curse, from his youth he bore the burden of sorrow, illnesses, and losses—and the bleeding wounds in his heart never healed. Among people he remained lonely—like a planet among other planets—and it seemed that around him, invariably, there hung a special, deadly and poisonous atmosphere, similar to an invisible transparent cloud…