His palm touched the railing and weightless specks of dust rose into the air. They whirled around in a ridiculous dance for a couple of moments and settled down again, but this time on the old wooden steps. Every step she took creaked, and the stairs were worn out with age. She remembered hundreds, thousands of people, recognizing them by their expensive shoes, soft slippers, and even a little girl's pointe shoes.
Mary remembered herself in this house, where everything was now crumbling under the yoke of old age and mustiness. At this table, my father always read a fresh, crisp newspaper, while spearing fried eggs with a fork. And there, by the window, my mother was crying when my father packed up his things and left.

And on these very steps, when they were strong and young, Mary ran with her favorite dog. Dodge was a wonderful white puppy. The woman remembered how her father screamed when she brought a mongrel little lump from the street. But the daughter started crying and Dodge stayed. She was generally forgiven a lot, as soon as she burst into tears. But the older Mary got, the less it worked.
Mom used to scream at the very bottom of the stairs, at that moment little Mary in pointe shoes was trying to gracefully climb up. She imagined herself to be a movie diva, a secular beauty. In her childhood imagination, all these noble ladies walked on stairs, red paths, and even marble, always wearing pointe shoes. The attempt was unsuccessful, and the girl fell, hitting her knee painfully.

The long creak of a step, the new cry of a weeping tree. Mary slowly descended, without removing her palm from the railing. This damn house didn't bring happiness to anyone, not even the new owners. My father bought it nine years before Mary was born. Two of her brothers were born here, four years apart. But they were born dead, and children's laughter did not begin to sound here for a long time.

Mary's best childhood memories were connected with Dodge, and oddly enough with ballet lessons, as well as climbing stairs in those pointe shoes (there were many attempts). Mom, a very famous ballerina in the past, left her career at the insistence of her husband. Mary knew that her mother had always regretted this and kept her worn but happy pointe shoes until her death. There was no question of who her daughter would become, everything was a foregone conclusion. Mary did not become a ballerina, but having achieved considerable success in the field of law, she could not impress her mother.
My father drank a lot and often. When he came home, he drained the prepared glass of strong drink and only then told how his day had gone. He never played with his daughter and never said that he loved her. His whole life consisted of partners, contracts, banks and money. Money... Mary understood even as a child that it was her father's greatest love.

The woman passed the last step and stepped onto a rotten carpet that once cost fabulous money. There were yellowed, stained photographs on the walls. Here, Dad signed his first million dollar contract, and here, mom holds her newborn daughter in her arms. In this picture, a tearful ten-year-old girl blows out candles on an enormous cake.
The tenth birthday, which was etched into her memory. The father entered the room with a huge bag of sweets in one hand and a large doll in the other.

"Look, she's talking!" – he said, pressing on the palm of the toy.
- Mom! The doll exclaimed.

Mary remembered jumping on the bed and being happy, hugging her father's neck, but not because of the doll. She believed that Dad really loved her, he came to her so early to congratulate her. I didn't go to work, I bought her a doll! Mary, by the way, never played with it afterwards, and left it in a gift box.

A couple of hours later, the girl went down to the kitchen, where her mother was sobbing, sitting on the wide windowsill. There was no housekeeper in sight, and there was no one at the festive table. Mary remembered her mother's haunted look, the leaking mascara, and the smoking cigarette in her hand.

"You don't have a daddy anymore, baby," she said hoarsely.
"Mom, did something happen to him?" – the girl asked in fright.
"Do you remember Aunt Elin, Elin Carte?" The blonde one that your dad introduced to us as the niece of a business partner and best friend. Now this slut will be his new wife. And he left us, baby. Threw.

An hour later, the guests started coming and the mother put herself in order, looked happy and cheerful. She was terribly afraid that someone would figure it out. She's always been like this. But Mary couldn't do that, and she blew out the candles, crying and upset. Her mother took a picture of her and probably sent a copy of the picture to her father.

This whole mansion was disgusting in his memories. No, it was definitely once a beautiful Victorian house. Outwardly, everything was perfect, but inside, he was rotting and infecting his household with his rot from the inside. The rich interior decorations, luxurious carpets, painted vases, natural wood – all the guests were delighted. But only the door would close behind them, and all the masks would fall off their faces, revealing a mother angry at her husband and a drinking father. And somewhere in the corner of his room there is also a crying child.

- Well, what have you decided? Suddenly, a plump man interrupted her thoughts, peering through the ajar front door.
"Take down this junk so that no stone is left unturned," Mary said calmly, brushing off her dusty hands.
"Are you sure?" It's a real masterpiece of architecture! – the same man asked again.
- Yes, I'm sure.
- Have you already chosen what you will build on this site? We have offered you several projects, if you remember.
- I remember. But I don't need a new home. I want to take it all down to a level and smooth ground so that it turns black from its own nakedness. And then set up a garden with roses and fruit trees, a playground and turn it into a public garden. I will not tolerate any more objections! Mary snapped.
- As you say, we will prepare a new project, - the man quickly said apologetically.

She left the house through the open door in front of her and got into an expensive shiny car of a famous brand. She answered the driver's question briefly and looked one last time towards the house, which stared back with empty eye-sockets. He seemed dead, as if he had suffered from an unpleasant and incurable disease for years, and then died in agony and absolute loneliness. 1xBet's casino welcome package of ₹140,000. The 1xBet promo code users in India are eligible to receive a boost of 150% up to ₹66000; one of the highest welcome bonuses in the Indian betting market. This bonus is truly a can't miss promotion as it is significantly higher than most other sportsbook offer their new customers. Most books will cap out at a deposit bonus of 100% or lower and will usually offer amounts much lower than the max ₹66000 that you can receive here. Therefore, it would be foolish not to take advantage of this opportunity to get your 1xBet betting journey off on the right foot!