It happened on a perfectly ordinary sunny day — the kind when it feels like nothing bad could ever happen.
Alexey was on his way home from work. His route always passed by a railway crossing — quiet, half-abandoned, where trains rarely passed. He was walking, listening to music, thinking about the upcoming weekend, when he suddenly noticed something moving between the rails.
He stopped.
There, lying on the sleepers right on the tracks, something was twitching.
At first, he thought — trash, a piece of fabric, maybe the wind. But when he looked closer, he realized: it was a tiny fox cub. A little reddish ball of fur, trembling, trying to get free — but its paw was stuck between the metal rail and the wooden tie. It wriggled, whimpered — and the sound made Alexey’s heart clench.
He looked around — no one. No people, no voices. Just a gentle breeze and the distant echo of train horns.
— “Hold on, little one,” Alexey murmured, stepping onto the tracks.
He knelt down, carefully reaching out his hand. The fox cub tried to crawl away, but its paw was firmly trapped. Alexey tried to lift the metal — it wouldn’t move. He pulled harder — nothing.
And then — he heard it.
A low, distant rumble.
He froze.
Lifted his head.
Far away, beyond the curve — a white flash. Headlights.
A train.
The sound grew louder with every second. The air trembled. The iron beneath him began to vibrate — and in an instant, everything inside Alexey turned upside down.
He understood: if he left now, the fox would die. If he stayed — he would.
Time seemed to stop.
He bent down again, trying to free the paw.
— “Come on… please, come on…” he breathed.
The fox whimpered softly, its tiny body shaking. Alexey wedged his fingers under the rail, felt it budge — just a little, but it moved!
He pulled harder, feeling the skin on his palms tear against the stones.
The rumble became deafening.
The rails beneath him vibrated violently. The air was filled with dust, with thunder, with metal and fear.
And then — click!
The paw came free.
The fox cub leapt up — and as if understanding everything, jumped straight into his arms. Alexey grabbed it and ran toward the embankment.
At that exact moment, the train roared past — screaming steel, wind, and force — knocking him off his feet. He fell into the grass, still clutching the little fox to his chest.
The noise slowly faded. The air became clear again.
He lay there, breathing heavily, feeling the tiny, living creature trembling under his hand.
— “It’s okay… you’re safe now,” he whispered.
The fox cub looked at him with amber eyes — scared, but alive. Alexey gently released it, and it limped toward the forest, turning back once — as if to say goodbye.
Alexey remained sitting in the grass, unable to believe it was over. His palms were bloody, his heart pounding like it wanted to break free from his chest. He glanced at the departing train — and only then realized how close it had been.
He sat there for a long time, trying to process what had happened.
And as he finally stood up to leave, he noticed a small drop of blood and a tuft of reddish fur on the rail.
He picked them up, clutching them in his hand.
Then he saw it — on the metal where the paw had been stuck, there was a scratch.
Faint, but shaped like letters.
Three crooked symbols, as if carved by claws:
“LIVE.”
