Answer and Explanation:
In literature, falling action refers to the opposite of rising action, meaning it takes place after the climax. It is characterized by a decrease in tension. In the short story "Condensed Milk", by Varlam Shalamov, the main character is a prisoner at a Gulag, a concentration camp in Soviet Russia. He is offered a chance to escape the camp by another prisoner. The main character, who is sick and starving, asks the other man to bring him condensed milk to drink before they move on with their plan.
The climax takes place when he drinks the two cans of condensed milk while being watched by the fellow prisoners. It is a moment of sweetness, of bliss - something he hasn't had in quite a long time. As soon as he is done, as soon as the others go away after watching him drink to the last drop, the falling action begins. The main character tells the other prisoner he will not escape with him. Then he describes what happens to the other escapees - something he knew would happen all along. They are either killed or condemned to worse sentences.