Milana had long wanted to buy a little house in the countryside. She had searched for that perfect spot with a river nearby, a forest, and magnificent nature. Mila had spent her entire life in the “concrete jungle”—that’s what she called her city.
— And when will you fulfill your dream?— she thought to herself.
— Time passes so quickly. I’m already 35, and yet I still can’t bring my plans to life,— she told Pavel.
Milana had been seeing a young man for two years, but she had yet to receive a marriage proposal from him.
For two months, Mila traveled to the surrounding villages in search of a house. But she just couldn’t choose the one that truly captivated her.
On one sunny day, she and Pavel drove to see a very modest, cozy house.
— There it is! I found it! How lovely it is.
The little house was indeed very beautiful, and the location was ideal. There was a river nearby and a forest not far off. The only problem was that no one had lived there for a long time. Inside, it smelled damp, and cobwebs covered the windows. There was only a little furniture in the house: an old sofa, a rocking chair, and a sideboard.
Mila knew that, in any case, it would need renovations.
— Who lived here before?— Milana asked the realtor.
— Oh, this house has been without owners for about three years. An old man lived here! May he rest in peace. His daughter was indecisive for a long time—whether to sell it or not.
— Perhaps he was waiting for you. Your future mistress,— the realtor Vasily said with a smile.
Milana already imagined how, early in the morning, she would open the window, pour herself some herbal tea, and enjoy this little paradise to the sound of birdsong.
For two months, Milana and Pavel renovated the house. They replaced the windows, the floors, and plastered the walls. Only the cellar still needed work, but they decided to tackle that later.
And then came the long-awaited moment of moving in.
Milana moved all her essential belongings. For a while, she decided to live in both houses. She had to finish a work project. In the city, Mila had a small one-room apartment that her parents had bought five years ago.
But buying the house was her pride. After all, she had earned it all by herself.
On Friday evening, Mila decided to spend the night at the house. She finished all her tasks, and now she only needed to be in the city on Monday. Milana worked as a designer at a large firm.
Pavel supported her and said that he would definitely come to see her the next evening.
Mila arrived at the house. She comfortably settled into her soft, cozy chair. She took her favorite book, turned on the floor lamp, and with great delight, immersed herself in a romance novel.
No sooner had she looked around than the moon appeared outside the window. Mila stretched and went to make the bed.
She was thinking about her book’s characters when a little bell interrupted her thoughts. At first, Mila thought she was imagining things—the sound was coming from outside.
Milana looked out the window and noticed the figure of a young woman in a flowing cream dress. She seemed to be floating above the ground, holding a little bell in her hand.
— What’s wrong?— the young woman shouted, but she only received the same ringing in response. The whole situation was growing more and more unsettling.
Outside, it was already getting dark. Milana’s thoughts became jumbled with guesses.
— I’ll go out now, and everything will fall into place,— Mila thought.
She put on her cardigan and hurried to find the mysterious stranger. But once she stepped outside, she saw no one. Only a white cat was meowing loudly, and in the distance, dogs were barking.
Mila returned home and went to sleep. — Yes,— she thought, — sometimes these things happen.
But the strangeness didn’t end there. Just as Mila was about to fall asleep, she heard a knock on the window through her drowsiness.
Mila startled, but to resolve the situation, she quickly ran to the window. To her surprise, there was no one there. It was quiet and calm.
— Alright,— Mila murmured to herself. — I must have imagined it. I was almost asleep.
— I’m in a new house. And, of course, everything feels unfamiliar,— Milana reassured herself.
— I can’t wait for morning,— she said, and, exhausted, dozed off.
At four in the morning, Mila practically jumped out of bed. She heard music playing in the cellar. It was unbearably frightening.
Milana decided that she would no longer go to sleep and turned on all the lights. Settling comfortably in the kitchen, she poured herself a mug of hot coffee and began to wait for morning.
Mila tried to analyze what was happening. But she was too scared to look into the cellar. It seemed to her that the hairs on her head were standing on end. And after that, she never heard any more sounds or music.
Mila sat in the kitchen for two hours, quietly sipping her coffee and reassuring herself that morning would come soon. At six in the morning, she couldn’t resist and decided to lie down in the chair without turning off the light.
After half an hour, she woke up. Her legs had gone completely numb from the uncomfortable position. And when Mila realized that the lights were off, she, without thinking, rushed out into the yard. Near the window, she noticed a dead crow.
— So that’s what the knocking was last night,— Mila said.
She ran through the village until she calmed down and realized that there was no one else on the street. And she had nowhere to go.
Suddenly, Milana heard the creak of a door at the house where she was staying. A young man had appeared.
Mila was overjoyed and quickly approached the young man. She didn’t know how to start the conversation or what to ask.
— If I tell the truth, they’ll think I’m crazy,— she thought.
— Young man, did you know the old man who lived at 43 Lesnaya Street?
— I live in that house now. It’s my first night here, and everything feels so unfamiliar and a little unsettling.
— Yes, I see that you’re trembling. How can I help you? Are you scared? I have to go to the city for work now, but if you need help—
— You’re going to the city? Please, may I come with you?— Mila asked.
— Of course, hop in. I’ll give you a ride.
Mila got into the car with Oleg—that was the young man’s name. She decided to go to Pavel’s, as the keys to her city apartment were still there.
Oleg began to talk about the village and then unexpectedly asked,
— Why did you decide to buy this house? Although, of course, you don’t know the whole truth.
Mila’s heart began to race.
— The old man lived here alone only in his last year. Actually, he and his wife, Elizabeth, lived here for many years. But she was a strange woman.
— They say that in this house Elizabeth used to cast love spells on women. And I don’t know whether it’s true or not, but there was one case. A young woman named Maria once became pregnant. She hid her unwanted pregnancy for a long time, and then she turned to Elizabeth Fedorovna for help.
And after that, no one knows what happened to her unborn child. And Maria herself is often seen at night with a little bell. She wanders through the village, searching for her child.
— In general, there have been many strange occurrences with this house. Sometimes you can hear music coming from it, some sounds.
Milana was very disappointed. She didn’t know what to think.
She had bought the house with dreams of a happy life, and now Mila was afraid to even go inside it.
Milana arrived at Pavel’s. He, of course, tried to calm her down and offered one solution. Since the house had a bad energy, it should be demolished and rebuilt.
— Yes, it would require an investment,— he said.
— But I have something for you. I know. Now might not be the best time.
— Will you marry me? I’ve long wanted to propose to you!
Milana and Pavel got married. A year later, they began building their new home. And on the site of the old house, they planted a beautiful flower garden.