Leaving?” The squeaky voice of the elderly neighbor, Baba Masha, made Elizaveta flinch. She almost dropped her apartment keys!
“Good morning, Maria Filippovna,” the young woman smiled nervously, “Yes, I decided the kids shouldn’t languish in the city over the summer. We’re heading to relatives until September!”
That was half true, half a lie. Because Elizaveta really did take her children—twelve-year-old Veronika and eight-year-old Alexey—and bought train tickets to the very hinterlands, to a district center from where they still had to travel two hours by bus to the village of Kaban. But the lie was that there were no relatives at whose place they could cool off over the summer—the family had been orphaned six months ago. At Mikhail’s funeral, Elizaveta’s in-laws said straight out—they had never approved of their son’s marriage to her and did not consider her offspring as their grandchildren, so she shouldn’t expect anything!
Elizaveta had no such expectations. Ever since Mikhail left her for his mistress six years ago (who was also, coincidentally, the daughter of the CEO at the company he worked for), she hadn’t received or expected much from him. Yes, he paid some alimony, but she seriously suspected his salary was under the table.
Visiting his son and daughter, congratulating them during holidays, worrying about them when Alexey was hospitalized with hepatitis and Vera broke her leg learning to roller-skate? No chance. No, her ex-husband showed complete indifference to the woman he once vowed to love and to the children he had so convinced her to have.
Against this backdrop, Elizaveta was quite surprised by the fact that her ex-husband had mentioned her in his will! And he left her a house. Well, as much as it could be called a house—a property in the village of Kaban. And besides that… Well, there was nothing else left by Mikhail, who had grown rich thanks to connections with his mistress but had succumbed to gambling addiction and alcoholism in his forties, was abandoned by his mistress, and then died of an early heart attack, leaving nothing to his parents except personal belongings. And against this backdrop, when they met Elizaveta at the notary’s office, they vulgarly cursed her, claiming she always sponged money off him and now she was taking the last of it!
“You are wrong,” she responded calmly, “I haven’t spoken to Mikhail or seen him in years. So, I can’t imagine why he did what he did. Perhaps a bit of conscience woke up… But I will not refuse the inheritance. For the sake of the children!”
And now it was time to personally see this mysterious property, built, it seems, back in the 1950s. And Elizaveta did not expect to find anything good there! But she had to go. With the children. And soon!
Elizaveta once heard a theory that people often replicate their parents’ paths in their own destinies. It seemed this was her case too! Her dad had left her and her mother as well. And then her mother struggled, forgetting about herself, just to raise her daughter… But died, not living to see her grandchildren. Cancer had been neglected. That was actually one of Elizaveta’s fears—that the same would happen to her, so she visited doctors four times a year just in case.
Actually, Elizaveta had a decent profession—she was an accountant, but at some point, about two years ago, life suddenly became so hard that she couldn’t bear it and fell into debt. First there were bank cards, then various small firms offering loans in fifteen minutes… And it all ended predictably—with a ruined credit history, calls to her workplace… Her boss said—this disgrace wasn’t needed, write your resignation! Then one day they knocked on her door—the debt collectors.
And yes, Elizaveta knew that theoretically, these people shouldn’t be rude, threatening, or intimidating! But some clearly excessive debt collectors got to her, and she decided it might be better to hide away with the children somewhere far for the summer. And by autumn… Well, Elizaveta was hoping that the money from selling the old house in the sticks would be just enough to settle all her debts. And then they would live well! Then everything would be good!
And finally, they were at the place. But it turned out that the house was not in the village itself but at a decent distance from it. And this news was delivered to Elizaveta by Fedor—a man they met on the bus. He was the only person who got off with them in the village of Kaban, then the bus turned around and went back—the village of Kaban was the last stop.
“What are you saying,” Fedor, coughing, scratched the back of his head and glanced at the children, “with the kids, yes, to us, in that very house to live?! What are you, some… Scientist? Or psychic?”
“Sorry… What are you talking about?” Elizaveta was confused, “Why did you think I’m a scientist or… psychic?” she added, not letting him answer, “my husband just left me this house…”
“I just said that, sorry,” the strange fellow traveler suddenly became shy, “the husband, you mean…—he pondered— the city guy, with the mustache?”
“I think so,” nodded Elizaveta. Her husband indeed, as long as she remembered, wore a mustache.
“What did he die from?”
“From a heart attack.”
“Really! And he was not old yet, it seems… I’m sorry, then, as a widow!” he sighed heavily, reached into his jacket pocket, and pulled out a handful of candies, “and to the kids, too, as orphans, I suppose…”
“Thank you,” said Alexey and took the candies. He immediately counted half for his sister, “but we’re not sad anymore. Dad didn’t need us anyway…”
“Alexey! What are you saying?! Stop that,” hissed Elizaveta at him and blushed deeply—she couldn’t stand complaining to strangers. And she taught her children the same, “so, you say, the house is far?”
“You’ll walk through the village,” Fedor gestured, outlining the path-road, “and there, you’ll see a birch grove. There’s a sea of wild strawberries there in season! You bypass it and you’ll see the road. Walk down it! And there, at the very edge, will be the house… Oh, what am I saying!” he waved his hand and without asking, picked up both heavy travel bags, “let me help! It’s getting dark already… And if you go alone, you’ll get there at a snail’s pace, sorry to say…”
And actually, Elizaveta was used to handling all her problems by herself. But right now she felt so shattered, so tired… She was literally at a crossroads in her life! So, she agreed. And they slowly moved forward.
And along the way, whenever they met someone local, Fedor nodded at them, saying, yes, he’s back, checked his back in the city, will tell everything later… And a couple of times introduced his companion—saying, this is the owner of that very house, the widow of that man who previously owned it! And what was suspicious—barely people heard about it, they looked at Elizaveta… very strangely! And one old lady they met even spat under her feet and muttered:
“Completely out of their minds! They don’t even spare the children…”
“Fedor,” addressed her unexpected helper Elizaveta, when they had already left the village, bypassed the birch grove, and a dark spot of the house loomed ahead, “please explain to me, what’s going on? Why does it seem… In general, why was everyone looking at us like that?!”
Fedor clicked his tongue. Then sighed. Looked at Elizaveta very attentively. And finally, answered.
“Listen, here’s the deal… This house used to belong to one person. His name was Arkady. He was an astronomer. A professor! He bought it in the nineties. Thought he’d have a dacha here! But it didn’t work out. Later, as we understood, this Arkady was your husband’s debtor and sold him the house for next to nothing because he had nothing to pay his debts with. Well, your husband took it, sorry to say, purely out of greed! Because he himself never adapted it for anything, just left everything as it was before him… Well, various people came here… And people looked that way because all this wasn’t good!”
“What’s not good?” Elizaveta frowned. She understood little from Fedor’s story, “you mean, with the house? Is it like… a haunted house? You know, from the outside—it looks like it! Run-down…”
“You’re clever,” Fedor smiled, “well, how to tell you… There’s no problem with the house itself. It’s just… The place itself like that!”
“The village?” asked Elizaveta.
“I’d say, our surroundings. They… are not good. In that sense… People see various things here.”
“What do they see?” unable to hold back, Alexey joined the conversation, “ghosts?”
“Don’t talk nonsense,” his sister sternly told him, “ghosts don’t exist!”
“No, I personally haven’t heard about ghosts,” Fedor responded.
They arrived. The house was brick, sturdy-looking… But neglected. And the plot in front of it was untended… And the fence—well, it was barely there at all.
“All set,” Fedor placed the bags on the porch, “settle in, as they say!” and he prepared to leave.
“Thank you for helping,” said Liza, and then, unable to hold back, called out to him, “wait! So what’s really going on? What’s with this house?”
“I told you,” Fedor turned around from about ten meters away, “the house isn’t the issue as such! It’s just… It’s in the epicenter! It’s… I mean… An anomalous zone here with us! UFOs fly, that’s the thing! And the house… It’s most interesting to them, as it turns out!”
And it could have been worse, thought Elizaveta when they entered inside. Yes, this little house definitely needed repairs! There were wooden, creaking floors, sunlight barely seeped through dust-covered windows, but overall, if everything was put in order… If only there were funds, Elizaveta sadly smiled—she couldn’t imagine what money she’d gather the kids for school, let alone think about repairs! Without them, she knew for sure—realtors and potential buyers would start seriously knocking down the price! Well, she sighed, something will come up, everything can at least be cleaned, cleared with their own efforts… And now it was necessary to decide exactly how to live here in the coming months.
Elizaveta, having left the luggage in the hallway, decided to head to the kitchen first… And here awaited a big surprise! Because there turned out to be a brand new refrigerator, gas stove, a microwave, and a kitchen processor, other small appliances, plus—the sink and sewer were in excellent condition.
“Strange,” muttered Liza and frowned.
Fedor, their fellow traveler, said that neither her deceased husband nor the previous owner practically used the house. But what then, in that case, is all this brand-new, not cheap technology doing here? It was disconnected—as if the owners had been absent for a long time, but still…
“Mom!” Alexey burst into the kitchen, “guess what I found!”
“Mom, there’s some kind of strange room,” his sister added, peeking in with him.
Well, what else is not right, with this house?! Frowning, Elizaveta followed the children. The house had only one floor. Her son opened the door to the room and… Elizaveta felt a chill!
But not because the windows here were boarded up from the inside. But because everything here resembled the set from some Hollywood movie about maniacs or insane cultists!
Firstly, the wooden floor here was painted with paint and covered with strange symbols and numbers… The walls and even… the ceiling were painted in the same troubling manner! And also, there were many photographs and drawings, blueprints on the walls… Elizaveta, continuing to frown, peered in… Flying saucers?! Photographs of vague silhouettes with large heads? Newspaper clippings, including—in foreign languages… And all this was not chaotically hung, but clearly… according to some scheme or system! Everywhere were multicolored buttons, red threads stretched between individual photographs—connecting them.
Liza gasped—she almost fell, tripping over wires stretched across the floor—they connected some strange, bulky equipment, unclear for what purpose.
“Wow, mom! Look, what a horror!” Alexey pulled her hand excitedly and she, so to speak, to her misfortune, looked.
There were clippings from some magazines with headlines like, “Chupacabra goes wild!”, “The Grays abduct humans for experiments!” and frames from some videos. Apparently, from horror movies, vividly depicting all this horror…
Elizaveta felt cold—she had enough in a fraction of a second to understand—all these compositions were created by some psycho! Could it have been her husband?! Or that previous owner? Fedor said that he was a ufologist… Liza didn’t know much about these scientists, but always considered them oddballs—because, really, how can adults seriously believe in all this nonsense?!
“Children, let’s go,” she said, “you shouldn’t touch anything or look at anything here!” she added sternly when they resisted.
Just think! Even her prudent, such a serious smart girl Veronika seemed to have an unhealthy curiosity about the contents of this room.
Finally, she pulled the children out of the room, slammed the door, and decided it might be worth, perhaps, hanging a lock on it… No need for her kids to come into contact with all this paranormal stuff! They might have nightmares later…
“Let’s go to the kitchen,” she told them, as if there hadn’t been any frightening discovery five minutes ago, “I’ll make some sandwiches. You were all seasick on the road, you hardly ate!”
After the kids ate, Elizaveta handed each a book—a children’s book, so they could read and culturally develop. And then, when her son and daughter read the assigned number of pages and recounted their brief contents, she put them to bed. And for today, Elizaveta decided, it was better for them all to sleep in one room. Tomorrow she would choose a room for the children’s room—there were a total of three rooms here. And also, she thought, as she fell asleep, maybe, just in case, change the locks in the house? Just in case…
And usually, Elizaveta didn’t dream. Well, at most, some particularly stressful moment from the past day might replay in her consciousness, for example, she could long see in a dream how she stood in line at the checkout, and the cashier—tried to return money for a yogurt scanned twice… But today was different.
Today Elizaveta suddenly saw herself standing in a meadow behind the village of Kaban. It was a clear and warm summer night. But her feet were frozen because she was barefoot. And she suddenly discovered that she was dressed in a white wedding dress.
“Alexey? Veronika?” she suddenly realized that the kids weren’t with her. And even in a dream, she experienced the terrible, perhaps familiar to every mother, fear—losing her child, “Alexey! Veronika!” she cried into the night void, and then…
Above her head rustled, Elizaveta looked up and immediately squinted—she was blinded by bright lights! And right above her hovered, slowly rotating, a huge flying saucer… And then it smoothly, descended and froze, three meters from the ground… A door opened in it. And in the blinding radiance coming from inside, Elizaveta made out a tall, slender male silhouette.
“Where are my children?” picking up the hem of her dress, she rushed towards the UFO, “what have you done with them?! Are they now chupacabras?” the poor mother burst into tears, “give me back my children! Better take me to Mars instead of them!”
And when she uttered the last words, she suddenly heard her children’s laughter… And then the UFO released a blindingly bright beam of light and it, capturing Elizaveta, lifted her, like a fluff, into the air and carried her closer to the flying saucer… And then she woke up.
Outside, the sun shone brightly and birds chirped. It was just a dream… Some kind of delirious dream! Elizaveta beamed with a smile—how great it was to wake up in the real world!
She and the kids had breakfast—she opened a package of long-life milk and poured dry breakfast for everyone—cornflakes. Then she fussed to connect the stove and refrigerator to the electricity and everything seemed to work fine.
“I’m going to the store,” Liza told the children.
They looked sullen. Because they also wanted to go to the store and just look around the village! But mom ordered them to do an important task—stay home and sweep all the dust, wash all the floors… She handed them all the necessary equipment for this responsible task—mops, rags, a broom, and a couple of buckets.
And here it was quite nice, thought Elizaveta, walking through the village. She encountered a few abandoned yards, but almost all were neat, well-kept.
The store here was the only one and was called “At Toma’s.” And behind the counter was the owner herself—Tamara. She was a plump, smiling, welcoming woman, her head adorned with an old-fashioned lace overlay, and her neck—three rows of large amber beads. She warmly smiled at Elizaveta and said that she, as a newcomer—would make a discount right now! But was very surprised and seemed—even upset, when she found out that Elizaveta with the children didn’t come to someone from the locals as guests, but settled in the house…
“In That Very House?!” emphasizing each word significantly, Toma asked, “are you also one of those?”
“What about these everyone keeps talking about?” Liza frowned, “No! I’m not a scientist, not a psychic, and I don’t believe in flying saucers at all!” she caught herself, realizing it sounded rude, “sorry,” she added, “just yesterday Fedor scared… Told all sorts of things! And you don’t know,” she decided to cautiously try to find out, clarify what was bothering her, “besides my husband and that previous owner, did anyone live here?”
“He lived,” Tamara responded and looked at her very strangely, “Alexander lived. Spent last summer with us. And decided to come here for a month or two.”
“Who is Alexander?” Liza frowned, “in what sense, decided to come? But the house is mine now!”
Toma coughed. Said to wait a minute, please—people were waiting in line. They, by the way—the other inhabitants of the village of Kaban, listened to the whole conversation with lively interest.
“Maybe he doesn’t even know,” a man with a ginger beard spoke up from the line, addressing Liza, “he almost doesn’t interact with us! And we only recently found out that the previous owner of the house had passed away… This Alexander, when he comes, says at most ‘hello,’ then—that’s it! Goes into the house and wanders in the forest or somewhere else… Is silent… And we—don’t interfere! Why bother… Get involved with him—then wandering lights will drag you away, as if you went looking for mushrooms!”
“Oh, be quiet!” joined the conversation some lady in a floral dress, “Sasha is a very decent young man! Last year he helped find my goat, Daisy. Well, he certainly doesn’t like other people much… But that’s just his character! However,” she added dreamily, “his wife will be lucky. He won’t go fishing with men or hang out in the garage, he’ll be a home husband… Oh, if I were twenty years younger…
Elizabeth was utterly confused. Who was this Alexander?! And what did he mean by saying he was going to live here again?! No, she did not need neighbors, especially not in the form of some unknown man!
“Do you know when this Alexander is supposed to arrive?” Elizabeth asked plaintively, “or maybe someone has his phone number?”
“I have his phone number,” replied the same red-haired villager, “I explained to him last year where to buy the necessary parts in the city… His… equipment was breaking down, the one he used to hunt aliens! But maybe it would be easier for you to meet him in person? I saw him this morning when I was taking my mother-in-law to the city. He was driving. He said he’d returned and was going home… My mother-in-law has such a hernia, you know? She went to see a professor, what was his name… Before that, she was treated with herbal remedies, very effective by the way! You see, when you saw him this morning—how is he going to enter the house?!”
Elizabeth was momentarily stunned as she pieced together the time she had left the house, leaving the children alone… The children! Elizabeth gasped and rushed out of the store.
“Wait!” called Tamara, “you forgot your groceries! And your change!”
But Elizabeth wasn’t listening. Every fiber of her maternal being was racing to get back to her kids! And whatever people might say… She was not about to let any strange stranger, especially one who apparently owned those frightening artworks… In short, she was not going to allow him to stay in her house!
By the time Elizabeth reached her house, she could barely breathe, and it seemed her heart would simply stop from the extreme strain! But she didn’t see a parked car and calmed down a bit. The woman flew up the creaky porch, flung open the door…
“Alyosha! Vera!” she cried out in the house, which seemed empty.
“Mom! We’re in the kitchen!” she heard her son’s cheerful voice.
Elizabeth sighed with relief—the children must have decided to snack on something, maybe leftover cookies, and apparently, this Alexander had not yet made it to the house. Or maybe he ran into the same Fedor and was told that the new owner had arrived and there was nothing left for him to do? But just…
Before she reached the kitchen, Liza suddenly caught the enticing smells of food coming from there. And she frowned. Because, generally speaking, her children couldn’t cook. She simply didn’t trust them—to avoid burns and not waste food! And then, when she entered the kitchen, she almost fell over… Because there was an unfamiliar man!
That’s how their eyes met. A frightened Elizabeth clutched her heart, and he—stood with a frying pan in his hand, still sizzling with eggs. And this was Alexander?! Actually, she had imagined him differently. A grim, possibly bearded scientist with a glint of madness in his eyes, gloomy and abnormal… In short, the type of guy you’d recommend seeing a psychiatrist! But right now, Elizabeth saw before her a young man, probably even younger than herself… He had blond hair and gray eyes, dressed in worn jeans and a plain white t-shirt.
“Good afternoon,” he was the first to break the silence, “I assume you are Elizabeth?”
She nodded. Removed her hand from her heart. And looked around… And the kitchen had been tidied up! It was noticeably cleaner. The table was covered with a checkered linen tablecloth, and in the middle of it stood a small vase with wildflowers. Utensils for four people. The dizzying aroma of freshly brewed coffee…
“Mom! Sasha is baking buns, with raisins!” Alyosha, grabbing her hand, pulled her to the table, “imagine, I mixed the dough!”
“Mom, why are you silent?” Vera frowned, arranging forks at the plates, “it’s rude, mom!”
“Good afternoon,” finally Elizabeth managed to say, “sorry, I just… You…”
“I’m afraid it’s my fault,” Alexander shook his head, placing the frying pan with sausage and vegetable omelette in the center of the table on a hot pad, “I showed up at your house and started fussing around… But I have an excuse! First, I was hungry, and second, your children here were trying to cook semolina porridge… They almost burned everything! I had to intervene.”
“Semolina porridge?!” Elizabeth was surprised, “why?!”
“Because they weren’t full from the cereal, and the cookies ran out,” Alyosha grumbled, “and you take forever, as usual, at the store!”
“So I thought it would be useful to do a good deed,” shrugged Alexander,
“And made breakfast… for everyone!” Elizabeth finished for him.
“And made breakfast for everyone,” he repeated, looking her in the eyes.
“And baked buns?!”
“What’s so surprising about that? The dough is quick, non-yeast…”
“Mom! Just sit down to eat, then we’ll talk!” Vera hurried her.
And Elizabeth complied. And suddenly she realized that she too hadn’t had enough from the cereal and was terribly hungry! Maybe, she thought, it was the fresh air? And while they had breakfast, Alexander explained again.
And it turned out, by the way, that his car was here—just parked on the opposite side of the entrance to the house. And yes, Alexander had literally just returned to the village of Kaban without knowing that the owner of the house, with whom he had a rental agreement, had passed away! Regarding the demise of Elizabeth’s former husband, he expressed condolences. And then he added something…
It turned out that no, Alexander was not planning to leave the house!
“See, I’ve already paid the rent. For the weeks I’ll be living here and for those I was absent… I know it sounds strange, but I just didn’t want strangers to be here!”
Elizabeth nodded. She didn’t know whether he said that accidentally or on purpose… But the hint was clear! Only still, despite the delicious breakfast (and the buns were impeccable!) she was not ready to give in.
“I think I can compensate you for the loss. I mean, return what you paid for the rent.”
“Why?” squinted Alexander, “I’m not planning to leave. The house is big! I don’t think you’ll be in my way… And your children,” he cast a stern glance at Alyosha and Vera, “seem quite well-mannered.”
“We are well-behaved and good!” Alyosha chirped, “and is it true, what you have in your car, a telescope?”
“True,” Alexander answered, naming some brand and other technical specifications.
Elizabeth didn’t understand any of this! But her son—loved stars, reading and watching about space and had been constantly begging for a telescope… Only it was beyond their means!
“Wow! That’s cool! Can I look through it?” the boy extended his hand pleadingly.
“Every night if you like,” shrugged Alexander, “if, of course, your mom allows me to stay…” on these words he cast a mischievous glance at Elizabeth, “I’m ready, by the way, to add payment for the inconvenience caused. And I can cook breakfast at least three times a week. I have no bad habits. Won’t bring women over. If needed—I can provide a certificate from a psychiatrist—I recently got examined for permission to visit a scientific laboratory in Brazil. But believe me, I’m even ready to swear on my health, that I really need to stay in this house until the end of summer!”
“To watch UFOs?” Elizabeth blurted out in a tone that made it clear—if you answer positively, guy, then it’s clear with you—you’re crazy! And it doesn’t matter how insanely charming you appear and what kind of certificates you have.
“To watch UFOs,” Alexander answered seriously, “and also to write a book about them. And scientific articles.”
“Understood,” nodded Elizabeth, “well, okay… Stay!” she added with a condescending smile.
And she thought it was a pity that such a charming man… Was involved in such nonsense! No, Elizabeth had not considered him for herself, not at all! She had decided to quit personal life ever since her husband left her. Burned once, enough; now it was time to take care of the kids! But still… She had to admit, it would take some resistance not to keep… looking at this Alexander… Because they definitely couldn’t have anything in common! They wouldn’t even be friends!
Generally, Elizabeth was capable of impulsive decisions. But! This remained, as it seemed to her, in the distant past, in foolish youth… And what happened now? She let a stranger into the house, succumbing to the persuasions that, well, he just needed it? Tempted by money? And about the safety of her children, and her own—purely female safety, you thought, is that what it’s called?! Well, what if this Alexander, it seems, is an educated man (he had a doctoral degree in astronomy, something about black holes…). Well, what if he can cook deliciously and those raisin buns were just… Did you, Elizabeth, reflect that evening tossing and turning before sleep, already in your thirties, you’re a mother, so you’re not to be bought by raisin buns and a manly smile either!
And yet Elizabeth was not going to drive Alexander away. Let him live, she decided, and there’s nothing to fear, no matter what hobby a person has… Although, personally, she thought that a man should be doing something serious in life, not chasing after every piece of fantasy. Where does he get the money for these follies?!
However, as Lisa understood from talking with him today, Alexander had wealthy parents—they supported him partially financially. And he did indeed write scientific articles on astronomy, taught somewhere, gave lectures all around the world…
This Alexander, by the way, outfitted the kitchen with modern appliances—although he lived here little by little, but, you see, he was accustomed to living comfortably! Only Lisa could not understand this. Because she would have wallpapered the house for comfort and added some soft new furniture. Anyway, what do I care, she thought, already falling asleep, about other people’s money?
When autumn comes, I’ll manage to sell the house by then and have my own money! And if this Alexander needs to come here next year, then let him make arrangements with the new owners of this property.
And the days of this strange neighborhood flew by one after the other! Elizabeth was embarrassed, by the way, that Alexander immediately decided to make an extra payment for “inconvenient neighborhood.”
Elizabeth went to a farm not far from the village and asked if there was any part-time work for the summer? They answered that there was—needed a cleaner in the workshop where they clean, pack vegetables. And she gladly took the job! And wasn’t worried about the kids—Vera was already old enough to look after her brother. The schedule was convenient—come every day, no days off, just for four hours. So overall, you could relax in the fresh air and not stupidly live off the last savings, which Lisa, as a single mother with a bunch of debts, simply could not afford!
And simultaneously she already began to look for someone to sell the house to… Only in real estate agencies, when they learned that it stands off, in the sense—far from the village, they immediately began to lower the estimated market price. Lisa argued at first, but then agreed—it didn’t matter anymore, for how much to sell!
As for Alexander, despite all the periodic doubts visiting Lisa, he turned out to be a really decent person and a very good neighbor! More than once, when he cooked for himself, he treated her and the kids.
Then, he often allowed Alyosha to look through the telescope… And generally, Lisa was surprised at how fascinatingly Alexander talked about comets, other galaxies, planets… If only he didn’t constantly veer from scientific topics to all these anti-scientific tales about aliens! However, even about UFOs, he managed to talk so vividly and reasonably that Elizabeth caught herself a couple of times almost ready to believe it.
“So, you love to travel,” she said one day, “and where did you like it the most?”
“In every place on Earth, you can find something beautiful,” he answered, “but so far, I plan to look at the Great Barrier Reef for the second time, there are so many sharks there, they are simply magical creatures! And also, I think, I need to look into Iceland and Cape Horn…”
The conversation took place in the evening. They all sat in the living room, preparing to watch a movie—Alexander had brought a plasma TV from the city a few days ago. Lisa and the neighbor sat on the sofa, the kids in the kitchen—fussing with popcorn and drinks.
“Ready!” Alyosha entered the room with a large bowl, his sister following him with a tray of glasses with homemade lemonade—Alexander had taught her to make it.
And suddenly the room flickered, then—went dark. The TV also turned off.
“Well, there,” sighed Lisa, “I told you not to turn it on today, in such a storm!”
The weather had been stormy since noon. But the weathermen promised—the clouds would disperse by morning…
“Then we only have to light candles,” smiled Alexander, standing up, “we’ll create the right atmosphere… To tell scary stories!” he added in a purposely grim voice, winking at the kids and illuminating his way with a smartphone, went for the candles—they were stored in the pantry.
Elizabeth shook her head—what a joker! But in principle, a really smart, serious man. And not living off his parents’ necks, as she finally understood, he achieved a lot himself. But what she definitely didn’t like about him, that was… That sometimes he so… Said such things to her! That is, nothing indecent was said, but Elizabeth understood—Alexander had a certain interest in her. Only she was categorically against!
“Mom, why are you so grumpy,” asked Alyosha, placing the popcorn bowl on the table.
“What?” Elizabeth didn’t understand and was surprised.
“Brother asks why you are so next to Alexander, as if he can bite you,” Vera explained, placing the lemonade next to the bowl, “look, even sat at the opposite end of the sofa! Why? It’s clear he likes you…”
What?!” Lisa’s eyes widened. “Kids! You… What is this?”
“Mom,” Vera got serious, “we’re not little anymore and we understand that you need not only to raise us but also to have a personal life. And if something works out with Sasha… We won’t mind!”
“And then I can look through the telescope all year round,” Lesha sighed dreamily.
Elizaveta was about to say that this was none of their childish business, and she also thought, no, she wouldn’t at all, because enough—she’d been burned once! But then, especially loud thunder roared outside, and then… One of the windows just shattered into pieces!
The children and mom screamed in fright! Lesha jumped aside… And then a glowing ball of light flew in through the window…
Never in her life had Elizaveta experienced anything like it! It seemed to her that her entire being was paralyzed by a nightmarish, deep-as-space terror, and at the same time—it was as if her heart was singing, longing to reach forward, to touch this shining orb…
“Mom! Don’t!”—as if through a thickness of water, she heard her daughter’s voice, and then her hand suddenly burned with pain!
Lisa gasped and blinked rapidly; she finally looked away from the glowing orb and realized that Alexander was standing next to her. He gripped her hand tightly, painfully, and held her in place, while in front of them—the sphere danced, showering sparks of strange color, as if woven from the finest threads of starlight… Or was it dense, like a clump of lava? Lisa couldn’t understand; she blinked rapidly, and the orb—seeming to realize it no longer hypnotized her—simply drifted away.
“It’s okay,” she deciphered Alexander’s whisper, “it’s ball lightning. A natural phenomenon. Everything’s fine! Just don’t be afraid. And don’t jerk or try to touch it. It will go away on its own. Or disappear…”
Elizaveta found the strength to nod. And then she, Alexander, and Vera simply watched as the orb of light floated around the room in utter darkness, as if searching for something… And then the ball lightning simply went back where it came from—flew out the window!
“Incredible,” Alexander exhaled, “what an idiot!” he exclaimed, “one should have guessed they could appear on such a night!”
“Who are they,” Lisa frowned, her heart finally beginning to beat at a normal pace.
“Unidentified flying objects,” Alexander replied seriously, “ball lightning is often a harbinger of alien ships, and in such abnormal storms, this happens quite often! And here I am, was going to watch a movie, instead of setting up the equipment!”
“Well, sorry!” Lisa took offense, “you yourself proposed to have a movie night at home! And now we’ve disturbed you… And why do you always bring everything back to your aliens? Sorry, it’s just not normal!”
“Firstly, I didn’t say you disturbed me,” Alexander squinted, “and secondly, I’m asking you—let’s respect each other! I just want to do my job well…”
“Job?” Elizaveta snorted mockingly. Generally, she never allowed herself such a tone with a neighbor, but right now, her nerves were just giving out, “how can you call such nonsense a job? Hop around the world, look for your aliens, and speak at conventions of such oddballs! At your age, you should settle down like a normal person, get married, have children…”
“Well, sorry that you have to share a roof with such an unpleasant and nutty type!” Alexander was clearly offended, “and excuse me for living the way I want, not taking an example from normal people… Like you!”
That was a sharp jab. It clearly hit where it hurt that Elizaveta’s personal life was a mess and generally, things weren’t going well… And it was cruel! And she even wanted to hit Alexander!
“Would you stop!” the girl’s voice broke their argument, “are you not listening to what I’m saying?! Lesha is gone!”
“What do you mean, gone?!” shocked, Lisa jumped off the sofa, “Lesha, sonny!”
Meanwhile, the storm was ending outside, and the clouds were dispersing. And suddenly, the lights in the house came back on. And yes—her son was not in this room. Nor in the kitchen.
“I was so scared,” Vera sobbed, “I just remembered… When that thing… When the ball lightning flew in, he approached the window… Said there was still something there… And then… He went out the door and said he was going to the forest!”
Elizaveta nearly fainted with horror—her son was missing! And naturally, she decided to run and look for him right away! Alexander said he would go with her.
“I’m not staying home alone!” Vera, wiping away tears, declared, “I’m scared alone!”
The preparations were quick—Alexander just grabbed flashlights for them all. The house was not far from the forest—about thirty steps, and the rain had ended just in time—tracks could be somewhat discerned in the fresh mud.
“We won’t find him… I’ve lost my son!” Elizaveta sobbed as they stepped under the gloomy canopy of the forest, reeking of damp greenery.
“We will find him,” Alexander said confidently and pointed ahead, “I’m a bit good at tracking and besides… See, where Lesha went, all the bushes are flattened? We are looking in the right direction and I don’t think he went far! We just need to keep calling him!”
So, in far from the best circumstances, but they moved forward, calling out to the boy… Elizaveta had never been so terrified in her life! But she seemed to take control of herself again and repeated to herself like a mantra, under her breath, that everything would be fine, that they would definitely find her son, that everything would be fine…
“Mom! Mommy!”
Lisa rushed forward—it was her son! Lesha was found on a tiny forest clearing. Covered in mud and grass, disheveled and confused, he threw himself at his mom and babbled about how scared he was, that he didn’t know how he got there, that he only remembers how a strange light, flying and shimmering, lured him.
“It’s all good, son,” Elizaveta smiled through tears, “we’re going home now, right? It’s all over, my dear…”
“Look! Up there!” Vera exclaimed and raised her hand, pointing to the adults and her brother.
Alexander threw his head back. So did Lisa and her son. And they saw…
Elizaveta thought a rock was floating above them… Or were the storm clouds just so low and dense? But why then did the rain no longer fall? And can clouds take the shape of such a perfect triangle? Lights… Multicolored lights flashed and shimmered… It seems, thought Lisa, this is all just my imagination! They’re stars… If you look at them for a long, long time, it might seem… That they change color… And then a hum covered them—a low, vibrating sound, seeming to come from everywhere and piercing through! Between the tree trunks something flashed—a glowing something… Another one! These were again—ball lightning! And a strange thought struck Elizaveta—as if they, like predatory beasts, surrounded and were watching, waiting for the right moment to attack… She stretched her hands out to her children, pulling them closer to her in a natural protective gesture… Teeth clattered, legs weakened…
Elizaveta saw from the corner of her eye how Alexander, also enchanted by the mysterious spectacle above them, took off some kind of camera, poked into it, tried to film, muttered something… When did he manage to prepare? When they ran for her son, did he linger to grab his silly equipment, hoping to capture something extraordinary?! And then a new sound struck their ears—a thin, piercing one, resembling the howl of the wind and the squeak of mice… A strange association surfaced—as if it were ultrasound emitted by bats… Am I going crazy? Elizaveta managed to think, and then… Was that a comet that flew by? But can a comet shine like that? And why is so much light pouring on them?! And then, in another moment, Lisa realized—she was actually losing consciousness, just collapsing on the ground with her children…
Waking up the next morning was not easy—after several hours on the wet, cold ground! Elizaveta woke up first, then nudged her children, then—Alexander. For a few minutes, she struggled to remember how they ended up there, what happened?! Then the memories came… And rather—they crashed over like a tsunami wave! Lisa cried.
“Mom, what’s wrong?” her son asked, “Mom, everything’s fine!”
“What… Fine?!” she responded through sobs, “I almost lost you yesterday!”
“Yeah, well, what a night!” Alexander, getting to his feet, rubbed his head—he had managed to scratch his forehead as he fell, “we need to return home, we’re all freezing…” he frowned. But then he broke into a simply insane smile, “just think! We saw it! So, so… Where is it?!”
And he, ignoring the fact that a teenage girl was sobbing next to him and how his wife was looking at him, began to review the recording from the camera.
“You don’t care about anything else in the world, do you? Except for your aliens,” Lisa said in a muted but full of honest hurt voice, “you don’t care what happened to us, do you? You just don’t care as long as you catch those… your… Martians!”
“Huh?” Alexander turned to her confusedly, “Lisa! Sorry,” he smiled sheepishly, “I just didn’t think, I mean… Yes, of course! Let’s return home. We need to discuss everything! Compare our memories, record everything… I think I’ll use a voice recorder—it produces the most accurate reports because the memories are fresh…”
“Damn you!” Lisa, jumping up to him, was about to slap him, but Alexander nimbly dodged and grabbed the enraged woman by the arm.
And she told him everything! About how because of his foolish tales, no doubt, her smart son followed a ball lightning into the forest! About how they mysteriously fainted yesterday for no reason…
“We just saw…” Alexander started, but Lisa didn’t let him finish.
“I didn’t see anything!” hissed Elizaveta, pointing a finger at him, “and my children saw nothing! And don’t drag my family into this, got it?! And we… And I’m fed up with all this! I had a normal life, everything in it was simple! And because of you…”
They fell silent for a while. Just stared at each other intently.
“It’s all because of you,” Lisa finally said with despair and sharply turned around, “kids, let’s go! We’re leaving!”
“Where?” the brother and sister asked in chorus.
“Mom, it’s all fine! Nothing scary happened, we just encountered the unexplained…” Lesha started, but Lisa hissed at him.
“We’re in a swamp. Vapors. Who knows what you breathed in… You were struck by lightning, that’s why you hallucinated! We all hallucinated! And I don’t want to hear another word, got it?! Let’s go!”
And she, no longer listening to objections, simply dragged the children along with her. And the path out of the forest, by the way, was found quickly.
Then, about half an hour later, Alexander returned home. He didn’t speak to Elizaveta. Silently he walked into his room and locked himself in.
She—gathered her things. Haphazardly, just to leave as soon as possible! And then she just grabbed the children and ignoring Vera’s attempts to talk “like adults,” ignoring the wail of Lesha, who didn’t want to part with “Uncle Sasha, who became like a dad,” she just left the house.
On the energy of anger, as they say, she easily carried the bags. And what was a miraculous stroke of luck—she managed just in time for the bus from Kaban to the district center, from where it was only a train ride back to the city.
“No, no, and no again!” Elizaveta firmly told her son, “Alexander is no longer our friend. And we will not communicate with him. That’s it! And I’m not going to talk to him on the phone about anything… And if he shows up, then I… No, we won’t talk about this anymore!
“Mom,” Lesha frowned, “why are you acting like a child? I just told you that Uncle Sasha called and asked to convey that he’s very sorry and would like to meet…”
“Enough!” Lisa threatened her son with her finger, “zip it and march to your room—to do your homework!”
“What homework?” the boy spread his arms, “I haven’t even started first grade yet! Mom, are you sick, have you gone mad?”
And indeed, it wasn’t long before she might actually go mad, Lisa thought and sighed deeply.
“Sorry, baby, I got it all mixed up… What I meant to say was—go to your room and read a math book. Or take your handwriting practice. Or look at the animal atlas! In short, do something useful… And Mom will figure everything out herself!”
“Everything’s clear with you,” Lesha frowned. But he obeyed. Turned around and went to his room, “acting like a child… And you’re an adult!”
The son left. The daughter was still playing in the yard with her friends. Lisa stood at the stove—preparing dinner. And at the same time, she realized, she needed to think about everything… Since returning to the city, it had already been two weeks. The real estate agency had listed the house for sale and promised that maybe by spring, a buyer would probably be found. Lisa had returned to work—she needed something to live on.
And naturally, she tried to forget about everything that had happened! But not because it was somehow scary… To tell the truth, it wasn’t scary at all and the whole incident with the supposedly seen alien ship Lisa had managed to completely erase from her mind, accepting as a firm fact the version that, having experienced the stress of her son’s disappearance, she had simply hallucinated. No, she tried to forget about everything because she simply wanted to erase Alexander from her life. He was an absolutely unnecessary element in her life. Nothing could ever work out between them with that man! Because… Well, it was just so simple and obvious—they were too different. And in general, he was somehow not right, too much believing in his aliens… And just… And just Lisa’s heart almost leaped out of her chest when she thought about him! And she didn’t like that. Because she had firmly decided long ago—strong emotions and feelings are generally harmful. Because of them, you don’t think logically and might… make a mistake! And she, as a mother of two children—cannot afford to make mistakes.
The doorbell rang and Elizaveta went to open it. She knew it had to be Vera returning—she didn’t trust her daughter to carry her own key out of fear that she might lose it. And indeed, it was her returning home. But not alone. With her on the landing stood two burly, grim-looking guys and one lady in a tasteless red suit.
“Mommy,” Vera said. Her daughter’s face was tear-stained, and she looked frightened, “they’ve come for the debts…”
“Elizaveta Belkina, right?” the lady in red addressed her, “we’re from the debt collection agency. We’ve bought your debt. Here are the documents!” and she waved some papers in front of Elizaveta’s face, but then, not allowing her to read them, quickly tucked them back into her purse, “we’ve come to inspect your property!”
“What?” Elizaveta was confused, “what are you talking about…”
“You don’t want to pay the debts the nice way! You don’t want to pay your debts!” the lady raised her voice almost to an annoying screech, “then we’ll have to sell your property! And I, as a representative of the agency, intend to conduct its valuation!”
“And who, sorry, are these?” Lisa nodded towards the two thug-like figures, reminiscent of henchmen from the nineties.
“Security,” the lady pursed her thickly painted red lips, “debtors can be so inadequate! But you are,—” she tilted her head, twitched her nose,—”adequate? You don’t mind if we inspect your apartment? Our agency, by the way, accepts real estate as payment for debts! So shall we enter? Enter?!”
She just pressured Lisa, crowding her into the apartment. Vera, still standing on the landing—she couldn’t get past due to the bulky figure of one of the guards, quietly cried.
“What are you doing?” Lisa finally started to understand something, “my debts aren’t that big to sell the apartment! What are you… Put that back!” she snatched a bronze statuette from the lady’s hands, “and generally—leave! What is this? By what right…”
“Shut your mouth!” one of the men stepped forward, and his paw landed on Elizaveta’s shoulder, “cash? Gold, jewelry? Let’s do it the nice way! The interest will start rolling otherwise. Your debt was sold to us! Better with us the nice way, don’t get angry!”
“Mommy! I’m scared!” Vera called from the landing.
“Daughter!” Lisa wriggled out, rushing to her child.
And then turned around—the shady people from some agency, supposedly having bought her debt, entered the room where Lesha was preparing for school, and the poor child, frightened, began to call for his mom. And what was she to do?!
“Get out of my house!” Lisa screamed, rushing back into the apartment along with Vera, “you have no right…”
“Shut your mouth!” the shady type lunged at her, “what, took someone else’s money and don’t want to pay?! What, got nothing to pay with?! Then you’ll work it off, scum!”
Elizaveta thought she was about to be hit… She squinted, simultaneously shielding her daughter…
And in the next moment, she opened her eyes in amazement, because the shady guy, already trying to grab her by the neck, literally flew to the side!
“Sasha?” Elizaveta exhaled, and she thought she might be dreaming altogether?!
Because Alexander had somehow ended up in her apartment. And he, her aggressor, simply pinned to the wall with some clever move, immobilized him and whispered something quietly… Threw him aside! Another moment—and in Alexander’s grip was the second man, who had rushed out of the room at the noise. He met the same fate.
And what was strange—both of them, glancing at Alexander somewhat fearfully, just rushed out of the apartment!
“Who the hell are you?!” the last to leave the room, the lady in red, “we’re from the agency…”
“Oh, yes,” Alexander smirked, “I know where you’re from. And you very much shouldn’t have come here!”
And no, Alexander didn’t hit the woman. He just grabbed her by the arm and shoved a smartphone under her nose.
“So, need problems?! This woman’s debts, to whom you’ve come, have already been paid off. You understand? And about how you behave, sorry, your boss already knows about it… I have a person who knows him well. And now you’re in big trouble. Understand?”
“What? How?” the lady in red blinked rapidly, confused, but apparently, it quickly dawned on her. Because she, suddenly changing her expression, turned away from the smartphone and sweetly-smiling at Elizaveta, began to apologize for the inconvenience caused!
“Just leave, please, from my home,” Elizaveta said through nervous trembling.
The lady left. Alexander himself closed the door behind the collectors… or rather—shameless extortionists.
“Uncle Sasha! Uncle Sasha, you finally came!” Lesha, who emerged frightened as a little animal from the nursery, just rushed to him and embracing him, burst into tears.
Elizaveta couldn’t hold back either and still embracing her daughter, she also cried. And they all cried together. And Alexander—just remained silent for a while.
But then, fortunately, everyone gradually began to calm down… They went to the kitchen.
“Sit,” the unexpected guest commanded Lisa and he himself brewed tea.
“Thank you,” she replied, “thank you! For what you… In general… I must apologize! And I… You shouldn’t have! And what did you, by the way, tell that man? And how did you, I mean…”
“Elizaveta,” Alexander smiled softly at her, “calm down first, okay?”
Cups with saucers clinked down on the table and she, nodding, fell silent for a while. And then Alexander explained everything himself. He never thought that everything between them was over! And yes, he connected some contacts to find out what problems Elizaveta was currently facing. And fortunately, he began solving them very timely! In particular—among his father’s acquaintances was one person who knew the owner of the collection agency, so now heads were supposed to figuratively fly. And yes, Elizaveta’s debts were paid off. All of them.
“Oy,” was all she could say.
“If you start talking about returning it, I’ll seriously be offended,” Alexander replied, “because it’s silly.”
“What’s silly?” Lisa looked away embarrassedly, “returning debts?”
“Waiting or demanding it from one’s own wife.”
Silence hung in the kitchen. Elizaveta wanted to pinch herself—was she dreaming?!
“Sasha,” Lesha was the first to break it, “are you asking our mom to marry you or something?”
“Exactly,” he answered, “but I apologize, of course, that it turned out not at all romantic! Because probably, all women want it to be like in the movies…”
“And it turned out like in the movies!” Vera boldly joined the conversation, “in bad movies there are clichés, but in good ones—the director does everything originally and the screenwriter too! So it’s not necessary with a bouquet of roses and on one knee with a ring! You saved her… And all of us from bad people, and now you’re asking her to marry you and… What does this mean,” Vera suddenly realized, “you… You’ll be our stepfather?!”
“Daddy, dummy,” corrected her brother, “I may be younger than you, but I know for sure—Uncle Sasha won’t make a stepfather, but the best and truest dad in the world!”
Elizaveta felt like she was in a dream. She shifted her gaze from her son to her daughter and then to Alexander… Was all this really happening to her? And what was she… Supposed to do with all this?!
…More than half a year had passed since the mysterious incident near the village of Kaban (which, unfortunately, couldn’t be filmed because the camera mysteriously and inexplicably stopped working right on the night of the UFO observation).
The house, inherited from Elizaveta’s late husband, had long been sold. As had her city apartment… They sold it due to moving.
Because Elizaveta agreed with Alexander that now it would be more convenient for them to live in his house. In a large, suburban mansion. Where now Elizaveta’s daughter and son each had their own big room. And there lived Alexander’s parents as well. And what was surprising—they took to Elizaveta wonderfully! They immediately treated her warmly, as family… And never, not with a single word, hinted that she was an unsuitable match for their son.
And then of course, there was a wedding. Not too ostentatious, but beautiful. And at first Elizaveta was categorically against a white dress, but Ekaterina—her future mother-in-law, persuaded her that a silk model in a noble shade of ivory was also an option. And it seemed, this was it—happiness! Only… There was one important nuance in Elizaveta’s new family life.
“I don’t think our son will ever change his mind and lose interest in UFOs,” Nikolai—her father-in-law—once told Lisa, “and then, dear, well, what don’t you like? It’s a completely harmless hobby! I’d even say, such an unusual one… You should be proud of such a husband!”
Elizaveta would have liked to agree with this! But… It slightly stressed her out all the same. But she also loved Alexander very much and knew for sure that she wouldn’t try to change him. And then…
“Dear!” Alexander said one morning at breakfast, “pack a suitcase, we’re flying to Mexico!”
“How to Mexico?” Lisa frowned, “why?”
Alexander explained—there, scientists conducting some excavations recently found something resembling an ancient portal, or perhaps—a place where space ships landed, found some mysterious figurines… And there, by the way, strange lights were also flying. Journalists from all over the world were already flocking there!
“Actually, the part of the site where excavations are being conducted is somewhat classified from outsiders,” Alexander shared the details enthusiastically, “but I have a reliable person who will help us get in there!”
“Oy,” sighed Lisa.
She lowered her gaze to the plate with appetizing pancakes—her husband had baked them. She had been feeling nauseous… For several days now! And she knew the reason. And actually, she was going to tell Alexander about it today. But, apparently, sighed Lisa, it would have to wait. Maybe there will be a suitable moment in Mexico? Yes, probably…
“What’s wrong?” Alexander asked worriedly, “you’re not flying with me?”
“I am,” sighed Elizaveta, “of course, I am! I love you…”
And she looked at him with loving eyes. The excited children chattered about the upcoming adventure at the table nearby. And then Elizaveta thought about how she was actually happy. She had met a man with whom she wanted to spend the rest of her life. And the fact that this life wouldn’t be very calm or measured… Well, she was ready to accept that! And certainly, neither she nor the children would be bored! The main thing… Not to allow even the thought that aliens, UFOs might exist. Because then all these truth-seeking efforts by Alexander would be far from harmless…