In the arms of Mara. Tsvetana Alekhina

everything: curtains, windows, chandelier, and every little thing that was in this room. It happened quickly enough; I was already ready for it and was not particularly afraid. My two friends had a hard time, and I was afraid for them and their lives, too. The ice continued to crackle, and its thickness reached a large size.

      – What the hell! My friend dropped the cup from his hands, and it froze in the air along with the spilled liquid. I noticed one of them had a trembling lower lip. However, I could not say a word to them. For a moment everything froze, we all froze, an abyss opened up in front of us and we fell into it. We landed in a clearing where I once drank a miraculous drink. The pot was empty. Looking around, I did not see anyone. I was looking for the inhabitants of this world to continue my journey. I completely forgot about my friends, but I should have thought about them.

      – Where are we? What is happening? Listen, you are at home here! Explain.

      – We are in hell with you! I said joyfully!

      – What?

      – Well, or to put it culturally in the realm of darkness. Moreover, I need to get to the party.

      – What? Explain again?

      – I do not know how to explain all this myself, but this is my second time here. In addition, today is a holiday for one of the Slavic goddesses, and I need to save my grandmother.

      – I understand everything. Do not go on. It is just that you infected us with a virus, and the three of us went crazy. Now we will all come to our senses, and that is it. No more holidays.

      – It makes sense. I also hold this point of view. It is just a glitch. It is necessary to listen less to fairy tales about goddesses.

      My friends turned away from me and went in the opposite direction. I already knew where I was and realized that I needed to go in the opposite direction. I wanted to run after us, but stopped. They also got up, not knowing where to go. This place has become so scary and cold that I was scared myself. Winter was coming into its own, and it was palpable.

      – What are you going to do?

      – I will go further, I know where. I did not know what to do with them. Take them with you or leave them here. A spirit came for me.

      – Hurry up. There is very little time.

      – What should I do with them?

      – Let them wait here. We will escort them back. Now run as hard as you can. I was running, and I forgot about fatigue. When I reached the bridge, I saw the trolls leaving. Stopping, I asked the spirit to tell me about my grandmother.

      – Your grandmother once, in her youth, resorted to the help of the great goddess Mara. Nevertheless, later, she stopped honoring her, worshipping her, and did not fulfill her promise. The goddess was angry with her, and made her house cleaner. In addition, you incurred her wrath by behaving improperly at the cemetery and laughing at Mara herself. She heard everything.

      – And from where do you know all this?

      – Do not forget that I am dead, but clairvoyant. Now go.

      – And how can I help my grandmother?

      – You will find out for yourself. Go faster. A three-headed serpent guarded the bridge. He rose into the air and spread his wings. The horror took my breath away, and I felt myself losing strength. I ran across the bridge and felt my knees tremble, and the bridge was wobbling under my feet. As soon as I found myself on the other side, I saw emptiness. The plain stretched before me. I expected to see something more, something different. The plain was endless. I did not know where to go next and stood waiting.

      After taking a few steps forward, I saw how the picture changed its screensaver. Everything was different here. It was like a well-maintained park that had prepared for winter. Everything was well cleaned here, the trees are well maintained, and there are even benches for relaxing. Street lamps illuminated the dark space. I went to wander around this park in the hope of meeting at least someone in this dark world. I could not figure out where everyone had gone, because I was running with the trolls. How it all happened. Where should I look for them? Looking around, I realized that this park, like the plain, has neither beginning nor end. I walked along the asphalt path in the hope that it would lead me wherever.

      The park turned into a forest in an instant. It was a green clearing, on which a house covered with moss stood among the trees. Here everything was deserted and abandoned, and no one seemed to live. I wanted to go to the house, but an invisible force pushed me away. I made another attempt and was thrown back again. I completely forgot about my fear, and that I am alive among the dead. I did not know who I was anymore.

      I stood still and looked at the house. Suddenly everything went dark and another picture appeared in the dim light. It was like a billboard that changes the screensavers. A dark abandoned house appeared in front of me. It looked like a haunted house, but no one seemed to live in it, as in the previous one. This picture was like a nightmare. Everything was dark and creepy here. Dark bony trees moved their bony branches. A palisade surrounded the house and skulls were planted on it through one. There was cold ground underfoot and not a drop of greenery, unlike the previous house. This time I was scared, and I did not dare to step forward, but on the contrary stepped back and bumped into old rotten boards and fell. I was sitting waiting for someone to come out of this house. However, there was a deathly silence and I got up. I am tired. I desperately wanted to stop this nightmare, but it dragged me in, and I did not know how to end it.

      I stood and waited for what would happen next. Silence won, and I went ahead. It was even scarier ahead; the picture changed its screensaver. There was a stone castle in front of me. The fence of this castle was also made of a stockade, only a skull was impaled on each stake. The railings in this castle were made entirely of skulls. It was dark enough and fog began to set in. Terror seized me and I wanted to run away from here. I began to miss my friends and even the spirit who initiated me into these secrets. The doors and windows were closed. It looks like no one lives in these houses, I thought to myself. I wonder what kind of houses these are, and who lives in them? The castle was made of stone, unlike the two previous houses. Skeletons stood at the entrance gate like two faithful guards. On the very edge of the roof sat a black raven, and stared at me intently. This made me even more scared, I no longer wanted to continue on my way, I wanted to wake up as soon as possible, but I did not know how to do it. The mist enveloped the whole neighborhood, nothing was visible and I did not know where to go next. Clouds of dark gray smoke obscured everything around. I began to look around. Someone suddenly touched my shoulder, and I flinched. It was my friend.

      – We finally found you! It is a creepy place! What do you think? I was quite surprised to see them here.

      – We have been looking for you for a long time. My friends came accompanied by my new ghost friend. – Your friend helped us find you. I was excited to see my friends. My fear disappeared and I wanted to continue on my way.

      – We decided to go with you to the end. Did you hear that you are going to the party? I smiled cordially in response, as a sign of agreement.

      – How did you find me?

      – We ran after you across the bridge. The snake obviously did not like it, and we had to run as fast as we could. When we caught up with you, you suddenly disappeared and there was an empty meadow in front of us. Then we found ourselves in a clearing near a house covered with moss. It turns out that this is the house of Veles himself. He guards the vestibules of the Navi world and appears here occasionally.

      – Where does such knowledge come from?

      – It was your friend the ghost who enlightened us! Then the picture changed dramatically, and we saw an abandoned house. The picture is not pleasant. We wanted to go home so much. This is the home of Chernobog, the master of this world. It seems that the gods do not live in their