In the arms of Mara. Tsvetana Alekhina

accompanying persons began to slowly enter the hall. They came in a slow column, like on the Kalinov Bridge, in pairs. I stood on tiptoe to see something, but I could not. As we progressed, we also progressed, and became closer to the central hall. The column passed, the trolls remained, and they went in pairs. As soon as they passed, it was our turn and we froze. I did not dare to take the first step. I leaned against the doorway and began to carefully examine what was going on inside.

      Inside there was a huge hall with massive columns that supported the arches of the palace. The hall was huge and empty. The tall windows were covered with delicate lace patterns. There were four thrones in the hall. Two stood side by side, the other two were on the sides not far from each other.

      The host of the holiday was sitting next to her husband Koshchei. Her face was deathly pale and insanely beautiful. Her eyes were constantly changing color from bright blue to black. Her long hair of a bright black color hung down to her waist, and a crown of silver was decorated with precious stones.

      Her husband never took his eyes off her. He was a thin, terribly scary and bony villain. His small eyes glowed with malice and greed. He greedily looked at everyone around him with his hateful gaze. Mara herself was very beautifully dressed for the holiday; she was wearing a beautiful festive dress. Her husband looked stingy enough for the holiday, and nothing seemed to connect the two people. A huge number of skulls distinguished this villain. Even his throne was paved with skulls made of ice. His crown was decorated with skulls. I realized that this villain is obsessed with turtles.

      On Koshchei’s right hand was his father Chernobog. He was an old, decrepit old man, very unpleasant in appearance. He was wearing a black robe and I could not see his face.

      On the right hand of Mara was Velez. He was a pleasant old man, more like a forester. In appearance, he had no place in this company.

      In the center of the hall, there were souls one by one with little devils. They formed a circle. Trolls decorated the walls with their ridiculous appearance. I tried to find the old grandmother, but she did not catch my eye.

      – Well, it turns out I came here for nothing?

      – What do you want to say?

      – “I don’t see her anywhere.

      – Who?

      – His late grandmother.

      – “What does she look like?”

      – When I saw her, she was an ugly old woman who was shamanizing by the fire. Her appearance is simply terrible.

      – Let’s try to find her together. As far as I know, they can all change their image here, as they like.

      – Yes, everyone except her. She is a servant here. She needs to be saved. One of the friends leaned against another opening and tried to climb higher to see what was happening inside.

      – I think I see her.

      – What does she look like?

      – Standing in the very ring of the hall, all in rags and holding some sort of sieve in his hands.

      – That is her. Did she guess me wrong?

      – Maybe she just cannot come to you. She cannot.

      – “You’re right. How will we proceed?

      – “I don’t know.

      – Probably, when the holiday begins, we will merge with the crowd and try to approach her.

      – Good idea. What will happen to us if this snow queen enchants us? Will it cover with a crust of ice? Alternatively, whatever.

      – Yes, I agree too. As a child, I listened to fairy tales about Koshchei, but I did not know that he existed. In addition, I heard that the great wizard, magician and sorcerer. He is immortal. And, how will we be saved?

      – I understand you. However, you got here with me, just like me. Therefore, staying here is already a danger. We are in hell. However, we have every chance to get out of here.

      – How, if it is not a secret?

      – I do not know myself. I am sure that my grandmother knows about it for sure.

      – “You’re right. It is necessary to save the grandmother, and she will solve all the problems.

      – It is a pity that our friend ghost has left us.

      – Yes, it is a pity. He has helped us well enough.

      There was a deathly silence in the hall, and everyone froze in anticipation of something special. I was staring intently at the center and for some reason I did not see anyone. How my friend could see something there. Looking back, I saw that the palace was not standing still, but moving through the air.

      – How is this possible?

      – What are you talking about?

      – Look back.

      – Oh, my God. When it all stops. How are we going to get out of here?

      – Where are we anyway? Underground or in the sky?

      – “I don’t know. We walked away from the hall and walked down a narrow corridor, since we came here. When we reached the steps, we looked down. We were actually floating through the air. The view from the top was quite beautiful. The icy mountains, the snowy plains, it all seemed so small. The air was icy and my feet stuck to the steps. The air was clear and transparent, and a blizzard was blowing below.

      – How is this possible? I am scared to imagine what she might do to us when she gets to us.

      – Do you think he will get there?

      – And you think she does not know that the three of us are here. In addition, how do you think we all got here? By her grace.

      We went back to continue watching the holiday that had not yet begun. The corridor was crowded with people in the flesh. They appeared out of nowhere and stood up waiting. There were not a large number of them, and they continued to appear. We froze in amazement.