It was already hard to remember when he first got behind the wheel of a car, so many years had passed, and he himself was no longer a boy. "The old broken trough" is how he called himself jokingly among his fellow truckers.

His wife Nastenka was seriously ill and died of cancer, five years have passed since her death. He never got married again, he went all into work. So occasionally random women appeared, but no one stayed long. There was no one who would replace his beloved wife.

– The sun is shining brightly, a sparrow is chirping. It's more fun to live a good life in the white world," Ivan continued to hum the song, "Well, what are you standing here for, you fools?

Girls in miniskirts were standing on the side of the road, some of them were smoking, others were standing on the spot looking at cars and trucks.

– They would have gone to work and even to the factory and would have been normal people, then they would have married, – he shouted, but no one heard him, all the windows were closed in the cabin.

Ivan Mikhailovich was born in the village, by nature he was fair and honest. Therefore, now he spoke from the heart, well, it’s disgusting because all this, you will agree!

Therefore, despite his bachelor status, he never used the services of moths.

He was passing the village of Svetloye and noticed an old man on the side of the road, who waved his hand at him. Ivan Mikhailovich pressed the clutch pedal, the truck growled and stopped.

– Hello to me in the next village on the highway it will be in about half an hour – said the old man.

– Get in, have fun together, – Ivan replied.

– You won't regret that they put me in jail, I'm still that guy in the village, an accordion, ditties and stories, and that's all me, people love me for that. By the way, what is your name?

–I'm Ivan," he replied and lit a cigarette, blowing smoke rings out the window.

– But we are namesakes, and I am Ivan too. the old man laughed. – Two Ivan, two blockheads.

– But why am I a fool?

– Yes, that's me, you don't understand all the rhyme. Well, I'll tell you only one story, but if our paths still converge, then there will be another story for you," the old man lit his pipe and coughed.

– Why do you have such valuable stories?

– Well, how can I tell you, people really like them.

«Come on, old man, tell your story,» Ivan said and prepared to listen.

MERMAIDS

– This strange story happened a long time ago, when I was a young guy and served as a soldier in a construction battalion, – the old man began the story, he lit his pipe again, – And the military unit was located near the city of Timashevsk.

– This is Krasnodar Krai, a southern city, and I often go there for work, the other day I have to take the cargo there, – Ivan said.

"All right, listen further to what happened to me there," the old man replied.

One hot summer, my friend Sasha and I decided to go awol for the whole weekend. We agreed with our comrades in the company that we should be covered, collected the most necessary things and went to the farm with the name of Fierce.

– Is the name something strange? – I said to my friend then.

– Now we will check whether this name corresponds to reality, – he laughed in response.

We took each of our duffel bags and went. It was necessary to walk five kilometers to the farm, we covered this distance in a couple of hours. We knocked on one house and an old grandmother immediately opened it to us.

– Let us in for a couple of days, and we'll do the work you give us, – said Sashka.

– Welcome, come on in, you guys will have a bed for the night, – grandma answered in a kind voice, straightening her gray hair that had fallen out from under a colorful scarf.

She showed us the room and invited us to the table. The lunch was simply divine, because then I had not eaten home cooking for a year, but sat on soldiers' grub.

– Come on, do you want to go swimming on the river? – she asked, pouring homemade kvass into glasses.

– Yes, and you don't have fishing rods?

– There is no such good, and you will not catch fish there, the owner of the river will be against it, – grandma replied.

– And who is the owner? Is your administration local, or what? – we answered in unison.

– No, – she laughed, – Just the owner of the river.

– Is this master Neptune, or what? – now we laughed in response.

– Don’t laugh, otherwise he will be angry with you and won’t let you go. «Chop some wood for me and go to the river,» the old woman said.

While Sasha and I were chopping wood, everyone discussed this conversation with grandma and came to the conclusion that Old Believers most likely live here, who will worship various spirits, and we calmed ourselves with this.

– Well, did you guys chop wood for me?

– Yes, we are finishing soon.

– Quit your job and go to the river, otherwise you have to get back before dark.

"Good," we said in surprise and looked at each other, but still decided to obey and left the firewood.

We went along the path into the forest and saw the long-awaited river, which stretched in a long ribbon along the gentle bank, and on its edge grew tall reeds.

Suddenly, a ringing female laugh rang out from there. And Sasha and I saw two girls among the reeds, who were sitting on huge stones covering their bodies with colorful scarves.

– Well, are you boys going to swim? one of them asked in her thin melodious voice.

– Yes, of course we're going. And you probably wake up here, the villagers? – Sashka said joyfully, he had finally met female representatives for many months of service.

– Yes, we are local, local, – they giggled together.

– And you take off your clothes and run to us. The water is warm, like fresh milk," said a dark girl with a long, thick braid that lay on her shoulder.

– Let’s run, dear, let’s run, – said Sashka and quickly began to take off his soldier’s trousers.

–Wait," I said softly, "Don't rush, remember what the old lady told us about the strange places here, and about the owner of the river. Usually girls behave more modestly, but they don't invite guys they don't know.

– Come on, Vanya, why are you like a little one. Look what kind of girls, well, when will you have such an opportunity again? "Well, are we running into the river?" he said, taking off his T—shirt, the last thing left on him.

– Why don't you undress? – asked a dark girl with a long braid.

– A little later. I'll stand for a while, take a look around.

– Well, come on then, Vanya, come on. You’re smart, live,» the girl giggled, and a fish tail and scales appeared from under her scarf, apparently she was covering it, then she slipped off the stone and dived into the river.

– Sasha, wait, they are not girls at all, but mermaids! I shouted loudly, but I didn't have time.

He had already run up and jumped into the water. The second girl also dived after them.

– Sasha! I shouted standing next to the water, looking at its smooth surface.

I stood and shouted for a long time until the sun began to set. Sasha immediately disappeared under the water and never showed up again.

I came back in tears. The old lady listened to my story, shook her head and said softly.

– So the river swallowed up your friend. The owner took him to himself.

– That's the end of the story, Ivan, and we have already arrived in my village, – said the old man, putting his old pipe in his bosom.

– Mermaids, it turns out they dragged your friend to the bottom, – Ivan said thoughtfully, – And then they found his body?

– No, Van was never found, – the old man replied, – I told you that I'm still that storyteller and my stories are all very interesting. Next time I'll tell you another super story. Thank you Vanya for giving me a ride.

Ivan stopped the old man, he got out, and he himself drove on alone, whistling his favorite song under his nose.

– The sun is shining brightly, a sparrow is chirping.

It’s more fun to live a good life in the white world!

CHAPTER 2. A STRANGE TRAVELING COMPANION

As if by an irony of fate, Ivan had to go to the city of Timashevsk, his money client was waiting there and he had to pick up the cargo to deliver it to Moscow.

If it works out, then I'll stop by the village of Fierce, about which the old man told me, because I wonder if people live there now.

Suddenly Ivan noticed that a tall man in a long raincoat was standing on the road, a hood was on his head that covered his entire face, he was standing and waiting for someone to stop him.

"I won't stop him," the thought flashed through Ivan's head. A strange type. I don't like strange people like that.

But the man blocked his way, so like it or not, he had to press the brake and abruptly stop the truck.

– Are you tired of living? Ivan shouted.

To which the man did not answer anything, but simply silently approached the cabin and began to open the door.

– Where are you going without an invitation?

But the strange man in the raincoat again said nothing.

– Maybe you're dumb? If so, nod.

The man nodded his head slightly.

– Well, what should I do with you, sit down, – Ivan pitied the peasant, – I can't leave you here. I'm going south. I have to go to Timashevsk. You then wave your hand where you need to stop.

The man again nodded imperceptibly to Ivan in response.

– That's settled. And now you can sit down.

The fellow traveler climbed into the cab and pressed himself into the corner and sat down right next to the door.

– If you want, I'll talk, and you nod or mumble.

Ivan looked at the man, who was sitting motionless again.

– Okay, sit down. Just don't forget to give a sign so that your stop won't pass. Otherwise I'll take you very far away," Ivan said and continued whistling his favorite song.

"-Let the road run into the distance

Sadness

Let it not lie on your heart

I can do anything in the world!"

The fellow traveler sat for a long time, pressed into the very corner of the cabin, and his black hood hung directly over his face, so that it was impossible to see not only his facial features, but also to determine his age.

Ivan had already relaxed during this time and even began to forget about the existence of an outsider in his car.

But suddenly the fellow traveler stirred, he began to carefully look for something in his raincoat. Soon he took out a jar, and worms and maggots were swarming in it. It was seen how he took t

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The secret of the psychic. A mystical novel

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