Collection of mysticism. + author’s biography including essays about books

We went forward in order to get closer to the palace, but the more we went forward, the further away from it we became. I stopped in exhaustion. – When will it all end?

– Soon. I looked around and saw my ghost friend, and next to him our friend who had left the cemetery.

– You have already done the main way. You are going the wrong way, so you are moving away. I will bring you to the end. Then I do not know what will happen. It seemed to me that the spirit sighed heavily, but he could not do it and I felt sorry for him. I saw the sadness in his eyes and did not dare ask what he was sad about.

– «You don’t want to know that. You will see for yourself soon. We continued on our way and the palace began to approach. When we reached the steps, we stopped. The Spirit looked at me. – Go on alone. Maybe I will not see you again. With these words, he disappeared.

After standing for a while, we began to climb the elegant staircase. We walked as if enchanted; everyone was looking at the beauty of the castle. From the inside, the castle was no less beautiful than from the outside. Everything here was made of ice. Luxury was present in everything. The mistress of the palace had a delicate and elegant taste. Thin and icy lace decorated the walls of the palace, and thin and icy incisors were present wherever possible. The ceilings were undoubtedly high, they could almost be said not to exist. There were ice vaults decorated with snow patterns.

– That is what I understand the taste!

– Quiet. Do not draw attention. We passed, if we say it in our language, the foyer, and entered a narrow corridor. We spent so much time on the icy floor and did not feel the cold. After passing through a narrow corridor, we found ourselves at the entrance to the central hall. In front of us were trolls, and in front of them were the same dead souls and their escorts. Souls and devils were having a nice conversation about something; they were still holding skulls in their hands. The trolls stood idly apart from them.

– I wonder why the trolls are not in business.

– Do not attract attention. We were the last ones standing, and tried to hide behind a column. For some reason, these characters initially did not pay attention to us. The only inhabitant of this world who stared at me intently is my grandmother. I was looking for her with my eyes, but for some reason I did not see her anywhere.

– The most important thing is that we got here.

– That is for sure.

The doors opened, and souls and their 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.

– «My God, they’re corpses. This was actually the case. The corridor was crowded with living corpses.

– What are you doing here? In addition, who are you? I asked this question so boldly, forgetting that I am still alive.

– We are servants of Mara Marena. Every year we are called here from our chambers to serve at the feast. We are the ones who are not worthy of the light. Now we live in a world of darkness. In addition, those who are now in the hall, they are honored with these ice palaces of the goddess herself. They have the right to stay there with her until spring.

– Why before the onset of spring?

– In the spring, the great goddess ends her rights to rule on earth, and she retires here to her Palaces. In addition, she prefers to be here alone with her husband. These spirits arrive every year for the holiday, and every year they become more and more, but not by much. Not everyone manages to make friends with her. In addition, we are just servants. I learned useful information, and it became easier for me.

– What will you do?

– You will see.

With these words, I finished my story. My listener did not miss a single word. The room was dark. It was already late at night. However, I knew that my friend was listening to me carefully. A blizzard was howling outside the window, and a lantern shone dimly. This picture reminded me of the window in my friend’s room when the room I was in was covered with ice. I remembered with horror everything I had experienced. Although I did not regret it. I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

Early in the morning, my neighbor greeted me and imploringly asked me to continue my story.

– Tell me. I said seriously. Do you really believe that?

– Yes, I do. In addition, I will soon provide you with physical evidence that this is true.

– OK. I will continue my story after breakfast.

– I will be sorry to part with you. He said with bitterness in his voice. I do not even know what you are going to do next. However, you had better not come back here anymore. My friend’s words scared me. I could not imagine what he meant. However, he said them seriously enough. After breakfast, I continued my story.

CHAPTER 2

The gods greeted each other and took their places. The hall was empty, it was very dark and there was a deathly silence. This silence did not bode well. The hall was huge, and it seemed to me that it would be heard even if a snowflake fell. That is what happened. First, a fire lit up on the suspended chandelier, which was swinging, and then a whirlwind of snowflakes began. Again, there was a deathly silence. The fire went out. Only the outlines of the gods were visible.

The same old woman appeared, her appearance was still terrible. My friends were surprised to see her.

– Is it really your grandmother?

– Yes. I replied dryly.

The old woman began to build a fire. She brought dry brushwood, and tried to set it on fire, but she could not do anything. The brushwood was too cold and saturated with moisture. This process took time, and everyone silently waited for the result. The fire began to flare up and went out. Mara was amused by this, and she sat silently and smiled, I could see a grin in her eyes. The fire went out before it had time to ignite. The old woman bent down to light it again. Bat, she was thrown away by an invisible force, and with such force that she hit the ice wall, but immediately stood up briskly and looked in the direction of the gods. No one moved, everyone was looking at the extinguished fire. Mara laughed, it amused her. The flame broke out, of course. In addition, it flared up like a pioneer bonfire. The appearance of this flame was not natural, more like an artificial one. While the flame was burning, I wanted to get to my grandmother, but my friends stopped me.

– It’s not time yet. Wait.

– She’s right here, she can hear me.

– «She’s not the only one who’ll hear you. I listened to my friend and stayed where I was.

Then the souls flew away and took seats for the guests. Devils teamed up with trolls. The chandelier made of ice began to sway, the flame of the fire burned evenly. Nothing-foreshadowed trouble. Gradually, one by one, the dead who were standing next to us began to disappear. It was not known where they had gone. The cold hall turned into a taiga, it was the summer time of the year. The thickets parted by themselves, forming a flat clearing. The fire continued to burn, all the evil spirits began to come out of the thickets, ghouls, goblins, demons, there were so many of them that I could not see them and even find out which of them, who. They all climbed out of the darkness, came up and bowed to Mara. This ritual did not last long. When all this was over, and they disappeared, dark gods began to come out into the clearing, who had a direct connection with the dark world and expressed their respect to Mara. Mara received them kindly, and they went back to the depths of the taiga. The flames of the bonfire subsided. It illuminated the holiday. Then the taiga parted, forming an abyss, and the whole picture collapsed, and the hall took on its former appearance, and the same lighting, the chandelier continued to sway. Then one of the dead men appeared and removed the remains of the fire, after which he disappeared along with the remains.

It was the turn of the invited guests, they lined up in pairs, devils and trolls did not part. They flew up to the gods and gave them the skulls they came with. It was more of a gift for Koshchei. He decorated his home and even furniture with them. After these events, it was the turn of her favorite guests. She accepted them generously. The pile of skulls disappeared, at the snap of two fingers of their owner. The servants brought tables and chairs for dead souls to sit at them, only in human form. They took the form of sitting down at the table, and did it by seniority. First the male elders sat down, then the female ones. Only then, in the order of dying, the bodies and souls mixed up and sat down as they had to. The sight of these bodies spoke for itself. It looks like they died a long time ago, and are already used to being in the dark. They did not pretend to be anything more, they liked their existence. Their eyes shone with a transparent light, and the shell around their eyes betrayed the absence of life. Their bony fingers were like skeletal bones, their hair was lifeless, and they were not breathing. They were just sitting at the table.

The guests took their seats and sat waiting for something. We continued to watch. An old woman appeared, she appeared out of thin air and splashes of frozen water scattered in different directions. In her hands, she held the pot from which I managed to drink the magic drink. The servants carried wooden cups, one dead man carried a tray with dishes, and another poured this drink and distributed them to the guests. There were several of them, and they did their job quickly. One of them made a mistake and was immediately deleted. The scattered like flakes of snow, and in his place was another. Then all the servants quickly disappeared.

– How are you going to save her if she appears and disappears? It can turn into flakes of snow at any moment.

– Yes, you are right. I do not know myself anymore. Can I approach Mara herself?

– «What are you going to tell her?»

– Let him take me, and let the grandmother go.

– You are stupid! Why. You still have your whole life ahead of you; you are only twenty-five.

– I know. Bat, it is also my fault that she is suffering.

– I do not think so. It is her fault that you are here being alive. She told you fairy tales. Our argument was interrupted by a third.

– Quiet. Do not collect troubles. We are already in hell. Her husband will also make skulls out of us. Let us wait. Maybe the grandmother actually knows something. We must wait for the moment.

– «You’re right.

The guests were sitting peacefully at the tables; the hosts of the holiday were talking about something among themselves, or even not talking, but exchanging glances. The house cleaner collected the empty dishes from the guests and disappeared. Trolls came out into the hall and began their single dance. They were dancing something beautiful, trying to please the guests, something like a ballet. In my opinion, this ball was nothing special. I had more idea how to do my job faster and get away from here. I looked away and thought for a second, closing my eyes. As soon as I did that, I heard a sharp sound. It was like a creak. I looked into the hall. Guests, devils and tables, everything was cleaned. The guests took their seats as before. Devils and trolls were sitting in their places. The tables disappeared.

Mara Marena was standing in the middle of the hall. She stood tall and began to change her appearance. Her hair looked like the sun, it was golden, a light beautiful dress complemented the image of spring. Having taken the form of summer, the color of her hair remained the same golden, and she was even more beautiful. In autumn, she looked like a decrepit old woman in old clothes and a hump on her back, and with the arrival of winter, she turned into a young beautiful woman. Her beauty was fatal. I could not get enough of her. Her hair was decorated with a crown with precious stones; her gaze was stern and proud. She was a great goddess.

The festive hall changed its beauty with her. It all started in spring, despite the time of year there has never been light here. The light was a bonfire on which people burned an effigy of spring. At that moment, Mara wrinkled her face and clenched her hands into fists. This picture ended abruptly.

Then summer came. The picture changed its screensavers the way I had seen it before when I came here and saw the abandoned dwellings of the gods. It was dark enough here for the summer season, and the black sun served as the light. Spring and summer left quickly enough, but autumn was delayed. It was a damp and cold picture. There was a dark and gloomy street in the hall. Gray wooden houses stood in an abandoned state. There was no light in them and the street was illuminated by a lantern. It was drizzling outside, but no one felt it from those present, the rain did not touch them. The trees stood like gnarled guards.

The picture began to slowly change its screensaver. The water began to freeze gradually, turning into icicles. The raindrops turned into flakes of snow and a blizzard began. Mara was coming into her own. The blizzard rose stronger and stronger until it turned into a tornado and abruptly stopped. After the stop, the picture disappeared, and the inhabitants of the hall, all except the gods, were covered with ice. All the servants, devils, trolls and guests in human form. They all turned into ice statues. This picture has already surfaced before my eyes. I remember this moment well. My grandmother was standing in a half-bent state and held a shaman’s tambourine in her hands. The Winter Palace was fabulously beautiful, as was its owner. Winter frowned. Mara has come into her own.

I finished my story. A doctor came into the room and interrupted him. The doctor was doing his rounds. He said rather sad words for me. My friend should be discharged soon. I had already become attached to him and I did not want to part with him. In addition, after the experience I was afraid to stay in the ward alone. The doctor left the room. There has been no talk about my discharge yet.

– Don’t be sad. We will meet again, you will see. I took a deep breath in response. How quickly you can get used to a person, I thought. I was sad because so many things happened to me in such a short period, I met a person, now everything is ending, and we will have to part. What a pity. Alternatively, maybe I really dreamed everything and nothing happened. I thought and went out into the corridor.

– Where are you going?

– Just to walk. Walk to the bathroom, I joked.

– Let’s go together. My friend never let me go alone, and I did not even think about why. We walked down the corridor, drank coffee, and I continued my story.

The inhabitants of the castle assumed their former forms. Many guests disappeared, turning into splashes of snow. So they got rid of unnecessary guests. Everything took its former form. The ice thawed a little and became much warmer, although no one felt the cold. Mara threw her gaze at my grandmother, and she turned into a young girl. Beautiful enough for her age and position, but no one could compare with Mara. The girl straightened up to her full height and carefully looked in the direction of Mara. No one dared to look her in the eye.

A moment later, the castle disappeared, and we found ourselves in the winter garden. Everything took its former form, only instead of the old woman there was a girl standing and shamanizing by the fire. The guests separated, the trolls and devils separated from the spirits and lived by themselves. Only the chosen guests remained, and this final part of the holiday was for them. They were facing each other and they were separated by fire. Only the chosen guests remained, and this final part of the holiday was dedicated to them. The gods sat invariably, as they sat originally in the castle. Koschei, did not take his eyes off his wife, he admired her beauty. His eyes glittered greedily; his bony fingers fingered the handle of the throne, lined with skulls. Mara looked with her icy eyes at the fire; her gaze was cold and ruthless, and still changed color.

The old girl was still brewing a miraculous drink; it was already the third pot. My friends and I were standing under a tree and continued to watch what was happening.

– You should have approached her in the castle. However, it will not work out here. See how it turned out.

– I see.

– Then she will disappear and that is it.

– We need to catch the moment, as soon as the moment succeeds, I will immediately use it.

– We all believe in you.

The effect of the drink was beginning to end, and we began to feel cold.

– Do you feel the same as me?

– You will not believe it, but yes! Same as you.

– She is brewing a new potion. If you drink it, then the action will last.

– And how will we do it?

– Let’s hope for a miracle.

The girl continued to cook and shamanize at the same time. In addition, every time the shamanic words intensified, she became older. First, it was a girl, then a girl-woman, then a young woman, and so gradually, she turned back into a poor old woman. She stood hunched over by the fire and continued to brew a potion.

The drink was ready. The old woman poured it into the same wooden cups and distributed it to the servants. They drank and assumed human form. Then the servants carried it to the others. First to souls, then to demons and trolls. Everything went smoothly. I saw how the drink remained in the pot. Fumes were coming from it. After drinking the drink, the Sabbath began. Demons, trolls and souls were having fun. The old woman and the servants stood aside, they could not take part. The fun was in full swing. In addition, I decided that this was a chance and I should take it.

We walked around the tall fir trees, the holiday remained ahead. After walking a little forward, I got as close as possible to the grandmother. The three of us were shaking from the cold. She had her back to us. I plucked up the courage and called her in a low voice. She heard me from the first call, but did not dare to look back. I realized this and waited. She exchanged a glance with one of the servants. This dead man sneaked into our Christmas trees and brought a cup of drink. We drank it one for three, forgetting that we were drinking from the hands of a dead man. The gods were watching the Sabbath and did not notice what was happening. The fire was blazing with a bright flame and we were not visible. The old woman took a few steps back and without turning to face us began a dialogue.

– Why are there three of you here?

– We do not know ourselves. A friend replied.

– Well, he is fine, and what are you doing here? With three, it will be more difficult.

– «Don’t they know we’re here?»

– I think they know; only the three of you will be more difficult to save.

– How to understand?

– It means that he died alone and dragged his tail behind him. You should not be here.

– And what should I do now?

– Rescue drowning people.

The potion began to work, and we felt a surge of strength and stopped feeling cold.