Chapter 1

Chapter 121st. Night. Monday ... like Akhmatova, damn it, only the outlines of the capital let us down, I don’t live in it, I just work and, however, I’m very pleased with it. The snow slowly swirls and falls on passers-by and me. I love this weather - warm and fabulous, the New Year is about to come! My name is Lana, no kidding, that's my full name. Parents decided to single out their beloved daughter from the crowd, well, and now, for almost thirty years now, I have been Vestnik Lana Igorevna. And almost thirty, because thirty years old will hit me just on December 31st. Mommy gave birth to me on New Year's Eve, five minutes before the holiday. I can’t imagine how happy the obstetrician and doctor on duty were then, but my mother said that my appearance was celebrated by the whole floor!I have a wonderful life: loving parents, three brothers, a well-paid job and excellent prospects for it. True, I don’t have a husband, but I don’t bother - in Europe they get married and give birth to children even after the thirty-year milestone. I had young people, but somehow everything didn’t work out, I’m not picky, but not everyone is able to withstand the test of character and three brothers. Mom and dad gave me not only an excellent education, but also taught me to approach all kinds of failures with humor, and the fact that my ex-boyfriends could not live in the same way only upset me. That is why I decided to take a time out in a relationship and plunge into work.Today is the last day off when I can safely choose gifts for my own. That's what I was doing, and when I bought everything, I decided to take a walk to the park. Far from home, of course, but it's worth it in such and such weather!- Girl, does your mother need a son-in-law? I turned to the voice of the speaker. It turned out to be a guy who looked about twenty years old.-No thanks. She is not yet looking for a husband for her sister, - I chuckled. She did not specify that she was a cousin. And calmly moved on from the slightly stunned guy. I stopped near the skating rink, where many people went skating on the occasion of good weather.-And you imagine if magic existed! What would you want? - I involuntarily listened to the conversation of small children standing nearby.-Be able to fly like a bird! and don't do homework! - answered the second interlocutor.“Funny,” I thought, “once I could also answer. And now… I don’t even know, everything seems to be there.”-Let's go for a ride down the hill, - the boy pulled the girl by the hand towards the hill and they ran away. Time passed, as usual - quickly, and now, it's New Year's Eve. I am with my parents, with my brothers and their girlfriends-wives: Ivan and Kirill are already married, to Yulia and Irina, respectively, and Arseniy has not yet decided and came with his girlfriend, Christina. All the brothers were older than me, but we have been friends since childhood, my parents did not make a difference between us, so they know how to cook and clean, and I went to karate with them. The belt is not black, but I can stand up for myself. -Lana, in five minutes your birthday, and in five more new year! Call the guys, - my mother in a beautiful dress put champagne on the table and looked back at me.- Okay, mom, - I went to call the guys and dad from the street, they decided to heat the bathhouse and something else there. On the way, she sent the girls to her mother.Our men were heating the bath. -Dad, guys, it's time to go to the table, - I shouted out into the street towards the bathhouse, Ivan looked out of the bathhouse and waved his hand that they were coming. New Year's Eve we celebrated noisily and cheerfully. There were many jokes and wishes for my birthday, I even made a wish this year - nothing serious, as usual, so that there were many pleasant moments and there was an opportunity to make decisions myself. A few hours later we went to our rooms and apartments. “Mmm… I wish I could get some more sleep, but no, today I need to prepare a report for the manager,” I lay down for another minute and got up. It does not matter that today is only the fifth of January, the report must be generated on time. I work for a small but rapidly growing company as an Assistant Chief Economist. I love my job, so I go to it on New Year's holidays.Going outside, she shivered from the cold. Not a soul around, that's right, it's still too early - 9 am. But for my purpose, the most important thing is that I can get to work without traffic jams. The car started up on the third attempt, but this did not overshadow my mood, I am cheerful, cheerful and happy with life! Just think, thirty years is an awesome age, there is no overshadowing routine, everything is super. With these thoughts in mind, I parked my car in the service parking lot across from work and walked to the crosswalk. There were no parking spaces directly next to the work, so the management rented this parking lot for our office. There were no cars on the road, but the old habit of waiting for the green light worked as usual and I waited. And then a bright red foreign car flew by on a flashing yellow very close to the sidewalk where I was standing. At the same time, it frightened me so much that I remained standing in front of the road and looking as if through space. - Girl, will you cross the road? - then someone touched me on the shoulder and I “died”. I turned around and saw an elderly woman, in a red scarf and a white fur coat. -Yes, of course, thank you - I crossed the "zebra" and finally got to the workplace. The report was completed only by nine in the evening, I was exhausted unrealistically, but I was satisfied - the work was completed. I wished a good shift to Grisha, our security guard, and went out into the street. The weather is a fairy tale: the temperature is zero degrees, the snow is soft and slowly falls from the sky, and passers-by are walking in pairs.Thinking in my mind that I hadn’t walked for a long time, and I could easily walk to the house, I called the security guard and warned that I would leave the car, and either I or one of the brothers would pick it up in the morning. And I went for a walk to the house, it will take an hour on foot - but I was delighted!Cautiously crossing the road, the whole day I remembered that red foreign car, I went the familiar route, because I bought the car quite recently. With a leisurely step, I walked past shop windows and just houses, smiled at passers-by and thought about what I would do in the evening. Somehow, quite imperceptibly, she passed halfway and ran into a fork in the road - she always chose the same one, but then she decided to change her rules.Houses, houses, houses - everything is gray, you can’t even say that it’s the new year. -Young woman! Watch out, wagon! - Shouted somewhere on the side. I even shuddered, it was so loud and unexpected. On pure reflexes, she jumped to the left into a snowdrift and ... fell into it with her head. While she was getting out of it, spitting and bonfires to herself about the idiocy of the situation, she did not pay attention to anything. But suddenly she looked around and whistled to herself, as the sensation was as if the illumination had suddenly turned on: all the houses were decorated with colored lanterns. “It’s strange… just like there was nothing,” I said aloud. I had such a habit. Suddenly, a noisy company came out from around the corner, and judging by their direction, I could not avoid meeting with them. I'm not a coward, but a girl burdened with a sense of self-preservation, so I decided not to stare and quietly walk past, especially since there were no girls in this company.-Look what ... and one, - the last guy said in a low voice ... or a man, he had a huge beard.-Hey, cutie, let's go with us, - another representative of the stronger sex echoed the first one, - we won't offend.Here's a bliin! While I tried to act according to the classical scheme - we smile and wave, and the brain frantically tried to find a way to dump quietly. O! Found!!!-Thank you, guys! But it’s time for me to go home, children don’t like to wait, you know, young guys don’t really like girls with children, I decided to leave on this one.-Not scary! On Masquerade Night, all children are accustomed to being alone - the bass of the third character was heard next to the ear. Still, they were guys - young eyes.-What night? You are confusing something! Today is a normal day, well, evening - I think the guys are thoroughly tipsy. I felt sad, it’s harder to get rid of such people.-No, that's right! Do you see us? See! So everything is right! - almost unanimously objected to me all four.-What do you mean I see? You are not a squirrel, so as not to see you. All the guys, have a good night! I really have to go, - I walked around the bearded guys who came too close to me and briskly walked away. Out of the corner of my consciousness, I noticed a discrepancy in reality - the beards of the guys suddenly became waist-length and of different colors: red, blue, purple and green. Madhouse, what a fashion for today's youth has gone! From behind came the stifled neighing of adult men, and a loud chorus burst out:-Let's take it!!!After these words, it was as if something hit me on the head, my consciousness went away and I felt like I fell asleep. “I am floating on an ice floe, like on a brigantine ... I wonder if I will get severely frostbitten while lying in the snow? And why did I suddenly pass out ....? ”- I couldn’t think of a thought, because unexpectedly:-Get up! Name? shouted loudly in my ear.-Lana! I answered abruptly. I opened my eyes and got a little crazy - I was lying under a high picket fence, my grandfather was bending over me in a spacious shirt and dark pants, it was summer around.“Oh, it’s good that I kissed something if I dream of such crap!” While I was looking at my grandfather, he was looking at me. He obviously didn't like what he saw.-What are you up to? Recruitment to the University in two days! I won't let you spend the night under the fence!!! - and waved his hands at me trying to push somewhere.- Grandpa, what are you doing? Which university? I am a certified economist, - without enthusiasm, turning away from the waving of the peasant, I said and stood up. Weird dream. Although, dreams are for that and dreams, to be like that. I was dressed in a long dress of dark purple color and style of the 17th century. It's funny, I even twirled, it looked so strange on me.-I don’t know who an economist is, but you are standing at the doors of the Magic University. There is nothing to trample here. The gates won't let you through in advance anyway, come on! Found my grandfather! I am 300 years old!!! I'm still young for such a title! The man left indignantly."Wow! Magic University! Read fantasy, girl. Three-hundred-year-old men who are not considered grandfathers ... I like this dream! - since my dream, then I need to use it, I decided that I can be aware of myself in a dream - a nice bonus! “And I’ll fantasize for myself ... a wallet with money!” No sooner said than done! The left pocket began to pull, put her hand in and pulled out a purse with coins of different denominations, looked around. I was not far from some kind of park area, I went and sat down under the canopy of a large tree that looked like an oak. She carefully examined the coins, they depicted a male profile and denomination in numbers, there were thirty coins in total, ten each in three different colors: gold, silver and copper.I got up and walked through the park, hoping to find somewhere to eat. While walking I didn’t meet anyone, strange, but tolerable. And soon found a low building."Tavern Gulba" was written on the sign. Went inside. Wow, three empty tables out of 20… Three women and those waitresses… Men… different men: some in chains, some in armor, some in hoods. One is very tall and ... green-haired, there is a braid peeking out from under the hood. I sat down at a free table and immediately a waitress came up to me in a dirty dress:-What do you want? We have only the simplest - the girl looked sadly at my dress, clean, unlike hers. -Drink something hot and eat to your taste, are the rooms for rent here? I want to rest - sleep in a dream, I'll be in comfort!- Okay, I'll get it now. There is a room, but one remained, in the attic, the rest are occupied, soon they will arrive, and now, - the girl spread her hands.-How much?-Ten silver ahead, including meals for two days.I raised an eyebrow in surprise and the waitress hurried to add:- Don't look at what's in the attic! You will not find cheaper, but here it is dry, clean and warm! Magic curtain again. And you, apparently, to the University, so do not stay more than two days - either enter or return home.- Hmm, funny sober look at the situation you have ...“Kariza, dear miles,” the girl correctly understood my intonation.- Well, lead to the room and dinner there, - I became unpleasant male glances. On the way, she gave the girl money, reasonably assuming that once the indicated amount was drawn in her pocket, therefore, she had to give it back.Having entered the room in the attic, I immediately checked the windows for the presence of glass: a dream is a dream, but I can also fantasize about mosquitoes. There were glasses, the bed was made clean and in general you can live for a couple of days, when I traveled on business trips for the first year and lived in worse places. She released Kariza and went to bed, it was already getting dark outside.She lay on the bed for about five minutes and became interested in the door. And what: I'm alone, FIG knows where, the tavern does not inspire confidence.-Well, let's start, perhaps! I rubbed my hands in anticipation. And mentally imagined on the door an anti-burglary protection system as old as the world - a latch on the "Doggy" and voila, she began to decorate the door. I thought, I decided that protection does not happen much and presented a bucket filled with liquid warm mud from above, now, if anyone tries to enter the room, he will have a great opportunity to experience all the delights of wallowing in mud. And ... fell asleep barely reaching the bed.I was awakened by the sound of the passage and the mat. Shaking off the remnants of sleep, rubbing my eyes, I looked in the direction of the source of the sound. And there was something to look at: a girl stood in the doorway, judging by the rounded shapes from under the cloak, from which mud slurry flowed.-Who are you? I asked.- Natael, who are you? - shrill notes in the voice surprised me.- Lana - nice to meet you - I added sarcastically, crawling out of bed. - What did you need in my room and how did it go in general?-This attic must be empty!!! I checked it in the morning, there was no one there. - The girl was confused.- Well, it was. I came in the evening and took it off. You never answered how you got into the room.-I opened the door with magic - I'm an elf, - the girl was surprised again.-Yeah, and I'm Carlo's dad, - I chuckled. - Listen, Natal, would you go ... look for an empty room.To which the girl somehow abruptly threw her hand forward and some kind of transparent crap flew off it, like a pink wind (wildness, I UNDERSTAND, but it really looked like that) and I was noticeably pressed against the wall. I got up, turned my head, checked my arms and legs and was stunned to say the least, as blood was dripping from the fingers of my right hand ... my blood. I also felt uneasy from the feeling of pain in the coccyx, as far as I know: it DOES NOT hurt me in a dream and DOES NOT bleed ...‍​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‍