The diary of the Tambov Wolf. Tsvetana Alеkhina

to the forest at night. I realized that this is the only way to see her one-on-one and no one will interfere with us.

      November 18. On a dark autumn night, the forest is not as beautiful as in the beautiful summer season. I would even say dangerous. The cold, the darkness, the bare trees, all this is nothing compared to the wolf coming at you. Especially when you know that, this wolf is a werewolf. The wolf came by herself, I did not have to call her and wait. We were standing alone, in a clearing not even illuminated by moonlight. Her white fur looked like a walking lamp in the shape of a dog. She was like a soft glowing toy. However, if you throw away all these charms, then I was scared, and I did not know what to expect. The question matured in my head – how are we going to talk?

      There was a smell of smoke in the air. The trees surrounding the edge were enveloped in a transparent shroud, like a thin vacuum. The forest edge was surrounded by a small, barely noticeable flame of fire in the form of an outlined circle. The flame broke out by itself, despite the state of shock, I heard a quiet crackling of burning foliage and dry branches. My state of shock was subjected to even more stress when the wolf spoke to me in human language. Her voice was rough. I did not expect this. I was hoping to hear an affectionate the girl’s voice. Matching her beautiful fur. – Why did you squeeze into my space? The predator said in a dissatisfied voice. Although her amazingly intelligent and beautiful eyes shone amiably in the silence of the night.

      – I did not know. I always walk here.

      – That is not what I am talking about. Why did you pick up the pendant? I wanted to talk myself out of it. To make myself look innocent, but I did not argue with the predator in the night. – It is not yours. I should not have done that. Now you know my secret. Before she could finish, I interrupted her speech.

      – Who are you?

      – «I belong to a noble family.

      – It is noticeable by your beautiful fur coat! I said with a laugh. The fear passed, and I felt equal to her. If you discard her wolfish image, then it was equivalent to sitting around the campfire in the company of her best friend. My chuckle disappeared with a sharp attack on me by my charming predator.

      – Such a fur coat belongs only to my family. You will not find one like this anywhere else. Hissing through her teeth, the enraged predator uttered. This time I was seriously scared, realizing that I had shaken up the wrong thing.

      – I wanted to make a compliment.

      – A compliment? What is a compliment? By the accent of my interlocutor, I realized that she was not at ease with spoken speech. Only I could not figure out where this accent was coming from, from what edges.

      – Where are you from?

      – I am a local resident. And I’m older than you think. Do you think I am seeing you for the first time? You’re wrong.

      – What is your name? The wolf laughed a perky, girlish laugh. At that moment, I wanted to see her in a female form.

      – «You don’t have to know my name. Now you need to protect yourself from ours.

      – Protect? At that moment, the flame went out. Dawn came. I did not notice how the night flew by. The wolf, waving her tail, ran away into the depths of the forest. The fairy tale is over; it is a gray, autumn day. The adventure in the night was the best ridiculous incident in my life. I was talking to a wolf.

      If I had told anyone about this, I would have been recognized as crazy, including my best friend Misha. Honestly, a talking wolf is funny; my friend moved her tongue so ridiculously, trying to pronounce human words. The information received was mixed up in my head. A noble family is of course from antiquity. More than I think years. How much is interesting? Of course, it is not customary for women to ask their age, but still. The keeper of these places. So she’s local. This pleased me. My compatriot! I said with pride, and went to bed. In the truest sense of the word, I fell into a dream. This time I was not overcome by insomnia or nightmares, perhaps it was because I slept during the day.

      After what I had seen, of course I did not want to go to work anymore. The forest again beckoned me with its mystery, or rather its keeper. There were many questions in my head, and I could not wait to ask them. Having taken care of everything in advance, I took time off from work. I wanted to spend as many nights as possible in the forest with my wolf. After the night I spent, I considered this predator to be mine, I was sure that no one else had contact with her except me.

      December 1st. December came, but the snow still did not fall, Tambov residents believed that Queen autumn had not yet ceded her rights to Queen winter, and the snow would have time to attack by the new year. At night, the edge of the young, waning moon barely illuminated the way. The dark sky and bright stars decorated the winter night. Minus five degrees, noticeably noticeable, especially in the forest. I did not feel cold, only my cheeks burned with fire. The internal heat burned my body. My blood was boiling and my body was on fire. I could not explain my condition to myself, but I myself believed that it was from excitement before the upcoming meeting. This time I already knew where to go. Our edge was waiting for us; the sleeping trees formed a circle like stone idols. It was in this space that I felt safe. – Where is she, my beauty? The wolf crept up as always silently. Floating through the frosty foliage like a rook. She came, so she is alive. She was not killed, and that is the main thing. Her white fur fluttered in the frosty wind. Gray-green eyes shone like two sparks, looking into those eyes, I felt our souls talking. It is a pity we could not read each other’s minds, at least me.

      My white, shaggy friend walked around the entire edge of the forest, as if closing the circle. I could not help noticing it, but I did not know why she was doing it, and I kept watching. Sitting in the center of my circle, the wolf made a nod of her head, inviting me to sit down next to her. I obeyed her invitation and squatted down next to her. At the same moment, my legs straightened up, and I found myself in a sitting position, on a log of an old, dry tree. The forest changed its appearance, December was replaced by Indian summer, and there was a whiff of warmth. The flames of the campfire raged next to us, enveloping us with its heat. The bright orange colors of the fire reflected the color of golden leaves. I did not look back freely, trying to figure out where I was. It seemed that the forest was the same, and even some trees remained unchanged, but this was not the case. How to put it in my own words, I do not know how, but I found myself in an ancient dense forest. The swampy swamp, moss hummocks, and the thickness of the trees emphasized this.

      – So it is! There was a loud laugh from my friend. Her thin nose, resembling a collie breed, convulsively imitated laughter, but it was not funny to me.

      – Where am I? I yelled this question like a wild lion.

      – I would not scream like that if I were you. Do not draw attention to yourself. Otherwise, you will not get out of here. And even I can’t help you.

      – «Even you?» I squeezed out this question with such amazement. Until recently, I thought my girlfriend was something supernatural. To some extent invincible. But, the words she uttered are «even me.» They clipped my wings. – Who are you?

      – «You don’t want to know yet.

      – Yet?

      – You ask many questions.