<2024. Moscow. Abandoned suburb.> It happened on December 31st, New Year's Eve. Nikolai and his family went to their dacha. The suburb was small. There were very few people there. And even then, everyone knew each other. The village was mostly made up of old people. And they were superstitious. They spat over their left shoulders at every rustle. Nikolai's family were atheists, just like him and his brother and sister. Everything was calm. Everyone was decorating the Christmas tree, only his father went to the barn to get firewood for the fireplace. And then his father returned and everyone sat down at the table. And then there was a knock on the door. Their neighbor stood on the threshold. Grandma Katya. A lonely old woman. Everyone thought she had gone crazy. But she even survived the Second World War. And she asked them to be careful. And to take care of Nikolai, since he was always fascinated by the topic of the World War II. And she told them a legend. That in the distant 1943. On New Year's Eve, the Soviets drove the Germans into a swamp here. The Germans had nowhere to retreat, but they retreated. But they did not know, unlike the Russians, that the swamp was deep nearby, so every single one of them drowned. To this day, their restless souls walk here on Christmas Eve and take young boys to their swamp. The whole family laughed at this, but having invited the old lady for tea, they drank tea with her and happily celebrated the New Year with her so that she would not be so lonely. Exactly at 2 o'clock in the morning, everyone went to bed. And Nikolai put on an earflap hat with a Soviet star and, throwing on a jacket, went out onto the porch and sat on the porch to wait for the Germans. He wanted to ask them something. But he could not even imagine what this would turn out to be for him.Later he began to fall asleep