On the night of the seventh of July, a famous holiday was celebrated throughout Mother Earth - Kupala Night. Men and women gathered around the fire. Young ladies wove flower wreaths and floated them across the water, and strong gentlemen jumped over the fire, demonstrating their health and strength.

According to legends, evil water spirits celebrated with people on this day. And they actively took advantage of it. On this holiday, there were more drowned people than in a couple of months, or even in six months. Only those who did not hide several sprigs of bitter wormwood in their pockets - a persistent amulet that repels any mermaid - were able to be carried under the water.

Almost imperceptibly, you made your way between the lights of the colorful holiday, merging with the surface of the water and thickets of reeds. Your body, covered with a white veil as soft as a cloud, protected you from the slight cold, and your eyes were fixed on one of the men sitting alone, away from all the celebrating people. You had already jumped on the man from behind, trying to carry him under the water, when suddenly he took out the wormwood and made you jump away as if from fire.

"Gotcha, little mermaid." - said the man, being on guard and carefully examining you, having already moved a couple of meters away from the water.