Town of the doomed souls

Chapter 6

Andrew woke up the morning with a sharp pain in his neck. Bewildered he looked at the coffee table where he obviously had fallen asleep yesterday. Tearing the sheets of the letter and his cheek apart, he trudged into the bathroom.

He was already accustomed to see a white dog waiting for him at the gate every morning.

'Hey, pretty', Andrew patted it on the head, 'you're here again, huh?'

He looked around involuntarily for its owner. Silly idea flashed in his mind. Is he the only one who can see it? Turning his head he saw a neighbor coming out of the house.

'Good morning. Do you know whose dog is this?'

The woman returned the greeting, and looked at the dog.

'No, I don't know,' she said finally. 'Is it bothering you? There are a lot of stray dogs around here and no one to undertake it. Maybe you can as an officer of the law.'

Andrew only nodded vaguely, looking away. The dog lolled its tongue out and carried on watching him intently.

'Well, I'm glad you're not a ghost, ' he grinned.

The dog licked his fingers and faithfully stared at him with its intelligent eyes. Andrew mechanically scratched his visitor behind the ear, having met this attentive piercing gaze. A new idea more delusional than the first one leapt into his mind, and he involuntarily stepped back.

'Olga?!' he whispered.

The dog cocked its head to the side.

'No. I'm definitely losing my mind', the police captain hopelessly shook his head, and hurried to the car.

Before disappearing around the corner, Andrew looked in the rearview mirror; the dog wagged its tail in farewell, turned on the spot and walked out of sight.

Having heard out the usual morning grumbles of Mikhalich Andrew started sorting his papers. But after a while he found himself reading the old letter again. It was no use in focusing on work, when he knew it was waiting for him in his bag. He had to finish it.

"...My life was empty. Surrounded by my expensive toys I had nothing. In a crowd I was alone. The little girl grew up and stopped believing in miracles. Having buried myself in the village, I stopped looking for the meaning of life; I accepted the rules of the game, and moved along a predetermined trajectory like that white rabbit in the batteries commercial. But mankind still has not invented a battery that can work forever without recharge.

'When should we expect our guests' arrival?' I asked my teacher casually, fitting the heavy steel in my palm.

'Aim right between the eyes,' instructed he, setting the cover of some magazine with someone's face upon it in the grass. 'On Monday,' he answered my question, stepping back.

'Why did you ask me to find an apartment for rent? Don't they want to stay in our hotel?'

'Not all of them. Two will definitely stay in the hotel, and the third arrives with his son and wants to linger.'

'He wants to stay here? Why?' I was surprised. Who on earth in his right mind would want to live in this godforsaken place?

'To see Russia I think. Most likely it is his son's latest whim.'

'Why do you say that?'

'Because the kid twists his father round his little finger.'

'Do you know them well?'

'No, actually, I don't know them personally, but I've heard a lot about.'

Noticing interest in my raised eyebrows, he sighed and continued.