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ISBN 978-5-0065-0478-3

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Prologue

In the village, rarely did anyone live past their seventh decade. Friedrich was the first person in the last half century. He was sixty-two, sitting on the porch of a barn on a clear autumn day, with a dozen and a half children crowded around him, the oldest of whom was not even twelve yet. They asked him only one question: “Why work so hard, only to throw away huge reserves of harvest that could feed the entire village for a month?”

Looking at the curious eyes of the children, Friedrich began:

– I will tell you, but I hope you will know about it only from my lips and you will never have to observe anything like it. I was thirteen then. I heard this legend… Or rather, it seemed to me that it was a legend, because it was talked about all the time, and adults mentioned it with serious faces, but nothing like that ever happened. My peers and I have never seen any evidence that Nix exists.

– Nix? – repeated nine-year-old Penelope questioningly.

– Yes, darling. That is the name of the evil spirit. He has power over the frost element, and the souls of the dead obey him. He appears every year on the first full moon after the first snow. As soon as the first snow falls, the whole village collects a hundred bags of ripe fruit, loads them into carts and takes them on a cold, frosty night into the forest, as far as possible, so as not to let Nix get close to the village. This is how the evil spirit receives a gift, in return for which it does not bother the residents of our village.

– What if he doesn’t receive the gift? – Penelope continued to inquire.

After these words, tears welled up in Friedrich’s eyes, as he recalled the events he had witnessed in his youth. He tried to find the strength to continue the story, when a tear rolled down his left cheek.

1. Scorching heat

Summer was always short in these parts, and while the warm days lasted, they hurried to lie down among the tall grass near the river bank in the sun, where no one would disturb them. Erikson was twenty years old, and he had already decided on his plans for life. The following spring, he and Penelope decided to get married. In the meantime, he could not take his eyes off those blue eyes, her straight chestnut hair and her plump lips. Erikson often called her a squirrel because in the local forest there were squirrels the same color as Penelope’s hair, and besides her, in the entire settlement only her mother and sister had the same hair. She was a year younger, but slightly taller than Erikson.

He pressed his lips to hers again and kissed her, feeling the sun warm the skin of Penelope’s face. She reached out to repeat the kiss, then rolled over onto her side and, propping her head up with her hand, said:

– Maybe tomorrow we can go to the lake?

Erikson sighed with annoyance and replied:

– No, Squirrel. I’m afraid we can’t. Tomorrow is our turn.

Penelope was not upset at all.

– Well, no big deal. My father said that he was going to work for several days in a row. Tomorrow I’ll go with him. – Then Penelope came close to Erikson’s face and almost whispered: – So you won’t get away from me anyway.

Erikson abruptly pressed his lips to the girl’s neck and, imitating an animal bite, laid her on her back. Penelope screamed, overcoming her laughter, and Erikson, jokingly pressing his teeth to Squirrel’s neck, once again felt how the girl’s skin warmed up under the sun’s rays. He continued to hold Penelope’s wrists clasped so that she would not resist, and continued to bite his lips into her neck as low as her dress allowed. Squirrel shook her head, pressed her chin to her chest, but it was all useless. Erikson found bare spots where he pressed his lips lightly, then let Penelope feel the edges of his teeth. As soon as he left her neck alone, Penelope suddenly stopped screaming. Now muffled laughter came from her lips, which was replaced by a joyful smile. The sunbeams that fell directly on her eyes prevented her from properly examining Erikson’s face. He couldn’t get enough of her bulging lips for a few more moments, then pressed them and began to slide along them.

Meanwhile, Andreas, Erikson’s father, had finished carving a wooden boat for his youngest son. They were walking along the bank near the field where the boy had launched the boat. The water level in the river had dropped noticeably over the summer, the current had become weak, and the boat was not moving as fast as seven-year-old Willie had wanted. Noticing the boat’s sluggish movement, he looked at his father and said:

– I wish winter would come soon.

Willie’s favorite pastime was sledding. In the spring, when one of the boards on the old sled cracked, Andreas promised Willie he would make new ones before autumn. But after it became clear that the drought would require working in the fields twice as much as usual, there was very little time left for other things. However, Andreas was determined to keep his promise, because this was the only way he could persuade the youngest of his three sons to be patient until winter came, when the first snow would fall and cover the hill, which would be ready for the children from all over the village to rush down.

Meanwhile, the work in the field was in full swing. The rains did not come, and the water in the river continued to go down. Once again, forty-three-year-old Karl filled the buckets and was about to go towards the crops, when Wilhelm, who was eight years younger, approached him and said:

– Come on, take a rest. I’ll replace you.

Despite the fact that Karl did not say a word, which was typical for him, he was nevertheless glad that Wilhelm appeared. The third day in a row was taking its toll on his body, and Karl already doubted that he would be able to come to the field tomorrow.

The villagers sowed together, weeded the soil together, and watered together. It was one common field, the harvest from which was also stored in a common barn, from which everyone took provisions when necessary. Individually, the villagers kept only chickens and horses, since livestock was also raised by common efforts. The reason for all this was Nix. To appease him, the gift had to be presented by the entire village, and therefore, so that some did not have to give more, others less, the residents worked together on the common field, choosing the most suitable soil for sowing.

His legs were already weak, and he was not able to carry water for another day. But Karl was truly sorry that he would not be able to work in the field tomorrow. In the village, everyone was taught from childhood that they had to work like hell if necessary, but try to collect as much harvest as possible. Now for Karl this was a real commandment. However, among the inhabitants of the village there were only a few like him. As generations passed, practicality and cold calculation prevailed. Karl always wanted to have a son, but God gave him two daughters. Having suffered a wild fever after her second birth, Regina was unable to become pregnant for the third time. Karl was not destined to become the father of a boy, but he tried to raise his daughters in such a way that they would accept a man’s will as unshakable. Even in his relationship with Regina, he began to behave more harshly so that for their daughters, this kind of relationship between a man and a woman would become the norm, and no other.

In the meantime, Karl’s thoughts were occupied with how hard things would be for the entire village. He was worried about the lack of rain and how meager the harvest would be this year. And the sun was too warm this year.

2. Somewhere under the stars

It was dusk. The sun had disappeared behind the horizon. Erikson and Penelope were walking back to the village along a forest path. Penelope folded her hands in front of her, feeling the cold beginning to creep in. They walked in silence until Erikson said:

– Hey, squirrel!

Penelope looked at him and said:

– What?

Erikson pointed his index finger forward and said:

– I said look, squirrel!

Penelope glanced ahead and saw a squirrel running past, then nudged Erikson in the shoulder and said:

– Oh, come on.

Suddenly there was a crack. Something flashed behind the trees.

They slowed down abruptly until they stopped completely. Penelope took a step to the side, hiding behind Erikson and continuing to look over his shoulder.

The figure flashed through the trees once more. The series of sounds of breaking branches and rustling leaves continued.

– Who’s there? – Erikson asked in a half-voice, somewhat trembling.

The unknown figure began to move in their direction, after which a voice rang out:

– Why are you walking here so late?

Ludwig came out onto the path, looking about twenty-five, although he was actually only sixteen. From an early age, this guy was tall beyond his years. He was three years younger than Penelope and four years younger than Erikson, but he was a head taller than them, had broad shoulders and impressively sized hands.

Hearing the familiar voice, Erikson and Penelope breathed a sigh of relief. The autumn before last, they had come across two wolves in these parts, but they were lucky then, because Andreas was with them, and he had a double-barreled shotgun. In this part of the forest, through which the path to the lake, river and fields passes, predators were almost never encountered. They mostly lived on the opposite side from the village, or, if someone went hunting, they had to cover a huge distance so that in addition to hares, deer and wild boars they could meet a wolf or a bear.

– If you sneak up on me like that all the time, I’ll definitely stop hanging out here late at night – Erikson replied.

– Oh, come on – Ludwig said soothingly. With his left hand he was holding the strap of the gun that was hanging on his shoulder, and in the other he had a bag, which he immediately opened. – By the way, it’s good that I met you. – He put his hand in the bag and took out a shot hare, which he handed to Erikson. – Here. I hope this will smooth over our unpleasantness.

– Oh! But thank you for this – Erikson said in a satisfied tone.

– And you, beauty – Ludwig addressed Penelope, handing her the second hare. – Its skin will make a good hat for the winter.

In response, Penelope kissed Ludwig on his cheek.

– I don’t understand – Erikson was indignant. – Do you want to steal my girl?

Before Ludwig could justify himself, Penelope said:

– Once you learn to hunt, then I’ll kiss you a thousand times.

Despite Ludwig’s menacing size, this guy had a good heart, which everyone knew very well. He spent half a day hunting, shot four hares and easily parted with half of his catch, and this made him a little happier at that moment. If a soul could have its own size so that it could be seen, then Ludwig’s soul would be as big as he himself. Greed and selfishness were alien to him. The only thing he was stingy about were the cartridges for his gun, which he tried not to squander while shooting.

The three of them continued walking towards the village.

As soon as they left the forest, they saw ten-year-old Ursula running towards them. Almost reaching Penelope, she began to shout:

– Dad said to tell you… – but then Ursula’s speech was interrupted by the carcass of a hare in her older sister’s hand: – Wow!

Ursula had already forgotten how important the message was to convey to her sister, but Penelope understood what Ursula wanted to say without it. At such a late hour, the only thing her father could order was to quickly go home and not go wandering around God knows where.

– Okay, – Penelope said, turning towards the boys after taking a couple of steps forward. – See you tomorrow. – Then she addressed Ludwig personally: – Thanks again, breadwinner. – With these words, Penelope quickened her pace, taking Ursula’s hand.

When Penelope was already far enough away from them, Erikson said, not without sarcasm:

– She called you a breadwinner. You’ll definitely steal my girl soon.

– What do I have to do with it?

– Even though she doesn’t call me that. Now I’m starting to think she doesn’t consider me a man.

– Oh, come on. Do you want to go bear hunting together tomorrow and then tell her that you shot the beast?

Erikson slapped his palm on Ludwig’s huge shoulder, after which they laughed and continued on their way.

On the outskirts of the village, Penelope and Ursula met eight-year-old Wanda. She had a basket full of strawberries in her hands, and the basket was just the right size for Wanda.

She ran to meet them, and Penelope immediately asked:

– Hey, what are you doing here at this time?

– Mom knows. I’m just a little late.

Penelope looked around the evening gloom and said:

– A little?

At the same time, Penelope perfectly understood the girl, at whose age she herself would run anywhere that was more interesting than her own yard, and in the same way she was in no particular hurry to return home.

– Help yourself – said Wanda, holding out the basket.

Ursula took a couple of berries from the top of the hill, while Penelope ran her fingers over the strawberries, assessing the number by touch in the semi-darkness, after which she asked:

– How much time did you spend to collect so many?

– I just pick quickly. – Wanda giggled for a while, and then added: – And I also know the best places to pick.

– Come on! Come on, tell me where! – Penelope threatened playfully, grabbing the tip of Wanda’s nose with her fingers. The girl laughed. – I’ll steal some – Penelope added, taking one berry from the basket.

– Take some more – Wanda suggested.

– Well, since you insist…

Penelope put a couple more berries in her mouth, then hurried the girls back home.

Approaching the house, Penelope handed the hare’s carcass to Ursula and said:

– Go home. Tell them I’ll come as soon as I see Wanda off.

Ursula ran towards the house, clutching the carcass of a hare that seemed almost bigger than herself.

Meanwhile, Penelope continued walking down the street, and Wanda continued to treat her to strawberries.

Noticing Penelope passing by, seventeen-year-old neighbor Ian, hiding behind an apple tree trunk, did not take his eyes off her even in the semi-darkness. Ever since childhood, he could not stop admiring her. In his innermost dreams, he imagined his future life next to her, where she would give birth to his children and share his bed every night. Ian’s mind reluctantly returned to reality. Although, however, it never returned entirely. Some part of him already literally lived separately from his body where he hugs the neighbor’s girl and walks with her under the moon. Penelope herself never had long conversations with her neighbor. She always greeted him, like everyone else, and sometimes even asked how he was doing. Ian felt like when she asked how he was doing, he was given a great opportunity to strike up a conversation with this beauty and take the first step toward making his fantasies at least a little bit closer to reality. But Penelope asked about Ian’s business when she met him just out of politeness, when she got tired of saying “hi” every day and wanted to say something new. But every time Ian fell into a stupor when this beauty was interested in how he was doing. He was overcome with trembling, his thoughts were confused, and he could not utter anything except “fine” and “okay”. After such answers, Penelope went on about her business and Ian was ready to hang himself because she left so early and he painfully had to feel every centimeter with which the gap between Ian and his dream was increasing. And now he watched as the distance between them increased and Penelope’s silhouette became less and less distinct in the twilight.

– Ian! – barked his father, Martin.

The boy shuddered in surprise.

– Go inside.

He began to walk towards the porch, continuing to look back every few meters, although Penelope’s silhouette had already disappeared somewhere.

At that very time, Wilhelm was approaching the house, returning from the barn. He noticed two figures approaching, in one of which he recognized his youngest daughter.

Seeing her father, Wanda quickened her pace and ran, shouting as she went:

– Dad, look! – Wanda held out the basket, bragging about the number of berries she had managed to collect.

Wilhelm squatted down, kissed his daughter on the forehead and said emotionally:

– Wow. Admit it, who did you steal it from?

– Hey! – Wanda was indignant. – I’m not a thief.

A smile flitted across Wilhelm’s face. He kissed Wanda again and hurried her home.

– Thank you – he addressed Penelope.

– Hi, Penelope! – Ava called from the doorway, hugging Wanda. – Will you come in? We have fried chicken and pheasant.

– Thanks, but better some other time. I have to go. They’re already waiting for me.

3. Lead eyelids, steel hands

– When I say it’s time to go home, it means you have to go home. Straight home – Karl scolded his eldest daughter in a quiet but menacing tone.

– I was seeing Wanda off. She…

– I DON’T CARE! – Karl shouted at the top of his voice, slamming his palm on the table. His shout was so loud that Regina, who was sitting next to him, and Ursula, who was at the other end of the table, flinched. Penelope, who was standing next to her father, with her eyes fixed on the floor, barely moved a finger. – It’s enough for me to have to work every day in the field to the point of exhaustion! Enough!

Penelope continued to stand, still staring at the floor. Regina and Ursula tensed, as did their pounding hearts in moments when Karl was angry.

– Sit down! – Karl ordered.

Penelope quietly walked to the plate that stood to the left of her father, opposite Regina, and sat down, maintaining a guilty look. Her eyes were difficult to see even under the light of the oil lamp that stood on the table, since strands of hair partially covered her face, and therefore Karl did not see this almost calm look.

– When we finish, you’ll clean up and wash all the dishes. – Then Karl looked at Regina and said: – And you go straight to bed. – After that, Karl sighed with a tired look and said: – Let’s have dinner. Penelope reached for the spoon only after everyone had already started eating, so that her father wouldn’t think that she was sitting during dinner as if nothing had happened and didn’t care about his educational shouts.

Karl did not often vent such outbursts of anger towards his eldest daughter. As a rule, this happened due to accumulated fatigue, and Penelope, over time, when she began to mature physically and morally, began to pay attention to this and understand the reason for her father’s sudden anger towards her, due to which (either from getting used to it, or having begun to show the patience of an adult girl) she no longer took such outbursts of indignation to heart. Penelope admitted that she gave more reason for indignation in the house than anyone else, since she was far from puritanical manners and behaved too freely to be called modest, as Karl wanted. Penelope was far from modest, since she found a common language with everyone, was willing to make contact, loved to chat, smiled, laughed, and most importantly, went on dates, having decided on her fiancé, and did not wait for her father to make the choice for her. She understood that her father needed to find someone to take it out on at such moments, and she didn’t complain that he always chose her as a target, since she would have liked even less for her father to address her mother or sister in the same way. Plus, as Regina had told her since childhood, Karl dreamed of having a boy as his firstborn, and Penelope, with her mere presence, reminded her father every day that she was the one who stole his dream by being born. Karl understood that it was no one’s fault, just as Penelope understood that she had nothing to do with it. However, everyone also understood that every person buries their dreams very reluctantly, and sometimes a whole life is not enough to come to terms with the will of fate.

Regina, unlike her husband, did not try to impose any qualities on her daughter and did not have any specific expectations. Penelope helped her with the housework; she never objected to the tasks that Regina assigned her and was very quick at work; she willingly helped when Ursula was little, babysitting her sister from morning to night. For Regina, her eldest daughter grew up to be a hard-working girl, friendly, sociable and without bad habits. She did not want more. Whenever Penelope wanted to leave the house, but understood that her father would object, she asked her mother for permission, and Regina said that she would cover for her, telling Karl that she sent their daughter on some errand that would take almost half a day to complete.

While Penelope went home, politely declining the invitation to dinner, Ava hurried to the girls, who wanted to pounce on the strawberries picked by Wanda. She put the basket on the floor to show off to her sisters, who pounced on her with bulging eyes and joyful exclamations. Ava immediately hurried to tear her daughters away from the berries:

– Now, quickly wash your hands and sit down at the table.

– Come on, Mom! – the eldest of the sisters, thirteen-year-old Irma, said in a pleading, but at the same time indignant tone.

– Quickly, I said – Ava repeated in a firmer tone, taking the basket of berries. – Now you’ll ruin your appetite. We’ll have dinner, then you can gobble up the strawberries.

The second oldest was Astrid, aged eleven, followed by Frida, aged ten, and Wanda, the youngest. All four of them ran to the basin to wet their hands; no one was particularly bothered with washing, since they all wanted to quickly swallow a couple of small pieces at dinner, so they could tick off the box and move on to the strawberries. Meanwhile, Ava hid the basket of berries away from her daughters’ eyes. Just by the sight of it, she herself felt a wild desire to try at least a few berries. More precisely, this is what the fetus in her womb wanted. She was thirty-two years old and still wanted to make Wilhelm happy by giving birth to a son. Whenever she told Wilhelm about this, he always replied that he was doing well enough, since he was the only man in the entire village who lived in a flower garden out of five women. He came up to her from behind, grabbed her with his arms, folded his palms on her stomach, and pressed his nose into Ava’s neck. Taking a deep breath, he said:

– Let’s have YOU become my dinner today? You smell better than this pheasant.

Ava smiled, but more from the tickling that Wilhelm’s nose was causing on her neck than from his words. She barely managed to hold back her laughter enough to say:

– Stop it. Let’s sit down already. You’ll swallow me in bed. I’ll be your dessert.

Wilhelm extended his chin, after which Ava turned her face to him, kissed him on the lips and added:

– Okay, let’s go.

– Boys, come to the table! – Charlotte said loudly, so that each of the four men of their family could hear her.

Willie was already sitting at the table, pressing his chin to the tabletop. A grimace of boredom still did not leave his face. He wanted winter to come soon, and the boat no longer aroused any interest.

Charlotte had just placed a plate of vegetable stew in the center of the table when the middle brother, Morten, who was fifteen, came up to the table. Erikson came next, and then Andreas. Before sitting down at the head of the table, he stroked his fingers through the hair of his youngest son, who was being eaten away by melancholy from the inside.

Everyone began their last task for the day – emptying the food supplies.

– I saw Penelope – Charlotte began, putting porridge of rice, nuts and beans on her plate. – She was returning without you. What, did you have a quarrel?

– No. Ursula just came running and said that her father ordered her to drag her ass home faster.

– Couldn’t you also drag your ass faster and walk the girls home? – Charlotte was indignant.

– We just met Ludwig. He treated me to a hare, and I, as a sign of deep respect for him, simply could not allow myself to leave him alone and, thereby, personally insult him. So I decided to keep him company.

– Yes, – Charlotte answered with a hint of sarcasm, – Penelope will get a good husband.

– Come on – Andreas said calmly, turning to his wife. – Penelope is a modern girl. There’s very little that will scare her.

– Well, there you go – Erikson added in a satisfied voice.

– But the fact that our son grew up without good manners… – Andreas added, looking at Erikson. These words caused a grin to appear on Morten’s face, who was sitting opposite his older brother.

– Oh, stop worrying, – Erikson said as if nothing had happened. – If something had been wrong, she would have told me everything she thought of me to my face, and since she doesn’t complain, it means I’m not a man for her, but just a dream. So everything’s fine. – Then Erikson looked at his youngest brother and said: – Willie, pass the cheese.

– Did you hear, Charlotte? – Andreas said in a pompous tone. – We raised not a son, but the ultimate dream. – Then he looked at Erikson and said: – Watch out, don’t overdo it, so that your girlfriend doesn’t have a new dream.

– Yes, – Morten suddenly said. – For example, I am free.

Andreas pointed his spoon at his middle son and said:

– But you’ve gone too far.

Erikson said in a completely nonchalant tone:

– Dad, don’t pay attention. What can he even do? Give a woman a bouquet of dill?

– Willie, why aren’t you eating? – Andreas asked in an encouraging voice. – Come on, go ahead. Come on, come on. In a couple of days we’ll start making sleds.

Hearing about the sled, Willie lifted his nose and reached for the plate of porridge.

– Let me help you – Charlotte said, filling Willie’s plate, then took the dish and went to the pot to serve a new batch.

Ian entered the house when everything was already set and they were waiting only for him. His mind was still occupied with Penelope, and therefore he did not immediately hear his father’s question about whether he had washed his hands.

Martin was far from blind and understood what his eldest son was obsessing over so often. He was irritated by Ian staring at the girl next door, as if he was about to ask her out on a date. Although Martin did not openly tell anyone about it, sometimes he considered this girl to be to blame for the fact that his son had become so out of touch with reality. At the same time, he did not try to blame the boy for his daydreams, but not because he tried not to scold his son for every reason, but simply because he no longer saw the point, since such was Ian’s character, who often immersed himself in his dreams, where he was ready to get stuck for life. At the same time, Kolinda, who was only a year younger than Ian, and Klaus, who was three years younger, experienced the same approach to upbringing from their father. Martin firmly believed that a man should not just run a family, but suppress any dissent and any liberties. He would like to make a real man out of his eldest son, but a couple of years ago Martin realized that he would hardly be able to achieve this. No matter how hard he tried, Ian could not turn from a soft, peace-loving teenager into a stern man, ready to establish his own laws in the house and command someone. This approach did not justify itself in relation to Klaus, who did not understand what his father wanted from him, but simply considered his older brother as an example. He was not in the clouds, but there was no strength of character in him either. Kolinda became, perhaps, the only one of the three children who turned into what Martin wanted to see in front of him: an obedient girl, unquestioningly fulfilling any requirements, resigned to her role as a woman who does not even try to consider alternatives for a different life. But in regard to their daughter, it was Magdalena who tried. If the children were afraid of Martin, they sincerely loved her, feeling their mother’s warmth and love. She was a year younger than Martin, but she was the absolute opposite. It was largely thanks to Magdalena that their children avoided the upbringing inherent in an army barracks. Although Magdalena was a faithful and docile wife, fully accepting the will of her husband, she always consciously sought to smooth out those unevennesses in the children’s moods that were left by the harsh and demanding hand of their father.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner in their house were always the same: not a single word at the table. That is why the meal in this family took such a short time that they, if they wanted, still had time to run to the other families in the village and help with dinner.