This story was told in the house of my grandfather's relatives. We ourselves lived in the city, and our relatives lived in the Chernihiv region, in a picturesque village. It should be noted that it was there, as a child, that I heard a lot of extraordinary stories that were an everyday part of the life of these villagers. I don’t think they were inventing, these people were too earthly, and as if between words, sometimes they broadcast facts from which I personally froze my blood.
Once, just like that, pulling out a cast iron pot with fatty soup from the oven, my great-aunt told another mystical story. It happened a month before our arrival. One night my grandmother could not sleep, everything was spinning, but sleep did not go. At some point, she began to doze and clearly heard the floorboards creak. The dream vanished instantly. A second later, the creak was heard again, but at the other end of the room. The grandmother was scared to death and turned on the light. Naturally, the room was empty. Grandma turned off the light again and tried to sleep. And as soon as the slumber reignited, the floor creaked again in the room. The grandmother only heard the creak approaching her bed. At that moment, horror completely paralyzed the woman's wish. She closed her eyes and waited.
When the creak came close to the bed, the grandmother clearly felt how her hanging hand was taken by small, childlike hands. After that, the grandmother realized that someone was kissing her hand passionately. She felt her lips and tongue, which was courting the limp hand. Grandmother opened her eyes and was stunned by what she saw. Next to the bed was a wagon, which was an exact miniature copy of an ordinary horse-drawn wagon. And on the cart sat an old man the size of a cat and greedily licked his grandmother's hand.
It is difficult to describe the horror that the grandmother experienced at that moment. But gathering her strength, she began shouting to read "Our Father". Only in the middle of the prayer, the little old man let go of his hand, looked at grandmother with angry red eyes and disappeared.
That night, my grandmother did not sleep anymore, she kept walking around the house, splashing holy water in the corners and reading prayers. The next night the old man's visit was repeated again. He pressed his lips to his hand again. That night, my grandmother was again able to drive him away with prayer and holy water. A week later, the old man looked at his grandmother again. After that it was decided to call the priest. Batiushka came and performed a certain ceremony. An interesting episode took place during the ceremony. When the priest was walking around the house and reading prayers, a strange noise was heard in one of the corners behind the stove. It looked like cats were fighting there. The priest and other family members had their hair on end. The rustle behind the stove stopped, and the surprised witnesses of this event decided to look there. In the far dark corner everything was smeared with soot. As if a very dirty snake was curling there. After that, other interesting cases happened to my grandmother, but the old man on the wheelbarrow did not appear again.
BUKHRANSKY SERGEY