Restaurant for ghosts

Zero change of dishes. What was reflected in the mirror-calendar found at the excavations of the ancient settlement
A boy lives in an old house, on Arseniev Street, in Vladivostok. Another person lives with the boy in the house. The boy calls this man Uncle Tolya. But that's not the man's real name. The man's name is Taote. The boy sees the man as a man, but in fact Taote is not a man.
Taote is a monster with one head and two bodies. His time has come. He gathered around him Wongwi - evil spirits. Wongwi are the spirits of people who died a violent death and for whom no one avenged. On the eve of the year of the black water rabbit, cataclysms occur all over the world, they are especially strong in those countries where there are many Wongwi. Taote dreams of raising an army from the Wongwi of the whole world, but for this he needs Vitya and an ancient mirror calendar.
Running away from Taota and his henchmen, Vitya runs along the beam, which throws a mirror-calendar under his feet. The mirror does not want to fall into evil hands and recognizes Vitya as its owner. The mirror leads the boy to a small door that is almost level with the ground. This is the door of the old bath. The old bath building was built at the end of the nineteenth century. The door slams behind Vitya and the boy enters a restaurant for ghosts and ghosts. During the day, this is an ordinary restaurant for people; at night, ghosts eat and drink here. Due to a combination of circumstances, Vitya temporarily becomes a ghost restaurant kitchen slave. Vitya is the only person in the kitchen of the ghost restaurant. Suddenly, the boy becomes very useful to the owners of the restaurant. This is how the boy's work in the restaurant for ghosts is described: “Vitya did not have to cook the dishes himself. For this, there were Tsukomogami - the spirits of old things. They were in charge of preparing food for the restaurant. However, in order to make the spirit work, Vita had to bring an old thing to the spirit. Bring and with a bow put a thing near the stove.
The older the item, the more experienced the Tsukomogami. As a result, the dish that was then served to the visitor's table turned out to be more delicious. The products that were needed for cooking meals also had to be brought to Vitya. Every day, from the very moment the stores opened, Vitya went from store to store, looking for the right products. Neither the sellers nor the shop visitors saw Vitya, the mark on his forehead that Ohaguro-Battari put on him made him invisible. Vitya simply took the necessary products from the store shelves. But, the fact is that Vita needed only natural products, without nitrates and chemical additives, and there were almost none in the city.”
Wandering the streets of the city, Vitya, with the help of a magic mirror, becomes involved in the action of terrible urban legends.
So the intro is over! The story about the legends of old Vladivostok begins.
Vitya lived alone in the house. He was going to go for a walk, but he had nothing to wear. In the morning it was foggy outside, a cold wind was blowing, and so the boy climbed into his brother's closet. I took his jacket and found in my pocket a bronze round with a loop at the top, as the boy found out later - it was an ancient mirror calendar.
Hearing the knock of the closet door, a distant relative appeared in the room, he was drunk. His name was Taote. A relative lived with Vitya after the death of his grandmother for two weeks now. Taote tried to snatch the kruglyash from Vitya. The boy ran outside. Viti has not been in the city for about six months, and now he decided to visit his friends, but he did not find anyone. It was summer outside, and in summer the city is empty. Staggering around the city, Vitya returned home. The relative was asleep. At night, Taote woke Vitya and demanded kruglyash. Breaking free, the boy fled into the street in fright. Victor lived on Arseniev Street. His house was in a terrible state. This house was built before the revolution. It was dead of night outside. Suddenly a light came on in a house down the street. Vitya turned around, he was surprised, because the windows of the house from which the light beat were closed with shutters.
But it was from these windows that a ray of light hit right through the shutters. The light showed the boy the way. However, at first Vitya was going to run in the other direction. Lights suddenly went on in several more houses. Although the windows in these houses were also sealed or shuttered. Suddenly Vitya turned sharply, he heard the sound of a circus march. So it is, at the intersection of Arsenyev and Bestuzhev streets, it is not known where the circus appeared from. The dome of the circus tent glowed and shimmered. Well-dressed, in the fashion of the century before last, gentlemen and ladies came out of the circus. They stopped near the entrance to the circus, turned to Vita and began to applaud him. Then the ringmaster came out of the circus and called Vitya, but Vitya turned in fear and ran back into the house. Fortunately, Victor, Taota was passed out that evening, he was drunk. The boy went on tiptoe to his room and locked himself there.
THE ESCAPE
Viti has almost none of his relatives left. His parents died along with his brother under mysterious circumstances. After the death of his relatives, Vitya was taken to the village by his grandmother. He lived there for six months. Three weeks ago, the boy and his grandmother returned to the city. I had to sell the house that was left from my parents. unexpected oh grandma died. A man appeared, introduced himself as a relative and said that he would live with Vitya. Vitya had never seen this man before. Viti's older brother was a "black" archaeologist. Shortly before his death, he arrived from the excavations of Kraskinsky Settlement and brought with him something found at the excavations - it was a calendar - a mirror. Vitya thought that his brother sold all the things he found, but it turned out that not all of them. A bronze mirror found in a jacket pocket was this ancient calendar. The brother also found this calendar during excavations. On one side of the bronze round was a mirror, on the other - a calendar depicting 12 animals. The images of animals were arranged in a circle. Taote asked the boy several times if he had any items from the archaeologist's brother. And now a relative demanded a mirror calendar. The man was very interested in the calendar, but Vitya hid this thing on the street, under the rocky foundation of the house.
- You ... How are you, Vasya, Volodya ... Ah, Vitka! You, Vityush, do not drift, you now have me! And we have our own ... Hic ... We do not leave! Do you want the latest generation computer? Well why are you quiet?
“I want it,” the boy was surprised, “but what, you just give it to me like that?”
- Of course, just like that! I can't do it any other way! He who is kind to me gets everything he wants from me! Just give me the glass!
- What kind of glass? - the boy was frightened, - I have nothing!
- You ... Voldemar ... Vyacheslav ... Ugh, Vitek! You, Vitek, do not try to fool Uncle Taota, that is, me! I see you through! In a good way, I ask you to give back the mirror-calendar and you will have great happiness!
“But I don’t have anything,” Vitya swallowed convulsively and turned out his pockets, “I didn’t see any mirror!”
- Not? - the relative came close to the boy and doused him with the smell of fumes, reached into his pocket, - True, no! Well, well, the badges are out! Don't get mad at Uncle Taota! Well... Vovik... just kidding, I remember your name! Well, how are you, Vitka? Yes, Victor, go for a walk! Yes, remember, if you find a mirror, take it straight into Uncle Taota's hands!
At night, friends came to a relative. The conversation turned to Vita. One of his friends suggested that Taota take custody of Vitya. This friend's mother worked in the welfare department. Vitya heard about his relative's plans, but pretended to be asleep. In the morning, remembering Taote's plans, Vitya fell into a panic, but suddenly discovered that a relative had left somewhere. Taota was gone for about a week. When the relative returned, he announced to Vitya that tomorrow morning he would go with the boy to the guardianship department. After waiting for the evening and the fact that Taota was distracted by something, Vitya ran away from home. Finding that Victor had run away, Taota called his friends. Soon a chase was set up for Vitya. The white car followed the boy on his heels. It soon became completely dark. The boy did not know where to run, but unexpectedly received help. Houses where there were boarded up or bricked up windows began to glow and show Vitya the way. The boy ran through the passage yards. Out of breath, he rushed up Posietskaya Street, ran past the Moryak Hotel, rushed across Svetlanskaya Street, and finally ran out through the entrance courtyard to Fokina Street. He ran along the path that the light from the boarded-up windows showed him. Suddenly, the light became very bright. Light crossed on a shard of a mirror embedded in the outer wall of a house. The mirror sent back a beam, and the night lit up with a mad light. Vitya now knew where to run, but he felt that he was late. A white car drove into the courtyard through the arch that connects Pogranichnaya Street and Fokina Street. The boy tried to hide in an outdoor toilet. Having huddled in the corner of the toilet, Vitya tried to merge with the wall, when he suddenly heard a voice. The voice repeated strange words:
- Tzu - gu, - the voice shouted melodiously, - Tzu - gu! There is nothing more important than the place where Zi-gu lives. Come to Zi-gu more often! Zi-gu will whisper a spell, and the boy will release Zi-gu. Zi-gu is tired. Zi-gu wants to leave.
With Vitya, the spirit-foreteller of latrines spoke. It was Zi-gu, he tried to cheer up Vitya, and revealed something to him from the future. But his prediction was so confused that Vitya did not understand anything. The boy tried to see something through the toilet boards, but it was dark all around. Finally he ran out and rushed to the old stable. The stable was long abandoned and destroyed. Hiding in the shade of the stall, Vitya suddenly heard the neighing of a horse, he looked around, but there was no one around. Suddenly the boy felt that someone began to push him to the exit.
Vitya ran out into the street again and saw that the second door of the stable, clogged and littered with rubbish, suddenly began to glow furiously and indicate the way forward. The door sent a beam. The boy ran along the beam.
The white car was very close, but the fugitive rushed past the pursuers and dived into a narrow crevice, which was located between two houses, Fokina, 5 and Semenovskaya, 8. The crevice was strewn with debris. The water sloshed underfoot, and the sky was almost invisible. Only a thin boy could squeeze through there. The people called the narrow passage "Gorge." It was dark in the Gorge. After all, there were walls of houses on both sides of the passage. A to Max had boarded up windows. Following the boy's movement, the windows suddenly began to glow. They lighted the way for the boy. And only he saw this light.
Where crawling, where, wriggling as if, but Vitya made his way through the gorge and ended up on Semenovskaya street, 8
On Semyonovskaya Street, in the courtyard, there were many boarded-up windows, many confused and old stairs leading in all directions. Vitya ran, and the sealed windows flashed, helping the boy to run, and illuminated the sleeping yard. Bending in half and trying to catch his breath, Vitya suddenly noticed with surprise that on the signs indicating the name of the street there were still old, Soviet names - Kolkhoznaya, 8 and Kolkhoznaya, 10.
Between the two courtyards there was a small passage, dug right under the ground. Vitya tried to hide there and think about the situation.
However, he understood that he would not sit here for a long time. Something gave an accurate tip to the pursuers. They knew exactly where the boy was at the moment, and chased him like a hare. Vitya ran out onto the road.
The white car could not turn around in the yard. Taking advantage of the moment, Vitya tried to escape through Semyonovskaya Square. Near the Rodina shopping center, he ran into a girl. The girl was wearing a Korean dress. She blushed and breathed heavily. Probably, the girl also ran away from someone. Vitya looked around, the shopping center was flickering. It turned into the Chinese theater of Tao Minyano, then again into a shopping center. The girl looked at Vitya and ran further towards the Sports Harbor. And Vitya crossed the road. He ran into the courtyard behind the Clover House mall. The bricked-up windows again began a frantic dance of light.
Vitya was exhausted and tired. However, the light in the windows began to gain strength. Soon my eyes hurt.
The boy walked again, or rather, ran along the beam. However, now the beam was trying to bring him back. At Vitya's, on Semyonovskaya Street, 9, a great-aunt lived. She was his grandmother's sister. Vitya thought that the beam was leading him to her. He was about to run into the archway of the yard, but he heard the growl of a car behind him.
As the boy ran across the yard, he looked back with regret at the entrance where his grandmother's sister lived. The car growled louder and louder, catching up with him.
The window he was passing by also lit up and suddenly went out.
The beam went out. Vitya was at an impasse. The darkness was complete. The boy did not understand what was happening and panicked, but at that time the mirror calendar suddenly came to life again, and right from his pocket threw a bright light right at the boy's feet.
Vitya rushed to where the light from the mirror fell. In front of him was an old building. Numbers were engraved on the roof of the building: 1887-1909. And a little further there was another inscription, it announced that before the revolution there was a bathhouse in this building. Four letters have not been erased from time to time. The word: "Bath", probably before the revolution, was visible from afar. This now old building could hardly be seen because of the new taller buildings. And indeed, the contour of the sauna stove protruded from the wall of the house. The beam passed along the contour of the stove, illuminated the entire building, and then rested on the door of the sauna stove.
The beam rested almost on the ground and immediately there was a creak. The oven door opened. Vitya shook his head. He didn't want to go inside. But there was a noise of brakes from behind, and the cheerful excited voices of the pursuers shouted the name of Taota. The boy climbed in and the door slammed shut behind him.
First meal change. Old stove door
Vitya crawled through the door of the sauna stove. It was scary and dark all around. He immediately tried to go back, but heard the voices of his pursuers. They pulled on the oven door, but did nothing. The boy's eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he saw that the inside of the furnace looked like a cave. Light seeped through the old bricks. Entering the cave of the furnace, Vitya was frightened, in front of him he suddenly saw four men who were sitting quietly and silently. There was a sound, a bright light became visible, someone threw firewood into the furnace of the stove. The stove periodically went out, then lit up with light. It was getting hot. People turned to Vita. Each person had many furry hands. The calendar exploded. His beam burned the web, which strange people tried to throw on Vitya. People's faces were frozen. They were Kumo's were-spiders. They were visiting here, they came to steam old bones. The calendar has taken the will of the spiders under its control.
- What does the lord want? - asked one of the spiders - We admit our mistake and are ready to pay dearly for it. Command!
The walls of the cave are warm. It got very hot. However, the shocked boy remained silent. Then one of the werewolves Kumo himself made a decision.
“Now let’s help the young master!” - turning to the others, the spider began to take off the sheet, - We will save the master, and the master will put in a word for us when the time comes!
It took a very long time to weave a new web, so the Kumos simply took off their bath sheets and wove a net out of them. One of the men quickly climbed up the wall of the furnace cave and threw the net over the wall. Here the wall did not fit snugly against the ceiling. Kumo helped Vitya climb up the net. Jumping down, the boy got into the stoker. It was the kingdom of stokers. Noperapon, faceless ghosts, worked here as stokers. ki. Seeing Vitya, they instantly took on his appearance.
“Food,” the ghosts whispered, “food, lots of food!” Big boy! Live boy!
Vitya began to choke, Noperapon tried to draw life out of Vitya. The calendar intervened again and soon Noperapon became transparent again. Everything seemed to fall into place, but then a new problem arose. Coal began to pour down the chute. It got bigger and bigger. Noperapon jumped up easily and stuck to the wall. Victor, of course, could not do this. Coal poured faster and faster, filling the entire space of the stoker. Almost instantly, Vitya was covered up to his hips. He barely had time to pull out the calendar. The beam of the calendar began its work. Vitya directed him to a chute from which coal was pouring. The chute was located almost under the ceiling of the stoker.
- Food! shouted one of the ghosts. “No, I'm so hungry!” Oh, great mirror, don't take my food! No one has descended here for two centuries! Give the boy to us! Lots of people upstairs! Anyone can be your master! Oh, hot beam, spare us! We will thank you! Not!!!
Reluctantly, obeying the order of the beam, Noperapon took off their robes and made a rope out of them. After that, the beam burned a passage in a pile of coal. The rope helped Vita to get out of the stoker through the hatch.
Having descended the noperapon rope, the boy found himself in a strange place. It was a gigantic room. Millions of foxes stood in regiments and battalions. From time to time one of the foxes disappeared, another fox immediately took his place. The rope was not enough, and Vitya fell right on the head of one of the foxes. The space around the boy immediately cleared up. A fox general appeared in front of Vitya. It was the werewolf fox Katsune. He was huge, but still no taller than Vitya. Katsune opened his huge mouth. His teeth were in blood. The fox was advancing on Vitya. The calendar disk ripped open the boy's pocket and flew out at an alarming rate. Flying up to Katsune, the disc instantly shaved the general's tail.
“Oh,” a sigh of surprise swept through the hall, “oh, woe! We give you praise! You came for a sacrifice - you got it! There is no way back! Greatness is gone! Die is cast!
The general was disgraced. He tried to hide his tail behind his back. He did not succeed. Then Katsune called the fox - understudy and ordered the impossible. The stand-in fox bit off Katsune's tail. Blood flooded the hall. There was so much of her that it was hard to believe that there was so much blood in Katsune. The backup fox took the form of Katsune. Katsune himself was thrown into the chute of the stoker. Katsune turned into coal. Blood seeped through the floor tiles. At the call of blood, the steward came. It was the earth god Houtu. Howtu told Vita to raise his hand. The man grabbed one of the foxes, shook it out of the skin, turned the skin inside out, and smeared Vitin's palm with the skin. His palm burned, it itched and burned, and Houtu patiently waited for signs to appear on Viti's palm. When the signs appeared, Howtu began to read them carefully. Then the earth god snapped his fingers. The foxes began to howl, and then stood in pairs and shook each other out of their skins. The skins fell at the boy's feet. The foxes that survived made a staircase out of the hardened skins. Howtu snapped his fingers again and told Vita to start climbing the stairs. Ten minutes later Vitya was in the kitchen. It was the kitchen where the dishes for the restaurant were prepared. The restaurant had a loud name "Emperor Huangdi".

RESTAURANT KITCHEN

During the day, the restaurant was visited by people, the night was for other visitors - not people. At night, the restaurant was visited by: gods and goddesses, spirits and werewolves, heroes and traitors, villains and saints. And also ghosts, werewolves and other inhabitants of another world.
The owner of the restaurant was the yellow emperor, his name was Huangdi. He was rarely there.
He had four assistant managers and one manager. You have already met the manager - this is Howtu.
The restaurant was run by: the god of the earth - Houtu, his color was brown-yellow
The ruler of the east - Taihao, his color was green
Lord of the South - Yandi, his color was red
The lord of the west - Shaohao, the color was white
The ruler of the north - Zhuanxu, the color was black
And Emperor Huangdi also had a competitor - it was the many-armed and many-legged Chi Yu, the god of chaos.
Chi Yu, a jealous god, opened his own restaurant next to the Huangdi restaurant.
Just like the restaurant "At the Emperor's", it was located on Millionka and had the name: "Million Desires". In Chi Yu's restaurant, licentiousness and vice were welcomed. Vitya got into such a strange world
According to the mirror calendar, the cycle for which the earth goes full circle is 60 years.
The year of the water black rabbit, which was to come on earth, could be the last year when people rule the world.
But back to the frightened boy Vita. Going down through the oven door, Vitya got into the kitchen of the restaurant "At the Emperor's".
The spirit of Tsukomogami cuisine that reigned here was unhappy. Vitya took up too much space.
Vitya tried to go back, but the passage he went down was no more.
The manager flew into the kitchen - it was Ohaguro Bettari, a female werewolf. She herself was not visible, only her mouth full of black teeth was visible.

What is this pause? Why are there no ready meals? I keep the deal! All should be legal! I find your thing - you pay me with work! Ouch! Who else is this? Who are you?
- I am ... a boy ... a man ... my name is Vitya! - huddled with fear, the fugitive said, - That man from the hall sent me here! I…
- Stop! Tsukomogami! shouted the mouth, “Yes, stop!” Yes, what is it? There is a full hall of guests, but the cook is no more! Tsukomogami, my friend, wait, don't be afraid! I have a lot of useful things in store for you! Oh, the spirit of hot dishes, but what is it!
Ohaguro was furious. The dish, which fifteen minutes ago should have been served to the table of the eminent guest, was not ready. Seeing Ohaguro, the spirit was frightened, with every minute he became paler and thinner. Seeing what she had done, Ohaguro tried to stop the decay of the spirit, but did not have time. The spirit was completely destroyed. Only Vitya and Ohaguro remained in the kitchen. Seeing Vitya, his mouth began to change. Lips reddened and black teeth began to sharpen. But it didn't last long. A fire broke out in the furnace, and the furnace cracked in two. Ohaguro came to her senses. She realized that she could not even touch Vitya. A bell was heard from above. This demanded dishes that were to be delivered to the guests. Ohaguro pursed her lips and sucked in the smoke from the stove. Exhaling sharply, the mouth tried to brand the boy's forehead. At the last moment, the beam of the calendar deflected the jet of darkness, but a few grains still fell on the boy's forehead. Now Vitya was a slave to the kitchen, but, thank God, not forever. Just for a short time.
KITCHEN SLAVE
Vita did not have to cook the dishes himself. For this, there were Tsukomogami - the spirits of old things. They were in charge of preparing food for the restaurant. However, in order to make the spirit work, Vita had to bring an old thing to the spirit. Bring and with a bow put a thing near the stove.
The older the item, the more experienced the Tsukomogami. As a result, the dish that was then served to the visitor's table turned out to be more delicious. The products that were needed for cooking meals also had to be brought to Vitya. Every day, from the very moment the stores opened, Vitya went from store to store, looking for the right products. Neither the sellers nor the shop visitors saw Vitya, the mark on his forehead that Ohaguro-Battari put on him made him invisible. Vitya simply took the necessary products from the store shelves. But the fact is that Vita needed only natural products, without nitrates and chemical additives, and there were almost none in the city. Vita had to bring old things once every nine days. So much time they agreed to stand at the Tsukomogami stove. But Vita had to wander around shops and supermarkets every day. Vitya never took a lot of food. Tsukomogami needed only one peach, one fish, or one piece of meat to prepare meals for all the restaurant's patrons.
A few weeks passed and the restaurant closed for sanitation. The fact is that henekai appeared in the restaurant. They were mischievous little animals that spoil food. They were planted by Chi Yu, Huangdi's competitor. Houtu, Huangdi's assistant, let Vitya go on vacation. Of all the relatives, Vitya had only his great-aunt, and he went to her. Grandmother lived at 9 Semyonovskaya. Before leaving, Houtu called Ohaguro-Battari and ordered him to temporarily remove the seal of slavery from Vitya's forehead. Now the boy will become visible and Howta asked Vitya to be careful. Taote still dreamed of catching Vitya and taking the calendar. Vitya agreed with Houtu and went through a bakery where bread and buns are baked. Through the window of the bakery, he went down into the yard and found himself right in front of the entrance where the grandmother lived. Vitya knocked on his grandmother's door. Viti had a report card in his hands. And Houtu also gave Vitya an official letter, in which it was written that Vitya was a student of the Higher Virtue Culinary Academy and was released for a week-long vacation. The great-aunt did not believe her eyes when she saw Vitya, but she believed the documents certified by the seal. Grandmother tried to ask Vitya about the latest events, but Vitya answered evasively. After resting with his grandmother, Vitya went to his friends. He went for a walk. A year and a half ago, the Viti family moved from an apartment on Fokina Street. They were forced to sell an apartment in the city center and bought a wrecked house on Arsenyev Street. All Vitya's friends stayed there, at 9 Fokina Street.
Vitya was not explained the reason for the move, but he learned it himself. He overheard the conversation of his parents and found out that his older brother, the same "Black Archaeologist", made some kind of fatal mistake and his parents had to sell the apartment in order to pay off his brother's debts. On Fokina Street, Vitya still has friends - Sergey and Oleg. Friends met Vitya with delight. All week Vitya walked with friends. The events of the past few weeks seemed like a dream to him. One day, parting with friends in front of the entrance where his former apartment was, Vitya felt a strange and so familiar smell. The smell of coal floated through the yard. Vitya raised his head and froze. The roofs of the houses were topped with chimneys, and smoke was coming from the chimneys. Houses in which batteries have been standing for so many years, suddenly for some reason began to be heated coal. Vitya blinked.

There were no more pipes, but the smell of coal floated over the yard. Friends bothered Vitya, but the boy was preoccupied, he saw what others did not see. Where there used to be a dead end littered with garbage, a barn appeared, and a beautiful woman was doing something near the barn. She was standing near a pile of coal, in the corner of a shed. Vitya tried to attract the attention of his friends and showed them a pile of coal, but his friends saw only a dead end. Vitya did not insist, he turned everything into a joke, and the friends soon left. Vitya was also about to go home, to Semyonovskaya, but he saw that the woman was beckoning him to her and smiling affectionately. When Vitya approached her, the woman asked the boy to help.
“Hello, Victor,” the woman smiled, “don’t try to remember me!” It's enough that I know who you are! Buckets of coal are a heavy thing for a woman! A hundred years have already flown by, but the coal does not end! Years go by, and I have to do my job. But it does not end, coal does not end in any way! The more I work, the more coal appears! Help me! Buckets are so heavy! I'm waiting for help, but help will never come! I'm glad that you came, and I believe that now everything will change! I have a strange dream, I want to see the floor boards! The pile of coal will run out, and I will see the boards! Then I will be free!
Vitya helped the woman fill the buckets with coal. Some people came up, gave empty buckets, and in return received filled with coal. For some reason, the woman told Vita to collect coal from the middle of the shed. Finally the middle of the barn was empty. The woman ran her hand through Viti's hair and pushed him to the heel of the void. Looking at the heels, cleared of coal, Vitya realized that his vacation was over. The woman gave Vita a piece of coal and asked him to always carry it with him and try not to lose it. With another piece of coal, she drew a door on the barn floor. The handle on the door appeared by itself, without any pattern. Vitya pulled the door towards him and went downstairs. Turning around, he saw the woman waving at him. There were tears in her eyes.
Second meal course. Bakeneko
The restaurant was preparing for the arrival of a big guest. Bakeneko, the demonic werecat, was about to arrive. The cat's birthday was coming up. A week before the anniversary, magical cats began to arrive at the hotel, which was located at the restaurant. Vitya knocked himself off his feet trying to find a fish not contaminated with nitrates. The cook rejected fish after fish. Cats arrived on palanquins carried by dogs. Unexpectedly, so many cats arrived that two more dining rooms had to be opened for these guests.
Going outside to buy more food for the banquet, Vitya suddenly found himself cold. It got colder, and the boy had no outerwear. After hesitating, Vitya decided that it was time to go to the house on Arseniev Street. Entering the house, the boy tried not to think about those who lived in this house with him until recently. Tears welled up in the boy's eyes, but suddenly it seemed to him that one of the doors knocked. Vitya hid. However, minutes after minutes passed, but the knocking did not happen again.
Thank God there was no one in the house. The boy was frightened, it seemed to him that Taota's raspy voice was about to be heard, and a withered palm with sharp nails would fall on his shoulder. Vitya was looking for something to wear, but suddenly realized that he had grown out of his things. The boy went into his brother's room, but it turned out that the closet, where all his older brother's clothes used to hang, was almost empty.
Only the same old brother's jacket hung in the closet. Vitya pulled on his jacket. The jacket was so big that the boy literally drowned in it. But there were no more clothes in the house. Taote took all his brother's belongings somewhere, there was only an empty closet in the room.
Vitya was afraid that Taote was about to appear, and immediately left the house. It was getting colder. Vitya tried to warm his hands in his pockets and found that a hole had appeared in his jacket pocket. The boy stuck his hand into the hole and suddenly found in it a leather collar with a clasp in the form of a fish head. The collar was small in circumference, and Vitya realized that this thing was made for a dog or a cat. The collar was old, the leather lace was worn out, and the pattern on the clasp became smooth and indistinct. Probably, the brother also brought this thing from the excavations, only last time Vitya did not find it. Vitya returned to the restaurant, and found that the next cook's time was up.
Chef Tsukomogami took his old thing and disappeared. Vitya had to urgently look for a new cook. Or rather, a thing to call the cook. But, unfortunately, all the attics were closed today. And the boy could not pass through the door if there was an iron lock on it. Vitya spent the whole day trying to find some old thing, but nothing worked. The boy became more and more desperate.
Time goes by so fast! Jumping out into the street, Vitya decided that he had no choice but to find some garbage can and start searching there! But, thank God, it didn't come to that! Trying to warm his hands in his pockets, the boy was suddenly scratched by the clasp. It dawned on Vitya! He pulled out the collar and decided to use it. Fortunately for him, the call attracted the one he needed!
The decrepit cook Tsukomogami appeared. He was so old that he could not remember his her name. But he remembered that he was one of the subjects of the Jurchen Emperor - Aguda. The cook's hands were shaking and his eyes were watery, but he prepared the dishes perfectly. Vitya relaxed, and leaning against the warm stove, he even dozed off. However, the idyll did not last long. The forgetful cook accidentally baked his collar into a fish cake and suddenly disappeared. Vitya was horrified. A bell rang from above - they demanded a ready dish. The lift lowered, and Vitya mechanically put down the cake and pressed the button. The birthday cake, occupying the space of a whole table, went to the banquet table. The boy looked around the kitchen.
There were still so many dishes to cook, but the cook was no more. Ohaguro - Battari stormed into the kitchen in a rage. There was a grand banquet in the restaurant today, with a huge number of guests, and the flow of dishes from the kitchen suddenly dried up. Ohaguro - Battari finally decided to punish Vitya.
“Boy, come to me,” the voice coming out of the scarlet mouth was so melodious and sweet that whoever heard this voice wanted to obey instantly, “I need to tell you something!”
- No, - the boy backed away from the werewolf, - I'll tell Hout everything! Get away from me!
The geisha sang a song. Her voice echoed off the kitchen walls. The boy began to recover, but Ohaguro was determined to complete her revenge today. She snapped her fingers impatiently, and water poured from the faucet. Vitya calmed down. In his vision, he saw a beautiful stranger come to a stream and sit on a marble bench. The brook murmured, the woman sang. She sang about peace and happiness.
Something again alerted the boy. He stopped. Ohaguro, realizing that, for some reason, she could not take the boy's will completely under her control, looked around the kitchen. Her gaze fell on the old fan. A snap of the fingers and the fan began to blow, smoothly sending air currents in all directions.
Vitya took a few steps towards the beautiful woman. In his vision, he felt a soft breeze ruffling his hair and slightly pushing him towards the beautiful stranger. She covered herself with a fan, but her voice called, promising unearthly bliss. The boy forgot about all the insults that Ohaguro - Battari inflicted on him.
He forgot about the true appearance of a Japanese woman.
However, the mirror calendar was impossible to deceive. The mirror reflected a terrible picture. Ohaguro's teeth had almost pierced the boy's skin. Then the protective talisman began to act.

He threw beams, twirled in the boy's pocket, but could not help in any way. Vitya was a slave of Ohaguro-Battari, and the calendar could not do anything about it. Ohaguro had a drop of blood on his lip, but then a bell crackled in the kitchen. It was Howth's bell. Vitya immediately came to his senses. The haze melted away before it could cause serious harm to the boy.
- What? What was it? - Vitya could not understand where he was and what had happened to him. Memory returned very slowly.
"You'll still be mine!" his mouth hissed. The lips that spoke the words turned blue. It seemed that all the paint had come off them. "You don't know where you've come from!" But, I'll explain to you! I'll explain very soon! Your next mistake will cost you your life!
Mouth wanted to say some more words, but the bell rang even more insistently.
Ohaguro - Battari immediately disappeared, only to return again a minute later. As if nothing had happened, Ohaguro told Vita that the birthday boy himself was asking him to come to the banquet hall. The birthday boy loved the fish pie. Vitya thought that he would have to take the elevator, but Ohaguro opened the kitchen door, and the boy saw a luxurious palanquin.
Dogs appeared, they were dressed in blankets embroidered with silk, on which the coat of arms of the Bakeneko cat was woven. Vitya stopped in front of the palanquin in confusion. Ohaguro laughed and advised Vitya to open the curtains of the palanquin and go inside. Vitya was in the restaurant's banquet hall for the first time. Before that, his days were spent only in the kitchen and pantry for food.
When the palanquin stopped, Vitya wanted to get out of the palanquin, but he saw that a dog was standing in front of the door. The first dog was followed by the second, third and fourth. The dogs formed a living staircase, along which the boy was forced to descend. And that was not all. Then Vitya walked for another five minutes between the two lines of dogs. The dogs formed a living corridor and followed the boy with adoring glances, squeals, and energetic wagging of their tails.
Finally the boy was in the banquet hall. The birthday boy sat on the dais. All the same dogs brought him food. The food was on hand tables. The birthday boy ate, and the dog held the table in its paws. Seeing the boy, Bakeneko told the dog to leave. Immediately, two people rushed to the werewolf cat: a panther and a lynx. It turns out that among those invited there were such individuals. Bakeneko nodded majestically, and supported from both sides, descended to the center of the hall. There was applause. The boy was greeted by a guest, he did not look like a cat.
In front of Vitya stood Prince Aguda, who is also Emperor Tai-Tzu. He is the prince of the Jurchen Empire. This prince ruled from 1113 to 1123.
So many centuries have passed, and the emperor remained enchanted in the body of the cat Bakeneko. The fact is that a long time ago, on a holiday On the bottom of the First Fish, Emperor Aguda refused to dance in front of the Khitan emperor and thus challenged him. Aguda was soon punished. The Khitan emperor had a very strong shaman. The shaman bewitched Aguda. He turned Tai Tzu into a werecat. The shaman ordered Aguda to stay in the body of a cat until someone returns the collar to him.
Bakeneko searched for the collar for many centuries, but the collar was hidden so well that the search for Aguda-Bakeneko yielded nothing. For centuries, the werewolf cat roamed the world looking for its collar. Vitya returned the emperor's collar, and now all the cats in the world were ready to fulfill any of Vitino's wishes.
The holiday ended abruptly. At Aguda's command, the entire hall rose. The stewards could be heard ordering the guests to get up in the other eight halls as well. Aguda paused. Passers-by could be heard talking about something, whose path lay along Pogranichnaya Street, past the restaurant "At the Emperor's".
Aguda uttered a word. The word was repeated by everyone who was in this hall. The word was repeated by everyone who was in the other eight halls. After that, Bakeneko, aka Prince Aguda, aka Emperor Taizu, got down on one knee and bowed his head. On the cotton of a lynx, Howtu stepped forward. The scroll he was holding was given to him by one of Bakeneko's trusted cats. Howtu said:
The sun of this day will never set!
What was lost is found!
What needed to happen has happened!
A great battle awaits the one who dared to hide!
A big reward awaits the one who finds it!
From now on and forever you are the son of the Bakeneko people!
We are yours and you are ours!

The hall became quiet again. Then there was the sound of claws. A tiger entered the vaults of the hall. He entered and froze with his eyes closed! Howtu took the collar from the approaching dog. The coat of arms of Bakeneko was embroidered on the pillow. The collar looked pathetic on the silk and brightly embroidered pillow, but it was a precious collar.
Howtu took the collar and walked over to the tiger. The tiger bowed its head. After the tiger bowed down, Houtu put the collar on the powerful neck of the king of beasts and quickly stepped aside. There was a rhythmic thud. Cats, dogs and other animals present in the hall began to tap their tails. The rhythmic pounding grew louder, and there was already a roar in the hall.
The tiger gasped. The collar squeezed his throat. The king of beasts tensed up and, losing consciousness from suffocation, tore the collar. Vitya turned to Howth. At this time, a new sound appeared behind him. It was like a champagne cork popped. The boy immediately turned around, but he was too late. The hall was empty.
The tables were bursting with food, but there were no more guests in the hall. Howtu picked up what was left of the collar and walked over to Vita.
— Take the clasp from the collar. Our guests never leave anything behind. This time is an exception! Prince Aguda was fierce, but fair! His enemies were afraid to shiver, but his friends were calm! The prince valued friendship, for each of his friends he was ready to give his life. You are now Bakeneko's friend. Remember this.
Third course of meals. white lady
The manager was forced to let Vitya go again for a week-long vacation. As you remember, the restaurant worked not only at night, but also during the day. The night and day staff of the restaurant never touched. Daytime cooks, waiters, administrators did not even suspect that at night their functions were performed by non-human beings. The night workers of the restaurant knew about those who work in the restaurant during the day, but they were not very enthusiastic about this. Auras were to blame. The auras of living people, and those who are not people, should not touch, but, unfortunately, in life, not everything happens as it should. So, during the day, the restaurant was visited by people who were unaware of the nightlife of the restaurant. As soon as the daylight touched the peak of the roof, the sign above the restaurant changed its name. Yes, yes, the restaurant had two signs: day and night. And they changed on their own, without the participation of people. The sun's rays and the darkness of the night were the catalyst that changed the letters on the restaurant sign. As you remember, the night restaurant had its own owner. His name was Huangdi. Many centuries ago, he was the first emperor of China. He was also called the Yellow Emperor. Huangdi took care of his subjects. Even books remained from his reign. In them, the emperor wrote down his advice on the use of needles in the treatment of various diseases. Why Emperor Huangdi needed to open a night restaurant in Vladivostok, I do not know. I have some guesses, but only the owner of the restaurant can confirm them. Well, let's hope that everything secret will eventually become clear, but for now let's get acquainted with the owner of the daytime restaurant.
Peter was the owner of a restaurant that worked during the day. He was a calm and gentle man. Peter did not like scandals. Force majeure and all sorts of incidents led him to despair. But, for some reason, not a week went by without a scandal in the dining room. Peter changed administrators, fired some managers and took on others in their place. The whole restaurant was littered with recording equipment, but the result was the same. Fights broke out all the time in the restaurant. Infinitely someone sorted things out, and scandals with officials cyants happened almost every day. Peter did not know that all his tricks to restore peace were useless. Huangdi, the nighttime owner of the restaurant, had a competitor. The competitor's name was Chi Yu. Chi Yu's Million Wishes Restaurant was located near the Emperor's Restaurant. Chi Yu's restaurant welcomed vice and licentiousness. All the wishes of the client for the owner of the restaurant were the law. It was even rumored that some of Chi Yu's restaurant customers were cannibals. So, despite the fact that everything was allowed in Chi Yu's restaurant, the restaurant was half empty every night. The Emperor's restaurant had strict rules, but despite this, the restaurant was always crowded. There were not enough halls for guests all the time, and therefore Huangdi, and his administration, were forced to open more and more halls. The area of the underground restaurant was huge. They stretched (naturally underground) from Pogranichnaya Street to Semyonovskaya Street, captured pieces of the territory of Fontannaya and Pologaya Streets and came into contact with Fokina Street. The last hall was opened quite recently not far from the Emerald store. Further Huangdi could not move. Everything has its limits. Not only the upper square of the city had long been divided, but the underground voids were occupied by their owners and were actively used. But back to Chi Yu, Huangdi's competitor. Chi Yu, in the table of ranks, was much lower than Huangdi, but this did not stop this petty demon from causing endless trouble to the Emperor's restaurant and its owner. Huangdi himself, and his night restaurant, Chi Yu could not harm openly. But he, with immense pleasure, spoiled the life of the daytime owner of the restaurant, Peter. Chi Yu had many close associates who had the opportunity to inspire their thoughts to living people. Therefore, there is nothing surprising in the fact that the visitors of the restaurant, whose owner was the long-suffering Peter, endlessly brought a note of discord into the quiet life of the restaurant. And now the daytime owner of the restaurant Peter was sitting with his head down in his office. There was a serious fight in the restaurant, which ended very sadly. Police, ambulance, onlookers - all this brethren disturbed the quiet life of the restaurant. It seems, well, what business does a night owner of a restaurant have before a day one?
And here it is not. It turns out there is a case. Tsukomogami, the spirits of things, refused to work in a restaurant where the auras of living people mix and create a strange background. It turns out that the Tsukomogami can't cook delicious meals under these conditions. Police officers, trying to understand the tragedy that had happened, visited the kitchen at noon and interviewed the cooks. At night, after the sign was changed, Vitya tried to coax another Tsukomogami, but the spirit of the old newspapers was inexorable. He refused to cook until the alien auras were gone from the restaurant. The boy tried to persuade the cook. During his time in the restaurant, he learned to be eloquent. Vitya was afraid of Ohaguro-Battari, and looked around all the time, and then again fixed his eyes on the cook.
“Your lowest servant,” the boy began his persuasion once again, “falls on his face and awaits your verdict!” You won't leave me in trouble, will you?
“Yes, I would be glad,” the Tsukomogami chef scratched his head, “but what will it be?” The scents are mixed! And if you do not smell the dishes that you cook, then there will be trouble!
"What if I'm your sniffer?" - Vita liked the idea so much that he even laughed, - let me smell the dishes! I will try! I fall on my face and swear allegiance to you! Believe me, I will never forget your good deeds! Heaven is witness...
“Very well,” old Tsukomogami grimaced, he did not like colorful speeches very much, “Very well, I agree. Just shut up. Your voice makes my head hurt. A kitchen slave should not have such a ringing voice. But what can you take from you, you're a man!
However, the idea of Vitya and the old cook almost led to disaster. Vitya liked the smell of the dish. The cook took the boy at his word and decided that the dish was ready to appear before the distinguished guest. The guest was so high-ranking that Huangdi himself warned his assistants to keep everything at the highest level. In honor of the arrival of a dear guest, room service was added. And fortunately for the cook, another assistant was sent to the kitchen. The assistant was the spirit of the palace pavilions. He was accustomed to exquisite smells and refined speeches.

The cook and Vitya were frightened when the spirit of the palace pavilions, as soon as they entered the kitchen, suddenly began to tremble in hysterics and began to ask to be given at least a breath of fresh air. He yelled that the dish smelled disgusting! He sobbed and yelled. He begged to open a window or window! He screamed that he did not want to die a second time! The kitchen was underground, and there was nowhere for air to come from. Viti had several candles that are lit in Buddhist temples. These candles are left over from the previous cook. Out of fear, the boy did not find anything better than to light candles. The spirit of the palace arbors has become a little better. He looked reproachfully at Vitya and rushed off to complain. Luckily, Ohaguro-Battari wasn't at the restaurant that day. Howtu himself came down into the kitchen. After that, it was decided to dig the restaurant for a while. That's how the boy got an unexpected vacation again.
Opposite the house where his friends lived, and now Vitya himself did not live, the boy recently found old newspapers in the attic. The newspapers were dated 1905. The house on Fokina, 10, was already redone and resold seven times, but the attic remained an attic. However, for some of the new tenants, it probably turned into a solarium or a trendy cafe. When Vitya climbed the stairs leading to the room under the roof, he saw exactly the attic. The boy realized that for some reason only he saw this elongated room, like an attic, but this did not bother him. If the room under the roof does not want to change, then he, Vitya, what business is it? In addition to newspapers, Vitya found in the attic: a hatbox, a sewing machine, a muddy old mirror, and a lot of other junk. Victor did not take the mirror and the typewriter - they were heavy and inconvenient to carry. Not a single perfume was found on the hatbox, the rest of the little things also could not attract a single Tsukomogami, only the newspapers gave a result. There were many newspapers. They lay carelessly thrown in the corner, but Tsukomogami was the only one by these newspapers. And now, this same Tsukomogami, categorically refused to work in the kitchen now. The next morning, Vitya again stood at the door of his great-aunt's apartment.
VACATION AGAIN
Grandmother would have been glad to shelter her granddaughter, but guests unexpectedly came to her, a daughter with three children. Their own grandchildren were noisy and pugnacious, and the grandmother often glanced longingly in the direction of the quiet and silent Vitya. That is why, after spending the night with his grandmother, Vitya went to the house on Arseniev Street the next morning. Howtu taught Vitya what to do so that uninvited guests do not appear in the house. Every night the boy put a calendar-mirror in front of the front door, but he still slept very uneasily. He saw the vicious Taote around every corner. During the day, Vitya tried to return home as rarely as possible. Friends studied in the first shift, and therefore, from two o'clock in the afternoon until nightfall, the company of friends was inseparable. That day, Vitya was always haunted by the smell of coal, or rather, the smell of a stove that is heated with coal. And indeed, again, like the last time, smoke hung over the chimneys of the houses. Shaking his head, Vitya only smiled at his desire to tell his friends about the strange smokes. Friends walked late. Vitya said goodbye to his friends, and was about to go home, when he suddenly heard a groan. Near the wall of the house at 5 Fokina Street, he saw a naked young man. The guy sat leaning against the wall and moaned.
- Hey, man, - Vitya gently touched the groaning shoulder, - what are you doing? You feels bad?
- No, - the young man raised his eyes to the boy, - I ... I feel very good! She is so amazing! I've been looking for this all my life! I…
The guy turned pale even more and suddenly lost consciousness. However, he soon came to his senses again. His lips turned blue, and every word came to him with difficulty.
- Can I call an ambulance? - Vitya saw that the guy was getting worse and worse - do you hear, do not be silent! I'm running to my friends now, they have a telephone at home, wait, I ...
“I don’t need help,” the young man smiled through force, “I don’t need help!” Can't you see that no one can help me!
Looking closer, Vitya saw that the moaner was not a man, but it was not a spirit either. The boy wanted to help the young man, but suddenly he heard a hiss. A white cloud emerged from the wall of the house. She was a beautiful woman, but her hair was completely white. The woman was wearing a kimono. Standing between the boy and the groaning man, the woman began to push Vitya back. The boy did not even think of leaving, but when he saw that the guy began to come to his senses, he stepped aside a little. The woman came close to him, and the young man smiled blissfully. The white Japanese woman cast an impatient glance in the direction of Vitya. The boy shrugged. If his help is not needed, it's time for him to leave. Vitya turned and took a few steps in the direction of Sports Harbor, but the mirror-calendar suddenly flew out of the boy's pocket and outlined a line in front of Vitya. The boy, no matter how hard he tried, could not cross this line, and was forced to return. He returned on time. There was almost nothing left of the young man standing next to the Japanese woman. Only a smoky silhouette was visible. Only later did it become clear to Vitya what had happened.

This tragedy happened many years ago. A white Japanese woman committed suicide. This happened in the same year that the newspapers he found in the attic were dated, in 1905. The white Japanese woman was a decent girl. She studied at the gymnasium, dreamed of staying in Vladivostok, living in this city, working for its benefit and prosperity. But the girl was treacherously deceived. The seducer was European. Moreover, the deception ended with the fact that the deceived Japanese woman ended up in a brothel. Houses of brothel with Japanese beauties were considered houses of a higher rank than, for example, the same houses, only Korean or Chinese, but the girl, as you understand, did not care about this. And one day she took an oath. And ended her life!
The words of the oath did not hang in the air for long. The spirit of the Golden Trepang Bay wrapped the words of the oath into fog. The white lady appears when fog hangs over the streets. The spirit of a beautiful woman with white hair cannot calm down for more than a hundred years. She is looking for those in whom the blood of her seducer flows. Sometimes he finds and then the words of the oath flash over the head of a white Japanese woman and her victim. An ikire stood next to the Japanese woman. This is the name of a ghost that appears out of nowhere. However, in this case it was the ghost of a living person. The man was still alive, but was slowly dying. A white girl, hone - onna, drank strength from it. Having committed suicide and uttering an oath, the white girl turned into hone - onna. The ghost of a woman in love. The ghost of a woman in love, sucking the life force out of her lover. Suddenly, an umbrella escaped from the hands of a Japanese woman. The umbrella introduced himself to Vitya, his name was Kasa - obake.
“Dear sir,” the umbrella turned to the boy in a thin voice, “do not refuse my request!”
- Yes, - Vitya was amazed, but tried not to show it. However, during his work in the restaurant, he had seen enough of everything. The talking umbrella was new to him, but in the rest of the situation, the boy did not see anything special. Yes, I am listening to you carefully.
“I want to help my mistress,” the umbrella said sadly, “she and I are very old!” For more than a century we have been living in this world! It may seem sad to some, but it's still life! An innocent person is now in front of the mistress! And she sees him as her offender! The more innocents she kills, the sooner our end will come! Pity ma'am! I'm just an old umbrella, but I can still do a lot!

I'm ready to help, but I don't know how! - Vitya saw that the naked young man would soon completely disappear into the air, and the umbrella kept talking and talking, - Tell me, what can I do?
“Find the real offender of our mistress!” Then I will go to the umbrella paradise, and my lady ... - the voice of the umbrella thinned to the point that it became like a mosquito squeak
- What? - the boy was surprised, - whom to find? I can't hear well! speak louder
And the spirit of the umbrella told his plan. The boy was surprised, but he carefully listened to what Kasa-obake told him. Vitya went to Fontannaya Street, found a wooden house, and slipped the lady's lacy umbrella through the open window. Kasa obake entered the room where a living Japanese woman and a white man were sleeping. The umbrella smoothly lowered between the Japanese and the Russian.
The young man came to his senses, but his head was still in a fog. Obeying the command of the umbrella, he hurried out of his own house. The Japanese girl hugged her umbrella and fell asleep again. Everything fell into place again. Hone - onna disappeared into the wall, and the man again merged with his soul. Now the resentment of the ghost lady will sleep until the next Japanese tourist from the family of the deceased white lady appears in Vladivostok.
Fourth course of meals. King Millionka
Vita was uncomfortable. The second week went by, and everyone did not call him to work. The great-aunt's grandchildren left, and Vitya again returned to live on Semenovskaya Street, 9. Sometimes Vitya caught his grandmother's gaze, there was surprise and longing in it. But Grandma didn't ask questions. She was an old and wise woman. Grandma was about to turn eighty years old. She had a clear mind and a good memory. Vitya talked a lot with his grandmother and learned a lot of new things: about the city he lives in, about his grandmother's parents, about his parents, and about himself.
When Vitya was born, the doctors said that the boy was not a tenant in this world. Mom Vitya cried for a long time, and when she fell asleep, she had a dream. A Japanese woman, Ubume, came to her in a dream. The woman was brightly dressed. Her face was whitened. She smiled wanly. When tears began to flow from her eyes, a whip began to whistle over her, and the woman stopped crying. That's what my mother said.

Ubume handed her mother a tiny shirt and asked for only one thing. So that the boy, the death that Ubume took now, in the future, when he grows up, returns this death to the son of Ubume. Ubume wrapped something in a shirt and gave a tiny piece of the shirt to Viti's mother.
After that, the woman disappeared, and the mother was awakened by the midwife, who, crying and laughing, said that the baby had begun to breathe, and was already screaming at the whole maternity hospital, demanding attention. This is the story that happened at the birth of Vitya.
Vitya was born in the fourth maternity hospital, it was very close to the place where his grandmother lived. Moreover, after the maternity hospital, Vitya was brought here, to 9 Semyonovskaya Street. Mom then became ill in a taxi.
Then Vitya looked at photos from an old album with his grandmother.
In the morning the boy decided to take a walk in the direction of his school. Before all the events described above took place, Vitya studied at the forty-sixth school. He was constantly drawn to take the briefcase and enter his class, but he understood that this was impossible. When the family moved, Vitya was transferred to another school.
Vitya walked to the school, his path lay past the restaurant.
Howth strictly forbade Vita himself, without a call, to appear in the kitchen of the restaurant. However, no one forbade the boy to walk past the restaurant like an ordinary passer-by, along the street. Between the courtyards of Semyonovskaya, No. 3 and Border, 12, there is a passage. Through these connected ry could go straight to the school.
Previously, there was the heart of the famous Millionka. On one of the walls was a portrait of a narrow-eyed man, and was signed: "King of Millionka." Vitya wanted to pass by, he had already seen this drawing more than once, drawn directly on the inner wall of the house. However, this time Vita had to stop.
The drawing hasn't gone anywhere. Only a different person was now drawn on it. A sailor or sailor, in the clothes of the last century, was sitting at the table of the tavern. The tavern was probably in the same place where the drawing now flaunted.
A beautiful woman sat on the sailor's lap. The sailor suddenly turned and looked directly into Vita's eyes, but the woman laughed and turned the sailor's head back to her. The woman rose from the table, curved gracefully, and walked back into the inn. She returned soon after. She whispered something to the sailor and beckoned him to follow her. As soon as they left, the people in the picture froze motionless. Vitya waited a few more seconds, and was about to leave when he heard voices. The boy did not see the faces of those who spoke, but he heard everything perfectly. It seemed to him that if he only took a step, he would see the speakers. However, he never took this step. Meanwhile, the conversation was taking a serious turn.
“…you don’t understand,” the woman sobbed, “he is a cruel man!” These people are not kidding! They say that in his service not only Chinese thugs, but also ... - there was silence, apparently the woman was listening, - but also a Japanese murderer! It is scary to say that he cuts people to pieces with the composure of a butcher! Louise told me that, and she knows everything about these people!
"Ah, Nina, Nina, you've heard plenty of scary tales again!" I'll tell you what, Ninon! You will receive this necklace only when the priest marries us! It also has a ring and earrings!
“Ah, Stepushka, I don’t need your rings and earrings!” I agree to go down the aisle without them even now! Give them everything and we'll leave! Trust me, he won't let me go just like that! He is a terrible person! Listen, give it up!
Are you taking me for a fool? Or for stupidity? I didn’t spend so much time at sea just to give away with my own hands what I got with such difficulty! And I was ill with scurvy, I was washed overboard, I endured cold and need! And all for you! And you offer me this! Do you have a heart?
- There is, Stepushka, and it beats only for you! Oh, my dear, why did you tell Louise about the chest in a drunken mood? Now the damn manza won't let me go!
— And here, your talker, Louise? I'm a good man! And I drink with my own money! But I don't get drunk! And I don't talk too much! It's been slandered at me! I didn't see your girlfriend yesterday!
Louise said...
- Everything, point! I hid the jewelry box! Right here, close! In one of the basements, between two conspicuous bricks. I'm not afraid of your Chinese! And I'm not afraid of his minions!
- Stepushka, my love, do not be angry and do not shout! Better tell me, where did you get the chest? Louise said that the treasures in it are unspeakable!
- Oh, you fox! Well, I'll tell you! Blood on these baubles! I did not shed this blood, but I picked up a box of gold and glass! Anyone who knows anything about this story is dead! I'm the only one left! What are you looking at? I'm not a killer! I swear by our love! My whole sin is that I didn’t bury the box of trinkets along with the murdered man, but took it out of my cold hands! I was hurt! I hid the box in my bosom, and then I left! Barely had time to depart our trough! The captain has already given the signal to sail!
- Stepushka, but listen to me at least once in your life! Give them...
No, I don't believe you! No, I said period! You'll be wearing the spillikins when I lead you to the altar, but not before! This is my last word!
- Well, Stepushka, let it be as you decided, however ...
The woman's words were interrupted by the sound of a kiss. For a while it was quiet, and then the couple left talking quietly about something.
Vitya spat and went on. It is not clear why, but the boy was angry with himself. After walking around the school, wandering around the Sports Harbor, the boy went back. He was anxious, his temples ached, his eyes watered.
He wanted to pass by his native restaurant, where the corpulent cook Uncle Vanya worked in the kitchen during the day, but his legs carried him back into the arch of Pogranichnaya Street, 12.
However, the picture on the wall has changed. The table was overturned, the sailor was standing near one of the walls of the tavern, raising a chair above his head. People were frozen around. They took the sailor in a semicircle and it was clear that their faces did not promise anything good. The woman stood to one side, her mouth twisted into a strange grimace. She looked at the Chinese with hatred. A Chinese man, a middle-aged man, stood in the shadows and smiled enigmatically.
Suddenly the sailor made a jerk. However, the man understood that he could not escape from the environment. Suddenly he pulled off his sailor's cap and silently shouted something. The boy instinctively stretched out his hands and caught the hat. When Vitya looked at the drawing again, the king of Millionka was again drawn there. The picture has returned to its original state. The boy went to his grandmother and thought about the words that the sailor said. It seemed to him that the man uttered the word: “Find it!”.
Vitya sadly thought that it was time to nail to the door of the apartment where he now lives a sign “Reception of ghosts. Reception time from 14 to 16.
Of course, Vitya heard the legend about the sailor who was killed and cut into pieces in the doorways of Millionka. The murder took place at three o'clock in the morning. As children, he and his friends even scared each other with the ghost of a sailor.
However, Vitya did not suspect that such a person really existed. The rest of the day, the boy spent as if in a dream. He was driven by a hat. At some point, the boy realized that the cap was leading him to the places where parts of the sailor's body were buried more than a hundred years ago.

Vitya was shaking like a fever. He went around many streets, stopping in the most unexpected places. Sometimes he couldn't get to the right place. Where there used to be pits and ravines, now there were high-rise buildings. The inhabitants of these houses had terrible dreams. In these houses, people often died a violent death. However, the people living in these houses did not know why this was happening.
Finally, the sailor's request was granted. Probably, the cap brought all the parts of the body together. The boy's grandmother's story did not go out of his mind. And suddenly he saw her, the woman who was present at his birth.
She went towards the sea, to where her beloved homeland stood on the islands, and led her son by the hand. Ubume's son was one of the assassins. He was in the service of the owner of the tavern, and was one of those who brutally dealt with the Russian sailor on that fateful night. The mother bore the punishment for her son. For decades, the whip whistled over her. And now they were all free, the sailor, his killers, and Ubume, the selfless mother who saved her son at the cost of centuries of torment and suffering.
The boy looked at his wrist watch. It was three in the morning. Or, to be more precise, three hours and fifteen minutes. A new day was coming.
Fifth meal. The ship captain and his son
Grandmother unexpectedly found a school photo of Vitya among the old notebooks. The boy was finishing first grade when the teacher told the children to bring money for a group photo. This photo was supposed to be photographed the entire first "B" class. Vitya's mother gave money for two photographs. The second photo was given to my great-aunt. And now Vitya looked at this photo. He smiled at the tousled hair and the laughing faces of his friends, and then glanced at the faces of the rest of his classmates. Lazily shifting his gaze from face to face, the boy smiled, recalling the joint tricks, trips for acorns to Pokrovsky Park and New Year's morning performances. Suddenly Vitya became alert. The face of one of the girls caught his attention. He didn't remember this girl. In the second grade, she no longer studied with Vitya. But something still disturbed him. Some memories filled my chest. However, friends soon came for Vitya, and he threw the thought of the girl out of his head. The day was exciting and sparkling. Friends went to the ice of the bay, where the fishermen were fishing. However, they could not stand in the cold for a long time. The attention of friends was attracted by the expressive conversation of a handful of fishermen. One fisherman proved something, the rest of the fishermen smiled skeptically. The boys listened. The fisherman told his friends that he saw a huge fish that looked like a giant worm. Its length was about a hundred meters. A man in the morning passed by a large, not yet frozen, polynya, and saw this strange fish. The polynya was slightly covered with ice, and the fish were perfectly visible. The attention of the fisherman was also attracted by the fact that the fish either twisted into rings, or straightened out to its full length, and it also seemed to want to break through the ice and break out to the surface of the bay. So it seemed to the frightened man. Just in case, he moved away from the hole. And then he returned to the beach. In the end, he fancied that the ice shuddered, as if a weak wave of an earthquake had passed. The fishermen laughed and dispersed, and Vitya and his friends returned to the yard. It's time for computer games. The boys stayed with Oleg until the evening, and only a reminder from their mother that it was time to do their homework brought the friends back to the real world. Sergei went home, and Vitya returned to Oleg. He forgot his friend's gloves.
WIPERS
Leaving the entrance, he glanced out the window and ran out into the street. So it is, the yard was a respectable uncle in an apron. Quite the same as janitors were painted in books of the early twentieth century. The boy knew that guest workers Gulya and Alim were assigned as janitors outside the territory of house number nine, along Fokina Street. In the morning he saw how they, laughing and talking, cleaned the yard. Uncle, in the form of a janitor of past years, he never saw in his yard. The janitor winked at the boy and said something. Vitya stepped closer. The janitor went on talking to the boy, but the boy did not hear him. The janitor showed Vita to his broom. The broom didn't want revenge on the yard. She glided without touching the asphalt. The janitor was in despair. Finally, he handed the broom to Vita. The boy took the broom with doubt, but he succeeded. Having made a dozen or two swings with a broom, he found that the janitor had risen into the air and was hovering a few meters from the ground. The man took out his whistle and made a sound that Vitya couldn't hear. At the sound of his whistle, three more janitors entered the yard. Soon Vita had to sweep the yard with four different brooms in turn. Vitya did not hear what the men were talking about, but he could see from their faces, blurred with pleasure, that they were satisfied. Holding hands, the janitors rose higher and higher into the sky. Soon the brooms followed them. Vitya peered into the sky for a long time, until the four men turned into spots barely visible to the eye. Sighing, the boy turned and walked out of the yard, but suddenly something fell in front of him. The wind brought a long, light rod. Vitya raised the rod - it was a broom stick. The boy wanted to throw it away, but then changed his mind. The rod was easily bent. Vitya folded it four times, put it in his pocket, and went home. He returned to his grandmother's house and went to his room. The photograph was still on the table. Vitya looked at the familiar faces a few more times, and hid the photograph on the table.

DREAM
At night he had a dream. He dreamed that he was walking along the corridors of his native school number forty-six. He does not want to go, but his legs carry him to the staff room. Victor stops in front of the door, where it is written: “Deputy Director for Protection from Evil Dreams. Chimera Pulgasari"
Vitya enters the office. He does not dream of the one who scolds him. Viti's head is downcast. The voice changes from female to male and vice versa. The deputy director, either a Korean or a Korean, finds out for a long time why Vitya did a bad deed, and then Pulgasari's voice subsides. Vitya raises his head and sees a broomstick. An invisible hand writes on the blackboard with a rod, and the voice adds: “...otherwise we will be called to the commission on juvenile affairs”
Vitya sees the inscription on the board, it is long, it occupies the entire board, but he manages to read only one word - Tkhedzhagvi. His grandmother wakes him up.
Vitya was sleeping and singing at the top of his voice a song in an unfamiliar language. From this singing, the grandmother woke up. Vitya could no longer sleep. All night until dawn, he tried to solve the dream, but only one word came to mind - Thejagwi. The boy could hardly wait for his friends to come from school. Vitya asked Oleg to enter a strange word that he saw in a dream into the Internet search engine. To his surprise, the search engine returned the result. It turns out that Taejagwi, in the ancient Korean shamanic traditions, is the spirit of a girl who died of smallpox, who appears to predict the future. Oleg tried to find out from his friend what aroused his strange interest, but Vitya suddenly asked his friend a counter question. He asked Oleg about a classmate, a Korean girl, whose photo he looked at yesterday. Oleg at first could not understand what Vitya was asking about, and then he remembered and told about the incident, which Vitya had thoroughly forgotten. They were very young then and were friends with the girl. Her name was Anastasia. The girl asked to be called Si. That's what they called her at home. So, one day after school, Oleg, Vitya, Seryozha and the girl Nastya decided to take a walk. They wanted to go towards the Sports Harbor, but someone suggested playing secrets. This game was then very popular with kids and first graders. Moving a few meters away from the school, all four pulled out glass and foil from sweets. Everyone had a secret. It was a small thing that was buried in the ground, previously covered with foil and glass. And then you had to guess who buried what. Vitya never guessed, but Oleg, Sergey and Anastasia immediately guessed what secret Vitya buried. Then the guys sat down right on the ground under the tree, where the secrets were buried, and Vitya began to compose a story. The story turned out to be terrible, at some point Vitya became very terrified of what he had composed. He told and himself believed in what he composed on the go. Nastya was especially frightened. The girl turned white and said she would go home. She said that she saw the story that Vitya told in a dream. The boys made the poor girl laugh. And Sergei even joked stupidly, saying that traces of poop were imprinted on the white apron that the girl wore for today's shooting. Nastya burst into tears and ran home. The next day the girl did not come to school. The boys went to her house, but the neighbor said that Anastasia's family had moved to another apartment. Gradually the whole story was forgotten. Vitya asked Oleg to remember what he had composed under the tree, but Oleg did not remember. He said that he only remembers that the story was very terrible, and the heroes of this story even dreamed of him, Oleg, for several nights.
When Vitya was already walking home, a girl blocked his path and Vitya remembered that he had already met this girl. This was the girl he ran into when he was running from Taote. Now Vitya understood why the girl's face in the photograph haunted him. The girls' faces were like two peas in a pod. A ghostly girl in a Korean dress stood and waited for the boy to approach her.
Thejagvi, that was the name of the girl. She took Vitya with her. Walking after the girl, Vitya turned his head and did not recognize the city that was spread out in front of him. He got into the past. Instead of the Dynamo stadium there was a huge market. The streets were filled with people. Who was not there. Chinese, Koreans, Russians, Japanese. Screeching music sounded from all sides. Smoke billowed from street taverns. People were talking all at the same time, so loudly that I wanted to plug my ears. Vitya turned around. The restaurant he worked at hasn't gone anywhere. Just above it was another sign. The girl purposefully led him forward. There was no sports harbor, such as Vitya knew now. The sea was in place, but there were no swimmers. Boats, junks, boats covered the waters of the bay with a black veil. However, Thejagwi had no intention of taking him to the sea. She invited Vita to go underground. Before the boy was a descent into the catacombs. Vitya shook his head and suddenly remembered the story he had told about under the tree. His heart began to beat, and the boy moved without fear after the black-and-white girl. The girl led Vitya past a huge stone. The stone was shaped like a bird's head. Then the boy heard voices. He saw two Japanese - a boy and an adult, a Russian girl and ... his classmate Xi. Nastya - Xi was dressed in a modern dress of the twenty-first century. This dress can be bought now in any store. Anastasia has grown, but her face has not changed much. Unlike the others, it wasn't black and white. The girl's face was confused. She was as real as Vitya. But those who stood next to her did not seem to notice. Vitya rushed towards Nastya, but Thejagvi stopped him.
“Vee,” she turned to the boy, “get what you were given!”
Vitya began to take things out of his pocket, which often accumulate in the pockets of the boys. Soon on the ground lay: two pocket knives, used cartridges from cartridge cases, a lighter and a pen rod. There was even an old note from a classmate. However, Thejagwi was unhappy.
- It's not that! Look for more! The one who gave you this thing was not heard by you!
Vitya did not quite understand the last words, but the girl hurried him, and he continued to empty his pockets.
"Vee," the girl screamed, "what's wrong with you?" Have you forgotten how to read minds?
And then Vitya understood, he saw a janitor in front of him, who was trying to ask him for something! Thejagvi was thinking about the janitor, and Vitya saw the janitor's smile as if in reality.
The black-and-white girl asked to get the rod, which the janitor gave Vitya. Vitya complied with the girl's request. The girl stuck the rod into the ground. And she asked Vitya to move away. At first, nothing happened. Then a stream of water burst out of the ground. She was so strong that she broke through the vault of the catacombs. The ground parted to the sides, and something long, slippery and twisted in rings burst out from under the ground. The girl said that it was Imugi, a sea serpent that had sailed from Korea to become a dragon in the Golden Trepang Bay. Water flooded Viti's legs. Thejagwi grabbed his arm and they ran for the exit. However, Thejagwi's hand became warm for some reason. Vitya looked up and saw that next to him was no longer Thejagvi, but Nastya-Si. Getting out of the ground and walking a few meters, the exhausted boy sat down on a stone slab. Anastasia stroked the strange monument, two little tiger cubs cast of iron, and left without looking back. Vitya went home. His path lay past the restaurant.
The boy was called. The long vacation was over.
The restaurant was getting ready for the banquet. Waiting for the arrival of a dear guest. It was the Imoogi serpent, finally incarnated into a dragon. The banquet lasted almost two weeks. At the banquet were: Lu-Mongol dragon, Toenayar - a four-legged Burmese dragon, Lung-Chinese dragon, Ong Kut-Viet water serpent, Pulao moon dragon lover of bell ringing, Zhulun - a dragon with a human face that illuminates the darkness, and many, many more guests. Vitya was called back to the banquet hall, Ohaguro - Battari was furious. The Imoogi wished to reward Vitya and gave him… a green glass button. It was the button that Nastya lost in the dungeon. The banquet ended, and weekdays began again.
Once Vitya met Nastya in a store. Nastya did not see him. Vitya put a button on top of Nastya's purchases and was about to leave. And then a miracle happened. The button suddenly began to sparkle in the rays of the sun beating from the window and one of the rays touched Nastya's eyes. Anastasia suddenly discovered that a boy was standing next to her, who had not been here a second ago. The girl looked in bewilderment towards Vitya. However, despite the fact that she could not remember where she had recently met this boy, her heart began to beat and for some reason she wanted to cry and laugh at the same time.
Sixth meal. Si and her friends
The owners of the restaurant were preparing for the arrival of the Jilin unicorn. Howth, at the morning meeting, reported what the unicorns eat, and they ate well-fed honey and rose hips, and drank the morning dew. Of course, Vitya was not able to collect dew in winter, in December. He wouldn't be able to do it even in the summer, but Houtu told him to turn to Ohaguro-Battari for a solution to this problem. Ohaguro suggested replacing the dew with rosehip wine. However, the process of making wine is a long process. Vitya asked a reasonable question about how he should be in this situation. Ohaguro frowned, and then grudgingly gave advice. Vitya had to find a bottle of Zuk Ogami Kameos. It instantly made any alcoholic drink and magically produced indefinitely what was poured into it. The holiday was planned to be short, only three days. But about a thousand guests were expected. Magical animals from different countries and eras will come to celebrate the Millennium of the Jilin Unicorn. Vitya wandered around the markets, supermarkets and even pharmacies. With difficulty, he found the necessary rosehip, but he found it. He found it in the market, on Komarov Street. Three berries lay on an empty counter. The owner of the dog rose apparently sold everything and left. The three remaining berries seemed to be waiting for Vitya to come and take them to the warm kitchen. Chef Tsukomogami wanted to put all three berries on various dishes, but Vitya resisted. He needed the third berry to have something to make rosehip wine from. The cook was annoyed and so pans, pots and baking sheets flew around the kitchen and collided with each other. Vitya gave up, and the next morning he again went to the market in the hope of finding the one who brought that selected dog rose for sale. Vitya again did not find the owner of the wild rose, but there were two berries in the same place. Vitya took them and decided to return to the restaurant bypassing the central streets. His path lay across Oktyabrskaya Street. The wind tore at the skirts of the autumn jacket, the snow flaked across the face, but the boy stubbornly walked forward through the wind. Finally, he turned his back to the wind, and suddenly the city became black and white. And then something red flashed before the boy's eyes. Looking up, he saw a temple. Surprisingly, the Buddhist temple shone with bright colors. The houses stood sullenly ruffled, the wind blew people away and dragged them along. Suddenly he saw familiar faces. Thejagwi tried to calm the Chinese girl, who was shaking her fists and arguing something fervently. Then another girl approached this couple, Vitya also saw her in the dungeon. This girl was Russian. Vitya was about to move towards Thejagvi, but the girl saw him and raised her finger.
Vitya stopped, not knowing what to do next. The girls were talking about some book and an underground city, finally a Japanese family came out of the temple - they were an old Japanese, a middle-aged couple, a girl of the age of Thejagvi, and a boy with a young man. Vitya also saw the last two when, together with Thejagvi, he descended into the catacombs. The adults moved towards Ocean Avenue, and the children, together with the young man, crowded around Thejagvi. From the conversation, Vitya realized that he was now near the Japanese temple of Hongaji. Thejagvi let out an exclamation that only Vitya heard. The boy was worried. The Korean girl motioned Vita to follow them with a wave of her head. The boy followed the black and white company and thought about the strange girl. Those who walked along with Thejagvi argued, they spoke all together and one by one, the girl was silent or simply nodded. Sometimes she tried to show something with gestures. Vitya was confused. After all, quite recently, a week ago, the girl talked to him. Listening, Vitya realized that his friends were going to a place where no one could eavesdrop on them. Soon everything became clear. The Khitan shaman took the voice from Si-Thejagvi. The hill where the friends climbed was protected from evil forces. In ancient times, when Vladivostok bore the name Yongmingchen, the temple of the Red Witch stood on this hill.
The boy suddenly realized that, following the company of friends from the last century, he no longer felt the cold. Climbing the hill after the guys, Vitya heard what his friends were talking about. One of the guys, a Japanese boy with a strange name Toli, offered to fight again with the Khitan shaman and his army in order to take back the vote of Thejagvi-Xi. The Chinese girl Xiai, a ling, who spoke excellent Russian, offered to turn to the mysterious Book, which was somewhere deep underground, not far from Harbin. The young man tried to establish some kind of order, but everyone was talking at the same time. Only Si-Thejagvi was silent. Turning to the girl, Vitya found that she was pointing him to the ground. Vitya lowered his head, and when he raised it again, he found himself standing near the Vladivostok Fortress Museum on Battery Street.

MUSEUM OF THE VLADIVOSTOK FORTRESS
Again the wind howled and plucked angrily, but neither Thejagwi nor her friends were around. Vitya went inside. The museum was not big, but the exhibits were very interesting. Vitya was an ordinary boy, and with pleasure he looked at weapons and much more, everything that was on display in the windows. Three years ago, together with his father and elder brother, he was already here. But they did not go inside, climbed on the guns and tanks, took pictures and went home.
Vitya did not even have time to be surprised and think about why Thejagvi sent him here, when he saw a bottle of Tsukomogami. The bottle lay in a glass case, among other bottles of the past and the century before last. There was no alarm in the window. Vitya freely took out the bottle and left the museum with it. The banquet was held at the highest level. Rosehip wine was aged in moderation. It was exactly what real wine should be for Jilin Unicorn. However, after the banquet, Vitya was forced to return the bottle “Tsukomogami back.” It probably still lies there, in the window, if the exposition in the museum of the Vladivostok fortress has not been changed.
Seventh course. Captain's son
One day, and it was at the end of December, Vitya was walking the streets, hoping to meet Nastya. The boy hoped that the girl lived somewhere not far from here. The restaurant was quiet. Neither anniversaries nor large feasts seemed to be expected. The daytime restaurant was intensively preparing for the coming New Year, according to the European calendar. Before the Chinese New Year was still far away, and therefore life in the night restaurant "At the Emperor" flowed sluggishly. Vitya was walking past his native courtyard, Oleg and Sergey were just leaving, and Vitya rushed to his friends. However, he forgot that today he had the Ohaguro-Bettari seal on his forehead. Friends passed by, discussing something enthusiastically. Vitya stopped and frustratedly sat down on a bench. The boy was sad. Finally, he got up and wandered languidly towards Svetlanskaya. It was necessary to find a hundred grams of tofu cheese, and bring it to the cook Tsukomogami. Grandmother said that Fokina Street used to have a different name, it was called Pekinskaya Street. After the revolution and civil wars, the street was renamed Fokina Street. In the newspaper "Far Outskirts", which Vitya found in the attic of house number 10, along Fokina Street, Pekinskaya Street was mentioned quite often. Incidents on it happened no less often than on Semyonovskaya Street. Vitya decided to shorten the road by passing through the passage yards. Diving into the arch of the same house number 10, along Fokina Street, he walked, slightly accelerating his pace. A hot wave passed along the boy's left leg - this woke up a mirror-calendar. In response, a fragment of a mirror embedded in the wall of the house lit up. The sealed windows caught fire. And, of course, no one saw this orgy of light except Vitya. After walking a few steps, Vitya saw a boy of about seven years old. The kid sat on his haunches, curled up into a ball. Of course, Vitya could not pass by. Moreover, the boy also saw Vitya. A car was parked next to a mirror built into the wall. It was in the shade of this car that the boy tried to hide from the wind.
- Baby! - Victor turned to the little boy, - What are you doing here? Go home, it's cold! Your mom must have been looking for you!
- I'm not a baby, - the boy scowled, - and my mother is not looking for me! My mom…” the boy frowned, “my mom told me…” the boy burst into tears, “I don’t remember what she ordered!” What happened with me?
- Okay, calm down. - Vitya also squatted down to at least somehow close himself from the wind - you will tell me about your mother later! Tell me, where do you live?
I live here in this house! - the kid pointed to the wall of the house, near which he was sitting
- Well, go home! - Vitya turned around and looked around the yard, - Did you go out for a walk?
- Yes. No. - The kid burst into tears - I don’t remember!
- Why are you sitting here?
- It's warmer in here! - a little boy smiled touchingly, - a mirror built into the wall warms well! Of course, it does not save from the wind, but it gives some warmth!
- It is not right! - Vitya said instructively, - you are still too small to walk for so long!
Go home or you'll catch a cold and get sick!
“I…” the boy got up and tried to take a few steps, “I can’t get out of here!”
- But why? - Vitya was surprised again, - Do you have a mother at work? And no one is home?
- Mother? - the kid thought, - no, my dad is at work, I'm waiting for my father! He should have been back a long time ago, but he's still gone and gone!
The boy told Vita that he was waiting for his father. He did not remember his name, did not remember how long he had been sitting here, but he remembered well that he had to wait for dad. Vitya tried to persuade the boy to go with him. The kid was cold, his jacket was no warmer than Viti's. Vitya wanted to settle the boy somewhere in the attic, but the boy refused to leave with Vitya. For some reason, the baby had to wait for dad here. The boys agreed to meet here tomorrow. Vitya brought Tsukomogami tofu, but it wasn't enough. During the time that Vitya walked the streets, changes took place in the restaurant. Howtu informed his subordinates that the river spirit He-bo would be celebrating the wedding at the restaurant. The spirit of the Yellow River had a huge harem. But for complete happiness, he lacked one wife. He had 998 wives and nine million concubines of various ranks. But He-bo's happiness was not complete. He needed another wife. The following were invited to the wedding: Ino is a Korean mermaid living in the East (Japan) Sea near Jeju Island. Ninka is a Japanese immortal mermaid. Khantai is a Kamchatka deity with a human body and a fish tail. Funa-yure are Japanese ghosts of people drowned in the sea, and eager to join as many comrades as possible. Sallyukyun - Yakut spirits that live in the depths of the waters. And also: the goddess of the Luo River - Loshen, the fairies of the Xiangshu River, the fairy of the Luo River - Fufei, the daughter of the mythical king Fuxi. Viti's head was spinning from the abundance of names and titles. At some point, he was distracted and did not hear what he was saying to Howth. Raising his head, the boy saw that there was silence in the Conversation Hall and everyone present was looking at him. The boy was timid. Fortunately, Howtu repeated his last words, and Vitya was able to understand what was at stake. He's new bride -bo lived in the depths of the Golden Trepang Bay - Haishenwei. She was a curious girl and had long wanted to try the delicacy that people eat. However, He-bo's bride was not a drowned woman, she was born and grew up in the depths of the sea, and therefore human food could destroy her. He-bo chose a bride for a long time. The Heavenly Geomancer, the moon old man, worked hard before he could choose the perfect bride that would suit He-bo, and only him. The sea princess's name was Ni. When He-bo sent gifts, the headstrong girl accepted them, but said that she would marry He-bo only if there was a delicacy on the wedding table, which Princess Ni had dreamed of for so many years. He-bo did not argue with his future wife, he told Howt about the problem, and he promised to help the excited newlywed.
The wedding was expected to be magnificent, and Howtu understood what profit it promised. Everything had to be perfect. The Yellow Emperor, as always, was away, the emperor's advisers in the affairs of the restaurant relied entirely on Houtu, and Houtu puzzled over the problem all day, but could not solve it. And then he remembered the strange kitchen worker, the only living person who worked in their restaurant. The guests arrived one by one. The inn, the Five Immortals Hotel, was already full. Fairies, goddesses, mermaids and other guests tried on outfits, hoping to shine at the wedding. There was no question of canceling the marriage. Howtu knew the princess's mother. Neither, and knew how stubborn women in this family. If the princess declared her desire, she would never back down from hers. Vitya timidly asked what kind of dish Princess Ni wanted to try. Howtu replied that the princess had. There is no book. This book fell from the yacht when a young girl, a passenger of the yacht, dozed off and did not hold it in her hands. In this book, dishes were drawn that all the girls on earth love to eat so much - chocolate, sweets, ice cream. Since the princess had not tasted any of the delicacies, it was difficult for her to make a choice. She graciously allowed the manager of the restaurant to make this choice. That is, at least one of the listed sweet dishes should have been on the wedding table. Having given Vitya a careful look, the manager graciously allowed everyone to leave the meeting. The boy was confused. He had a difficult task ahead of him. It was necessary to feed the sea princess with an earthly delicacy, but in such a way that the princess would remain alive after such a meal.
EARTH DEAL FOR UNDERWATER PRINCESS
Vitya tossed and turned in bed all night. The boy had a room on the top floor, in an apartment on Semyonovskaya street, Z.
It was because of this house that the entire Semyonovskaya area was once called Millionka. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, this house was overcrowded. People crowded into it like herrings in a barrel. Up to 20-25-30 people could live in one room of this house. Unsanitary conditions, overcrowding, the smell of human feces met anyone who climbed the stairs of house number 3, along Semyonovskaya street. The room where Vitya slept was furnished with modern furniture. During the day there was an office, at night Vitya lived and slept here. The boy didn't have to stay in the restaurant all night. It was his job to bring groceries and summon another Tsukomogami. For the first two weeks, Vitya slept uneasily. The spirits of the past disturbed the boy at night, whispered their secrets to him, shared their hopes, tried to expel him. Gradually Vitya learned not to pay attention to those who live in parallel with him in this room and in this house.

Understand me correctly, the boy never refused when spirits or ghosts turned to him for help, he simply ignored the same ghosts that wanted him to survive from the apartment. One of the ghosts, the glorious Chinese Tang, or rather the spirit of the Chinese Tang, he even somehow helped. During the holiday season, in August, a tourist group from China came to the city. Tan's great-grandson arrived with the group. The spirit of the Chinese was in turmoil, the grandson and great-grandson did not know anything about their grandfather, and did not worship him on the Qingming holiday. Tan left in 1898 to work in Vladivostok, leaving his wife and three children behind. One day, Tang was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he was killed. The wife waited a long time for news from her beloved. Until her death, she inspired her children that their father would definitely return. We just have to wait and be patient. The children grew up and went all over the world. Soon the eldest son returned to his homeland, he married a Chinese woman, they had children, but nothing changed for Tang. On the feast of the remembrance of the dead, no one burned paper money and paper furniture for him, no one prayed for him. Nobody even mentioned him.

For some reason, his children got it into their heads that their father had simply abandoned them. Tan chose for a long time what to present as a gift to his great-grandson. In the bowels of the city of Vladivostok, many treasures were waiting in the wings. The Bohai, the Jurchens, the people of the Shubi tribe, the inhabitants of the city of Yongmingchen - they all left material traces of what once walked this land. And one of these traces were treasures. Tang thought for a long time about what was before give as a gift to a grandson. Finally, his choice settled on one of the treasures, which was buried in the ground, at a time when the city was owned by the king of Yongmingchen. Tang easily found the treasure, but only one pearl was taken from the whole treasure. The pearl was oval, and emitted a dull, mother-of-pearl light. It was clear even to an amateur that the pearl was not artificial. Tang knew that his grandson ran a jewelry store and hoped that his great-grandson also knew how to deal with pearls. For this pearl was priceless. Tang himself could not pass the pearl to his great-grandson. The non-living cannot touch the living. Tan turned to Vita for help. Vitya wrote the note in hieroglyphs, repeating what Tan had drawn with his finger on the glass. And then the boy simply put the pearl, along with the note, in the pocket of Tan's great-grandson.
The note read: “This is a gift from your late great-grandfather. He did not leave his family, but died in 1901. Pray for him."
And now Tan was trying to help Vitya. He placed next to the pillow where the boy slept, a piece of seaweed. Vitya dropped the seaweed to the floor, but Tan picked it up and put it back on the bed. And then Victor understood. He remembered that his own grandmother told that many delicacies are made from seaweed. Rather, agar-agar seaweed is added to the delicacies. Agar-agar, which is made from red and brown algae, is part of many sweet dishes. Vitya thought about ice cream. And he himself suddenly wanted to eat a cold scoop of ice cream that very minute. Thanking Tan, Vitya ran out into the street. Howtu was resting, but the boy insisted on being awakened. The manager immediately understood everything. Vitya just did not know how to get red and brown algae, because they were brought from Malaysia, but the manager said that this was no longer Vitya's problem. The wedding feast was in full swing when a huge cake consisting entirely of ice cream was brought into the hall. On top of the cake were figurines of the bride and groom. The cake was a huge success. Even Vitya was invited to the hall with another cook Tsukomogami, and the inhabitants of the waters met them with applause. The bride and groom were leaving the same morning. Princess Ni was a kind girl and before leaving, she called Vitya to her chambers. The princess asked about what Vitya would like to receive as a gift. Vitya, without thinking twice, asked to return his father to that little boy who was freezing in the wind. As Vitya understood from the kid's story, the boy's father went on a long voyage and did not return. Princess Ni thought for a moment. She promised to notify Vitya of her decision just before leaving. The princess was already getting into the wedding palanquin, which was supposed to take her to her husband's ship, when she suddenly remembered her promise. She wanted to call Vitya, but the young husband hurried her. Then Ni smiled, and sketched something on the dry seaweed. Vitya received the message from the princess only the next day. It was a drawing. The drawing was Vitya's native street, Fokina Street. From the window of the house, which towered above the rest of the houses, a beam of light hit. Vitya found this house. As soon as the boy entered, the calendar began its work. He glowed so that his light was probably visible even in Japan. The light pierced through the small room in which Vitya was, and escaped from all the windows. And the one for whom the light of this outlandish beacon burned, finally saw the way. The one for whom the little boy was waiting was now flying at full speed to the family, home. The sailor flew over the city with his arms wide apart. All his thoughts were already there, at home, with his family. And the ship, from which the sailor went straight into the air, lingered a little, and then again set off on a long voyage. Now the captain of the ship knew that when the time came, the white light of the lighthouse would light up, and someone would again descend onto the streets of the city directly from the deck of the ship. Long ago, many years ago, the beacon did not light up at the right time, and the ship was unable to enter the port. Now what happened was what was supposed to happen. And on Fokina Street, 10, next to a mirror built into the wall, a seven-year-old boy got up, straightened up and walked, and then ran. He did not remember his name, did not remember where his mother was, but now he knew for sure that he had waited for his father to return. Dad will do the rest for him. Dad will call the baby by name. The kid will take dad by the hand, and together they will go home.
Epilogue. Anastasia. Time loop

There was a week left before the new year, when Houtu called Vitya into his office. The boy felt lethargic and sick. He did everything mechanically. Howtu informed the boy that the owner of the restaurant, Huangdi, honored his presence with his presence. The best workers were rewarded from the hands of the yellow emperor himself. Houtu told Vitya to go on a week-long vacation and think carefully about what he would like to receive as a gift for the New Year. Grandmother was very glad that her grandson came. An old friend invited her grandmother to her granddaughter's concert, but her grandmother did not want to go alone. Vitya didn't want to go either. He dreamed of lying down, turning his back to the wall, and not seeing anyone, but looking at his grandmother, he only sighed and went to get dressed for the concert. The concert was held in the Central House of Children's Creativity. A festive atmosphere reigned in the hall. Victor even on for a while I forgot about my ailment. Dances were replaced by songs, and suddenly she, Nastya, appeared on the stage. Viti's heart beat faster. The grandmother revived. Nastya turned out to be the very girl because of whom they came to the concert. The first part of the concert quickly ended, however, Vitya's excitement faded. Nastya did not recognize him. Or pretended not to know. Grandmother was talking to her friend, not forgetting to praise Nastya. Vitya tried to start a conversation with the girl, she also tried to answer him something, but something interfered with them. Now Vitya knew where the girl lives. At some point, he even wanted to invite Nastya to the cinema, but then changed his mind. He was afraid that the girl would refuse him. In the second part of the concert, Anastasia sang again. She sang so much that it seemed that the walls would now dissolve and the whole world would hear the girl's voice. The audience especially liked the song in Korean. The girl was applauded for a long time, and Vitya clapped the loudest. He beat off all the palms. Returning home, the boy could not calm down. He asked his grandmother for leave and went to friends.
UNGAIKE - TSUKOMOGAMI MIRROR
But he did not reach Fokina Street. Although he didn't have Ohaguro's seal on him, he heard the call. One of the Tsukomogami in the basement down Pologoy Street called out to him. The boy tried to resist, but the call was so strong that he gave up and went to the railroad. After waiting for the train, he crossed the tracks and walked towards the Korean consulate. Turning to the left, he quickened his pace, the call of the Tsukomogami nearly deafening him. The house at 16 Pologaya Street was surrounded by a small stone moat, the moat descended to the very foundation. The basement door was at the very bottom. She was not visible from the street. Bursting into the basement, Vitya saw him. The Tsukomogami mirror lay on the very edge of the old wardrobe. The top of the closet was littered with rubbish. And in the middle of this chaos lay a small mirror. The mirror had nine rays. It looked like a giant snowflake. A huge rat was pushing the mirror to the edge, intending to break it. The boy frightened off the gray robber, but she did not give up immediately. At some point, it even seemed to Vitya that the rat was going to rush at him. The mirror was inconvenient to carry, but it was also impossible to leave it in the basement. The boy put the mirror under his arm and left the cellar. Vitya really wanted to see his friends, but, already approaching Fokina Street, 9, he saw that Nastya was coming towards him. The girl waved at him and smiled cheerfully.
- Vitka, come here! - Nastya danced on the spot, shivering from the wind, - Come here, I'll tell you something!
Vitya ran towards him.
“Listen, it’s cold like today!” Come to me, - Nastya came close to Vita and took her hand, - I have a new game there. Downloaded yesterday! Come on, you don't have a computer? Here, you can play on mine! - the girl pulled Victor by the sleeve. “Come on, I don’t have anyone at home today!” Do you want me to teach you how to kiss? Yesterday Petka taught me from the next entrance! Do you remember Petka? Well, that redhead, he studied in a parallel class with us!
Nastya said strange things, and even invited Vitya home. The boy was taken aback, all this was so unlike Anastasia, whom he managed to recognize. He tried to pull away, but the girl grabbed him with a death grip. The mirror slipped out and fell to the pavement. It shattered into triangles, and in each triangle it was clear that Nastya was not standing next to the boy.
Ungaikyo, a mirror - Tsukomogami, reflecting the true essence of people and things, showed Vitya the essence of the one who tried to fool him. Next to the boy stood Taote. Vitya shook off the hand of False Nastya. And ran away. However, this did not solve anything. Looking around, he saw that he was surrounded. The whole Fokina street was crowded with monsters in the guise of Nastya. Hundreds of Anastasias grinned and tightened the ring around the boy. Wongwi-Taote's army did not make sudden movements, but their movement did not stop for a minute. Vitya got worried, why is the mirror calendar silent?
And suddenly he understood. Howtu warned him not without reason not to shake hands even with those he knew. The magic calendar enrolled Taota as a friend at the moment when Vitya gave his hand to False Nastya, and therefore, now, it was useless to hope for the help of the calendar. Suddenly Vitya smelled smoke. Somewhere they burned coal. The boy looked back. A woman was standing in the archway of his yard, shouting something. Vitya remembered her. This woman gave him a piece of coal as parting. The woman leaned over and drew a circle around her with her finger. However, when Taote glared at her menacingly, she lifted her chin and left with her head held high. Vitya pulled out a piece of coal and quickly drew a circle around him. He also tried to collect the pieces of the Tsukomogami mirror. But one piece still remained outside the circle. The Wongwi stomped on the shard until they ground it into glass chips. The mirror screamed in pain, but Vitya could not do anything. The boy took off his jacket and carefully packed the fragments to Ungaike. Then, looking back at Wongwi, still in the guise of Nastya, he bent down and drew a door on the pavement. Soon Vitya was already far from Fokina Street. He ended up in the basement of a shopping mall. houses of Kunst and Albert. That is, in GUM. The ghost of a man with a cane in his hands, dressed in an old tailcoat and a bowler hat - the German Gustav Kunst, ceremoniously raised the bowler hat, welcoming Vitya. Employees of the trading house, also ghosts, were sitting at the festive table - after all, today was Christmas. And the owner of GUM liked to celebrate holidays with the whole family. His workers were now his family, in the cold, December Vladivostok. Vitya refused the treat and asked Gustav Kunst to let him out of the GUM premises. Kunst grinned and suggested that Vita go through another underground passage to his house. The Kunst house stood opposite the GUM. The boy agreed. It was already night when Vitya was on the street. A New Year tree shone in the central square, promising a holiday and fun.
Returning home, he first of all folded Ungaike into one whole and the mirror grew together again. Only one beam was missing. Then Vitya carefully placed the mirror on the table. After resting, he went back to the table and looked at the school photo. Suddenly a thought came to him. He thought, maybe Nastya has always been just an evil Taota? Vitya cut the photo into pieces. Putting the image of Nastya aside from the others, he took Ungaike in his hands and directed his light on the photo of Nastya. However, nothing has changed. The photo showed the same little girl. Then the boy put his piece of the photo next to Nastya. And the reflection in the mirror suddenly changed, but it did not show at all what Vitya expected to see. In the reflection of the mirror, Vitya and Nastya suddenly turned into Biynyao - Chinese lovebirds that had one set of wings, legs and eyes, because these magical birds could only fly in pairs.
REWARD FROM THE EMPEROR
On the thirty-first of December the boy went to a restaurant. Nine employees of the restaurant were chosen to present well-deserved gifts. And among them, as he promised Howth, was Vitya. Huangdi sat on the throne. The luxury that was around was amazing. Soon only Vitya and Howtu remained in the hall. Howtu once again listed all the merits of Viti, and Huangdi graciously allowed the boy to approach the throne. A month earlier, a serious conversation had taken place between the emperor and Houtu. If Vitya had heard what the conversation was about, he would have been very surprised. It was about his humble person
"...of course he's human," Howtu summed up what he'd said earlier, "but he has abilities." And, as you know, it turned out to be surprisingly useful for our restaurant. If it were possible...
“No,” the emperor interrupted the subordinate, “unfortunately, nothing will work out. My mother's uncle, the great Chan, people also call him the Spirit of Changbaishan Mountain, insists that the meeting of these two people should not take place. The young man must forget this girl. Their time has not yet come. When they get to know each other, the scales of time will lose their balance.
"It's a pity," Houtu sighed, "the boy was very helpful to our restaurant."
- Of course, sorry! Moreover, I will have to sacrifice something to please my uncle. But what can you do for someone who rocked you on his knees when you were a baby!
“But what about the magic mirror-calendar?”
Yes, it's a difficult question! Well, let's do this, Ohaguro Battari will receive a mirror for temporary use. After all, she loses her most valuable worker. And at first it will be hard for her! Here is a mirror to help her.
- However…
Yes, I know what you want to say! However, calm down! The mirror will be at her disposal only before the end of the year. By the next new year, the mirror will have to take its old place. And I'll make sure it's as deep underground as possible.
Here is a conversation that took place a month ago. And now the boy was kneeling before the great emperor, waiting to be allowed to speak. Vitya decided a long time ago what he would ask the emperor for, but he did not expect that the presentation of the gift would end in an exchange. Soon the agreement was signed. Vitya handed over the calendar, Ohaguro licked off the seal with a long, red tongue, and the boy could go to where a festive New Year's gift was waiting for him.
Leaving the restaurant, the boy saw that his mother, father and brother were waiting for him. The brother immediately began to tease Vitya, teasing him that the boy lingered in the toilet of the restaurant. Vitya wanted to say something in justification, but suddenly he felt that he had forgotten how words were pronounced. The delusion lasted exactly three seconds, and soon the boy was laughing merrily with his brother. Mom praised the cook, she liked the festive dinner at the restaurant. The boy did not remember the dishes that his mother had listed, but he still had fun.
In the evening, my grandmother came from the village.
On the first of January the whole family went to congratulate the great-aunt. It was fun and crowded. Vitya was drawn to one of the rooms, he wanted to retire and remember something, but nothing worked. The doorbell rang. New guests have arrived. An old school friend came to my grandmother. She brought a girl with her. The girl had an oriental appearance. The older brother quickly found a common language with the girl. The girl laughed merrily and seemed not to pay attention to Vitya at all, but sometimes the boy caught her eye.
The girl looked at him strangely, as if trying to remember something.