– And then the city will come! There will be more of them than mushrooms hanging out in the forest – the ten-year-old Genka did not stop persuading his friend.

– We collect more – we will finish the hut faster! – He persisted.

The boys were building a hut on the edge of the forest, but it was slow because of the lack of building materials, which were not cheap at all.

They had to earn money by selling forest gifts on the highway leading to the city, which they themselves collected in Belovezhskaya Pushcha.

– Take Petka! – Dimka decided to get out of an uncomfortable situation.

– Petya is also busy. He and his sister will babysit tomorrow while his parents go to town.

Igor, without losing hope, once again looked questioningly at his friend, but he only shrugged his shoulders in response.

– Oh, you! Oh well! So be it. If no one agrees, I’ll go alone!

– Then tell me how much you collected!

– Yeah. Tell. And will you help me sell if there is a lot?

– Yes! We’ll go to the highway together on Sunday, but I’ll do my homework first. Just after lunch, the townspeople will be going home.

That’s what the guys decided. Mom had already cooked dinner when Igor returned home tired and hungry.

– I was already thinking of going to look for you. Come on, son, we’ll have dinner soon.

My father appeared from the next room.

– Well, what a jerk! What are you doing at school?

– Good, – Igor answered and disappeared behind the door where the washbasin was located.

– I’m going fishing tomorrow! Do you want to come with me? His father shouted after him.

– Of course I want to! – he answered happily, looking out from behind the door.

– Will I have time for mushrooms later?

Igor returned and sat down in front of a steaming plate of pancakes with aromas.

– Why are you still running around on mushrooms? Mother has already dried them, rolled them, salted them for five years ahead.

– Dad, the guys and I are building a hut! I told you so! We sell mushrooms to the city. They have no time to go to the forest for work, they are afraid, and they do not know the mushroom places, but we go there and back!

– Oh, you builders! Maybe you need help?

– No. We’ll manage on our own. The older guys are helping us.

– You know what, don’t go into the woods alone, just with the guys!

– Dad! What are you doing? I’m not small anymore, and I know the nearest forest well! We walk ten kilometers each. Dima has navigation on his phone. I even brought out the lost ones last week. They came from the city.

– Don’t go late! It’s not summer anymore. The days are shorter and the nights are colder! Mom said. She was always the most worried.

– Mom! Please don’t worry.

– And when will you teach lessons?

– On Sunday. I’ll get up early and learn!

– Mom, give me the sour cream, please.

– Are the pies delicious?

– Yeah! Oh-very much!

Igor ate his dinner with an appetite, thinking about plans for the next day. The next morning, he and his father were fishing in a nearby pond.

It was nice to watch the floats together in silence, interrupted only by the singing of birds and the whisper of a light breeze in the reeds.

It was bad, so after fishing for a couple of hours, we went home.

– It’s a pity we didn’t catch any fish! – my father lamented.

– Only our Timoshka was lucky with lunch! – Igor laughed at today’s catch.

The package contained a couple of small redheads, and three small crucians – just for the cat.

– I hope there will be more mushrooms! He smiled at his father, who patted him lightly on the shoulder in response.

After lunch, taking a large basket and attaching it to the trunk of a bicycle, Igor pedaled along the path towards the forest.

When he reached the edge of the forest thicket, he left his vehicle under the canopy of an unfinished hut.

The place there was secret, invisible to prying eyes, and there was no need to worry about an unattended bicycle.

Making his way through the forest, saturated with the smell of pine needles and mushrooms, he once again looked back, admiring what he and the guys had managed to build in a short summer, and inspired by what he saw, went hunting for a harvest of mushrooms.

It was getting dark when Igor’s mom was cooking dinner.

Every now and then she dialed the mobile phone number of her ten-year-old son, experiencing intense anxiety, which she had never experienced before.

Igor’s phone remained out of the network coverage area.

Terrible thoughts and images of what had happened came to her mind, but she tried to drive them away.

She understood that the phone could simply run out of battery. When it became completely dark, she was seized with horror.

She dialed the number of her husband, who went out to the neighbors nearby.

– Misha! – Almost crying, she said into the phone in a broken voice.

– Our son is still not at home! I’ll go to the boys, ask around, and you run to the forest, just grab a flashlight!

– He hasn’t come back yet! My father was alarmed.

– No! I’m already exhausted! And he doesn’t answer the phone! Oh, and he’ll get it from me when he comes back! After all, I promised – before dark!

– Okay. Don’t cry dear! Everything will be fine! There will be our vagrant mushroom picker. Maybe the boys got stuck – picking mushrooms and forgot about the time.

After a telephone conversation with his wife, Mikhail, without hesitation, went in search of his son, while his mother interviewed all the boys she knew, hoping to find him at their house.

Unfortunately, Igor was nowhere to be found. Some guys didn’t see him at all all day, only Dimka said that Igor persuaded him to go together.

Suddenly there was a phone call, from which the soul froze. It was my husband who called.

He said he found his son’s bicycle and a basket of mushrooms in the hut. When he found out that Igor was nowhere to be found, he gave instructions with alarm in his voice.

– Raise the Andropovs, Demidovs and whoever else agrees.

And I’ll go on my own, I’ll call. We will comb the forest.

But, fortunately, the neighbors did not have to be persuaded. They understood how dangerous it could be for a child to stay at night in a forest inhabited by wild animals.

The nights in September are quite cool, you can get hypothermia. Everyone dressed up with warm clothes, flashlights and went in search of the student.

When they realized that the search radius was expanding by kilometers, one of the neighbors connected the police. The search continued all night. Closer to dawn it was clear that something very serious had happened to the boy. No one answered the call, the tracks got confused, and people lost their feet.

– My God! Help us find our son! – the desperate mother prayed.

Her husband tried to calm her down, although a heavy weight of loss hung on his soul.

– We will definitely find him! Do you hear! I promise you! We will not give up. We’ll connect everyone, and we’ll find them!

It was the ninth day of the search, and it was already clear that Igor could hardly be found alive.

His search has become the largest and most numerous in history. People gathered from all over the country who were not indifferent to the fate of a ten-year-old child and the grief of his parents.

All social networks were full of announcements about the missing schoolboy, which had a photo of a smiling Igor.

Television, radio, billboards in elevators of houses and public buildings shouted for help in finding a child.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations and special purpose search teams, the police and the military, ordinary volunteer citizens, meter by meter, examined all the surroundings, basements, abandoned structures and hunting lodges, divers searched the bottom of the nearest reservoir, where, ironically, Igor and his father were fishing just before his disappearance, but the search did not yield any results.

No traces of the missing boy, except for the bicycle left in the hut, were found.

The basket of mushrooms found there belonged to another person. Even a specially trained dog lost Igor’s trail as soon as he was in the forest.

On the tenth day of the search, a criminal case was opened in the case of the disappearance. The hope of finding the missing child was fading every day.

Grief-stricken parents turned to magicians and psychics. Those, all as one, in spite of everything that was happening, insisted that Igor was alive.

One day, on the thirteenth day after the disappearance, the Belarusian side reported about some child who secretly crossed the border on a passing road train, climbing into the salon at a gas station and hiding under a blanket in a sleeping place. After he was discovered by a surprised Belarusian driver, the boy ran away at the nearest stop, fearing that he would be handed over to the police station.

This event gave a fragile hope to find Igor, who allegedly could escape from home in this way, although there was no reason to escape.

When the driver of the road train was shown a photo of the missing boy, he dispelled the parents’ last hope of ever seeing their ten-year-old son alive.

As soon as Igor turned off the path into the thick of the forest, it became dark abruptly, as if it was late evening or a thundercloud had come, and a downpour was going to start. He looked up at the sky.

It was dark, but the clouds weren’t too thick to cast such a shadow on the ground. He remembered how they had told him about the solar eclipse in class, only the sun was not visible behind the treetops now. The boy was a little scared, and was about to return home, but the sky cleared up again and it became light in the forest as before.

– I’ll tell the guys how I saw the solar eclipse – he thought, and walked forward into the forest.

– They probably saw him too, and were also scared, but it’s much scarier in the forest!

Igor has never seen so many porcini mushrooms in one place in his life. After walking very close, he found a clearing completely strewn with boletus.

At first, he rushed to cut them and put them in a basket, then decided to take a memorable photo to show the forest miracle to mom and dad. He also praised himself for putting several large cellophane bags like «T-shirt» from the store in the pockets of his jeans, because each of them could fit a whole bucket of mushrooms.

– Wow! Oh, the guys should come here!

There were big trees growing around, and they had very small ones near the stadium!

Looking into the «alien» hut, he certainly did not find a bicycle. There were only broken bottles, cigarette butts and some old worn sofa with the same kind of coffee table.

After standing for a while, coming out of the stupor that had seized him, he decided to go to the village, which was visible nearby, and resembled his native village.

– Probably came out from the other side of the forest – he thought.

– How could I get so lost? You need to ask someone what kind of village it is, and how to get to your own.

Igor suddenly remembered about the phone, but immediately did not dare to call his parents.

He was not used to complaining, but he was always used to getting out of difficult situations himself, although this case was somehow exceptional.

«I’ll call you later when I find out where I am,» he thought.

Approaching the village, Igor saw a man in his thirties. He decided to ask him where he was.

– Excuse me, please!

– Yes, baby?

– Uncle, please tell me where I am. I got lost in the forest.

Igor noticed how the young man’s face turned pale and his eyes widened in surprise.

– M-boy. What’s your name? – suddenly, stammering, he asked.

– Igor. And what?

– Igor … – the man thoughtfully cupped the lower part of his face with his palm, and, looking down, asked:

– Aren’t you Igor Zorin by any chance?

– Yes. And how do you know?

The man took out a paper handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the drops of sweat that appeared on his forehead.

– Uncle! Are you ill?

– No, Igor.

– So what kind of village is this? What is it called?

– Igor. Listen to me, don’t be scared.

Igor was already scared. He didn’t understand what this man wanted from him. He only asked where he was.

«How does this man know my name?» He was wary.

– I’m going home! – Igor blurted out, and rushed back to the forest.

His mother had always taught him not to talk to strangers.

– Igor! Wait! Don’t be afraid of me! This village is Zaustino, and Dimka is your friend, only already an adult! I’m Dima Ivanov! Honestly!

Igor was completely scared, and ran even faster, but he was very tired, so he could not run far.

The uncle grabbed him and hugged him, hugging him like a native.

– Don’t be afraid, baby! Better tell me where you’ve been.

Uncle Dema’s voice was soothing, and his grip was not very strong.

– Uncle! Let me go home. My mom is waiting for me. I promised to be back before dark.

– Igor! Don’t be afraid of me. Let’s go. I’ll take you to your father. Just don’t be scared. I got overexcited myself.

The student decided not to resist, but to call for help if they meet someone on the way.

The road ran along a street that seemed very familiar, but looked different.

There were low fences around the houses, which only fenced off the territory of the land plot, and did not hide the entire yard.

There were no vegetable gardens in the courtyards, but only lawns, paths and flower beds. There was not a single gray slate roof on the houses.

They were made of flexible multi-colored tiles, which pleased the eye.

As luck would have it, there was not a single passerby on the street. Everyone was sitting at home, from the windows of which electric light was already pouring.

The boy and the stranger accompanying him approached the house, which really resembled the one in which Igor lived with his parents. Suddenly the front door opened and an elderly man appeared on the threshold.

He didn’t notice the guests right away, just picked up a package on the terrace, and was about to go back in, but Uncle Dima called out to him.

– Mikhail Ivanovich! Wait a minute.

– Who’s there? Dimka! Come on in! And who is this boy with you?

It was hard to see at dusk, and the electric lighting of the street had not yet been turned on.

– Mikhail Ivanovich! Your Igor is back! See. He’s alive and unharmed!

Grandfather was stunned by such a statement, but when his weak eyesight saw his son, who had disappeared twenty years ago, in an unfamiliar boy, he almost lost his strength and did not fall. Dmitry managed to catch him.

– Dad! Dad! What’s wrong with you? What happened? Why? Igor shouted, and felt that he was falling and losing consciousness.

An unknown elderly woman jumped out of the house.

– Call an ambulance! Igor is back!

When Igor opened his eyes, he was again seized with anxiety.

– Are you awake? the voice asked.

The boy looked around. Apparently, he was in a hospital room. There was a nurse on duty nearby and another unknown elderly woman.

– Mom! Where are my mom and dad? Why am I in the hospital? I don’t have any pain,» Igor suddenly burst into tears.

– So! You stay with him, and I’ll get the doctor! – The nurse said, and left.

– Where’s my mom? Where’s my dad? Call them,» the worried boy continued to cry.

A doctor appeared in the room.

– Well, what are you, what are you? Now the nurse will give you a little injection, and you will calm down.

– No! What for? Call my mother! You are welcome.

The doctor looked inquiringly in the direction of the elderly stranger.

– What are we going to do? Maybe you can tell him? We won’t be far away.

The woman nodded, and the medical staff retreated into the corridor.

– Igor! Dear! Your dad is in the same hospital, but he’s fine. Just nerves played out, and the pressure jumped. He’s coming to see you soon.

– And Mom?

– Baby! It just so happened that you got lost. This happened twenty years ago.

– I wasn’t lost! I went for mushrooms!

– The inexplicable has happened! When you didn’t come back, they were looking for you for a long time, all over the country! And yesterday you suddenly came out of the forest yourself, the way you were twenty years ago. The same age, the same clothes, shoes, everything, as in the police reports of that time. Look. The woman handed Igor an old yellowed page.

– Dad still has a printed sheet with a wanted notice and your photo! My name is Galina Petrovna, I now live with your father. I’ve been his wife for twelve years.

«Where’s my mom?»

«Unfortunately, she didn’t wait for your return,» Galina Petrovna said carefully.

– Why?

– When it was the anniversary after you disappeared, she had a stroke and died in intensive care.

Igor had not yet had time to realize everything that was happening, when his father appeared in the doorway. He has aged a lot.

The hair on his head became less frequent, and was completely white, and deep wrinkles lay on his face, but it was definitely his dad.

– Son! My dear! How glad I am! – he showered his son with kisses, and tears of joy rolled from his eyes in streams.

– What a pity that your mother doesn’t see you!

Igor burst into tears again. It was a great shock for his child’s psyche. A doctor and a nurse appeared in the ward.

«How is he?» Maybe we’ll give you a shot after all? It won’t get any worse. Such a strong shock is dangerous for the child!

– Yes! It is necessary to give an injection to calm him down! – my father agreed.

The nurse administered a sedative and Dad continued to talk to his son.

– Remember, we watched the movie «Back to the Future» with you. There the heroes traveled on a time machine! – the father soothed his son.

– I remember. But I didn’t have a time machine!

– Remember! You also wanted, just like them, to travel and see the future!

– I wanted to, but I didn’t know that the forest would turn out to be a time machine.

– And we’ve been looking for you so much! And your friends were all looking for you, too.

– They’re grown-up uncles now, and I’m a boy. I was going to the forest with them only yesterday, and today they are adults. And Mom… died…

Tears were pouring from the child’s eyes.

– Dad! I want to go home.

– Let’s go! We’ll go as soon as we get an extract, and we’ll go.

Igor Mikhailovich was called to the scientific laboratory today.

After all, this day was significant, Igor participated in a trial expedition, for a journey that he had been striving for for the last eight years.

Today he recalled the events of that tragic day when he returned home from the forest, where they had already stopped waiting for him, where he had lost his mother forever, where everything had changed beyond recognition.

He remembered how he met with his classmates and friends who had grown up for twenty years in one day, about a school where his friend taught a physics lesson, and Lena was the class teacher, a classmate whom he always liked, and whom he often pulled by wavy red tails.

I remembered how after time travel I became a brilliant student with extraordinary abilities, how in three years I mastered the school

He entered the physics department at the university as an external student, and two years later defended his thesis on quantum physics.

Today he goes to meet his beloved mom.

He really wanted to see her again and tell her that he had found her while she was still alive. He had thought it all out in advance.

Galina Stepanovna was sitting by the window when he called her softly. She looked around and saw a translucent holographic image of a young man who looked like her beloved son, but only grown up.

– Mommy! – Igor said softly with love in his voice.

Mom didn’t move. She was heartbroken over the loss of her beloved son, and thought she was having a vision now.

– Mom! Know that I am alive. I’ll be back. I love you very much.

Mom smiled back and at that moment the image disappeared.

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