ISBN 978-5-0056-0865-9

      Created with Ridero smart publishing system

      «Don’t you believe in these fairy tales?

      When suddenly you give a heart to a wolf,

      The Tambov wolf is not a beast to you,

      The Tambov wolf is your comrade.»

      Vladilen of Olives

      CHAPTER 1

      Autumn is a wonderful time of the year. It is a beautiful time. Especially if it is a warm autumn. I still do not want to return home from the street as it happened in the summer. Hot, fun, noisy time of the year it was replaced by a warm, beautiful, autumn coolness. The golden color of the trees fascinates with its beauty, makes you think. Someone is sad about the past summer, and someone about the past life. The autumn forest is beautiful, especially if this forest is Tambov. I walked slowly, knowing this forest like the back of my hand. Despite the fact that I was born and raised in Tambov, I did not believe in the existence of the Tambov wolf until I met him personally. I took the expression «Tambov Wolf» with humor, considering that this phrase sounds like a harmless joke.

      October 1, 2015. Late autumn. It was getting dark early. My walk today was short-lived, and I did not go as far as the previous times. I wanted to get home as soon as possible, drink tea with raspberries and wrap myself in a warm blanket. Indian summer lasted all September. The cold snap started from the first days of October. The trees did not have time to shed their leaves before the onset of cold weather, their bright crowns fascinated with their beauty. A red maple leaf with an orange border slowly swirled in the air and fell right at my feet. I bent down to pick it up, perhaps it was my fate, with which this beautiful maple leaf brought me, but it was when I picked it up that I saw a product that I did not understand lying on the dry yellowed foliage, and only when I picked it up I realized that it was a wolf’s fang. – How did he get here? I felt uneasy, I looked around trying to find people walking in such a non-walking place, but knowing Knowing in advance that I was alone here, I decided to leave the twilight-shrouded forest as soon as possible. Thrusting the fang, along with the torn cord into my pocket, I almost hurried to the car left on the side of the road. I do not know why, but my heart was pounding with fear, and my legs carried me to my car by themselves. It was only when I slammed the door and started the engine that I felt safe. The dark blue sky spoke of the coming of night, but it was nothing compared to what I heard… I heard a wolf howling. Exactly the howl of a wolf. I did not believe in the existence of wolves in our forest, believing that such animals do not inhabit our Tambov forest. After hitting the gas, I sped off along the Rasskazovskaya highway towards the city.

      My house was located on Moskovskaya Street, not far from the Rasskazovsky highway. My parents and I have lived all our lives in a one-room apartment, the windows of which looked directly at the highway that led into the forest. My father taught me to walk in the woods from early childhood. He did not like to walk on the children’s sites, considering that there is nothing good in this. Maybe he was right. My mother often had to work on weekends. It was a duty at the children’s hospital, and we were alone with my father. If the weather was warm on the weekend, it meant that we were going to the forest. My father’s name was Yura, and my mother loved him so much that she named me after him. Childhood flew by, and with it youth, youth, maturity came. My parents went to live in the village of Streltsy, leaving me this apartment with a view of the suburban forest. My personal life did not work out in my youth, and over time, I did not notice how I turned into a loner walking through the Tambov forest.

      When I got home, I hastily took off my shoes, without taking off my jacket, went into the kitchen and turned on the kettle. The apartment was warm. I warmed up quickly. Taking out of my pocket what I was so interested in all the way and putting it in the palm of my hand, I brought the strange thing to the light. – It looks like a real wolf’s fang. Is he real? I turned the amulet in my hands. The silver casting attracted attention much more than the fang itself. This old silver tip. But the fact was, this little silver head was so old. At first glance, even for the most inexperienced historian, it was possible to understand that this thing, and with it the lace on which it hung, belongs to ancient times. Considering the amulet, I did not pay attention to the white fluff, or rather the wool left on the black leather cord. Touching the fur with my fingers, and finally deciding to smell it, I realized that it did not fall from the dog’s neck. – What is it? The kettle had been boiling for a long time; the muddy sediment was visible through the thermal glass. Throwing the charm on the table, I took off my jacket and washed my hands. – What should I do about it?

      Being an only child, of course I was selfish, and I was not used to sharing with anyone. Deciding to keep everything a secret, I decided to wait until morning and go to the same place in search of evidence. Well, or to my regret, or the owner of the amulet herself.

      Night came. But I didn’t feel like sleeping. I twisted the fang in my hands. Realizing that I had a real wolf’s tooth in my hands, or rather a fang, I felt that I had found something very valuable, and very significant, but of course, I did not understand this value, and most importantly its purpose. Putting the amulet under my pillow, I tried to fall asleep, but I could not. I tried to imagine our meeting with the owner of this amulet, and how proud I am to return this pendant to him. Finally, not imagining the image of this man, I sighed easily and lay down from my back on my stomach. Putting my hand under the pillow, I squeezed the fang. – I will keep it for myself. What fell is gone. This is mine now. With these words, I fell asleep. The hand on the clock has long past midnight.

      – «Do you have any idea what you’ve done?» Take back what doesn’t belong to you. A woman’s voice woke me up and made me afraid. The voice was imperious and menacing. When I opened my eyes, I realized that I was safe; my hand was clenched into a fist, a fang in my hand. The feeling of fear continued to overwhelm my subconscious. The pounding of the rain outside the window did not let me fall asleep. A well-developed intuition told me that something was wrong. I understood that in my hands there is a talisman, an amulet, or maybe just a pendant from which I inflated a whole story, but whatever it was, this thing has a valuable value for its owner. The white fluff on the leather cord gave me no peace.

      Scrolling through the different options in my head, I settled on a more plausible one. – This fang belonged to a white collie dog. She lost it while walking. There is no other excuse. But walking for several days in a row in the same place, I did not see any people, much less dogs. I did not hear the barking. It seemed to me all the time that I was the only one going into such a depth, considering this forest a second home. But, nevertheless, the fact was the following, the hair on the string was quite tough for the collie breed, and how to explain the wolf howl that I clearly heard when getting into the car. There was only one thing left, to return to the scene of the accident. Throwing the bad dream out of my head, I went to the kitchen and turned on the kettle. White Fang was lying motionless under the pillow, I forgot about him for a while. Small raindrops dripped from the window. This fine frost foreshadowed the arrival of winter. After putting on warm clothes, I went outside and began to warm up my Renault.

      Early morning of October 2. Fifteen minutes away, and I am there. The path ended a long time ago; I walked into the depths of the forest without looking back. This time I felt a sense of fear. Straining my ears, I tried to catch outsiders. Even if this fang decorated the dog’s neck, the owner had to return with his pet. But to my regret, I didn’t hear anything. The cloudy morning did not have its hospitality; I put my hands in my pockets and squeezed harder. These movements enveloped me with heat from the inside; I realized that I had forgotten the fang under the pillow. – What a fool I am. How could I. Returning to the car left on the side of the road and experiencing a great sense of chagrin, I had to return home.

      Midday. Lunchtime. I had no appetite, satisfying my hunger with a cigarette, which I took out only occasionally, in extreme cases, I walked busily around the kitchen, fiddling with a fang in my hand. – And what if I tell my father about everything