Arseniy Popov

July 13th, the height of summer. Swimming in rivers, wandering under the rain, watching the sunset and greeting the sunrise. And this was only a small part of the summer spent together by two guys named Arseniy Popov and Anton Shastun.

The guys were best friends. They were never shy around each other, ashamed of nothing, and often committed reckless acts, only to laugh about them together later.

One of the guys had a place in the countryside—essentially a free house where one could sneak out at night and return only in the morning. The village belonged to Arseniy. His grandmother lived with his grandfather, so one of the cottages was in Popov's hands. As long as he kept things tidy and didn't get into too much trouble. That was why the grandson loved his grandmother.

This summer, the Popov family mother sent her son to the village to look after his grandmother's farm, and to finally distract himself from gadgets and breathe some fresh air. At first, Arseniy protested, but then his mother said, "Invite your Anton along," so he wouldn't be bored. Arseniy agreed instantly. The summer promised to be unforgettable.

Bus, train, bicycle—and the friends were already in Arseniy's village. Popov introduced Anton to all his friends, explaining who was bad and who was good.

Anton became especially close with Dima Pozov, while Arseniy got along great with Serezha Matvienko. The four of them became friends, forming quite a decent group.

One night, around one in the morning, the guys gathered at their usual river, agreeing to go to that abandoned school the whole village had been gossiping about. It was located not far from the cemetery, which is why almost everyone was afraid to go there, whether it was day or night.

The guys walked along the path by the cemetery, while Serezha and Dima held hands, not hiding their fear. Nor did they hide the fact that they were dating. They couldn't go a day without calling each other "love" or "kitten." No one was bothered by it.

Meanwhile, Anton and Ars walked along, simply glancing around. They were scared too, but hold hands? They weren't like that.

— Serezha, I'm cold. Dima's voice trembled