Following my guest today, a heavy smell of rotten leaves drifted into the coffee shop. I placed a cup of scalding black coffee with chocolate chips in front of her, hoping at least to dilute the autumn bitterness that had settled on the tip of her tongue. And a plate of cherries — the ripest and juiciest, still holding the intoxicating heat of the very middle of summer.

  "I slept for so long, and the world around me hasn't changed at all. You know, they managed to build some kind of boarding house or gated community near my house. I don't know what it's called. But people willingly come there to enjoy the privacy and nature. There are about seven houses a few kilometers apart, and a solid forest all around — like an endless sea of all shades of green: from gray-mossy to shining emerald. And what about the clearing with silver poplars? Their leaves look as if they're made of shiny metal. It even seems they ring softly..."

  I smiled faintly and closed my eyes dreamily. This guest could talk about the forest for hours on end. And it really is magical there — especially for those whom magic cannot harm…

  "So, one family arrived at the beginning of autumn. The weather at that time was amazing. In the evening the fog was so thick you couldn't even see your own fingers, at lunchtime you could still bask in the gentle sun, and at night you fell asleep under drops of freezing rain. Just a little bit more, and in the mornings the first frost would start to appear instead of dew..."

  The guest's eyes once again clouded over dreamily and took on a surprisingly deep, velvety green hue. She forced herself to push away the veil of pleasant memories and continued:

  "An ordinary family. I've seen hundreds, thousands of them. A young man and woman, and a newborn child. She had given birth two months ago, and she felt absolutely no joy about it.

  The child screamed almost all day long. I could approach the windows without hiding, and sometimes in the evenings even look inside. I felt so sorry for the little one, whom neither of the parents rushed to console, pick up, or rock.

  A classic story: a young girl, he's seven years older than she is. He swept her off her feet. She gave up her studies and work for him. And then she got pregnant.

  He was happy when he found out. But she… it was too early for her. And she didn’t need it at all. But she loved him like a cat — and if he was happy, then she was happy too. But it doesn’t work like that… it never works like that…"

  The guest clearly ground her teeth and quickly took a large sip of coffee. The smell of autumn leaves intensified many times over. But today I had a different story…

  "She was not ready for motherhood. Not at all. And there was no one around to help or give advice. He was always at work, and she didn't even have any friends left because she had cut off communication with all her loved ones for him.

  And the baby felt it. He felt that he was not welcome. That he was not loved. My heart was breaking when I heard his cries.

  So, why did they come? It seems that he decided to give her a gift in honor of the birth of his son. Like a romantic trip. Yeah. With a newborn baby she didn’t want at all.

  So they arrived, checked in. And an hour later he was already driving back. Either he forgot something in the city, or he was called to work. But to me, it looked like he just got rid of the eternally screaming bundle and the girl who had not yet recovered from childbirth.

  She held the baby so awkwardly...

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  The forest hides sounds well. He must have exhaled as soon as the road curved. Now he can breathe easy in the silence, ignore the calls, and later just say the reception was bad. And she is on the edge of the world alone with a child she does not need, whom she does not even know how to properly care for.

  I think you can guess?"

  The guest looked into my eyes. Her gaze darkened, the golden sunny sparkles disappeared completely. I remained silent and refilled her coffee…

  "This fool couldn’t think of anything better than to leave the child in a car seat right on the porch of the house. And she locked herself inside and tightly closed all the windows and doors, so that he wouldn't scream so loudly.

  Not quite like in ancient times. Then it was necessary to take it to the forest and leave it on an oak stump. But what can you do? Who will teach fools ancient traditions? And it wasn’t difficult for me to do it myself…

  He was so cute. He immediately reached out to me with his hands. And smiled. I quickly rocked him to sleep, gave him a colorful maple leaf. And then in the forest, I wove beads from acorns so that it would be convenient for him to sort through them and sharpen his teeth. A good baby, strong..."

  Now the guest's gaze warmed. She smiled broadly and tenderly, just like when she was telling me about the forest. I'd have to pack her some cherries to take with her — a treat for the baby...

  "She only came to her senses at midnight. She was probably so tired that she had fallen asleep in the silence like the dead. The moon was so bright then; everything was clearly visible.

  She realized that something was wrong. But was it her maternal instinct that had woken up? Or common sense? Or something else… She jumped out onto the porch and, grabbing the car seat, ran inside.

  I saw through the window how she silently and warily looked at... The baby was lying in the car seat and looking at her attentively. Silently. Completely silently.

  What are these foolish people always unhappy about? She wanted silence. She wanted him to shut up. So why is she shying away now?

  Her man came back in the morning. She hadn’t slept. She kept pacing the room and staring at the car seat.

  And in the morning, as soon as he entered the house, she seemed to explode. She said everything that had been building up in her all this time. And then some trinkets from the fireplace came into play, and then the dishes.

  He chose a girl to match himself: she had her word, and he had his. That she couldn’t calm the child, that she had no job, that she had dropped out of studies — well, she had dropped out for his sake.

  In short, they argued so heatedly that she accidentally knocked over the car seat. It was still standing on the table in the hall. Such silence immediately set in, as if time and the air itself had frozen.

  And the seat fell unnaturally slowly. And from there a whole pile of withered leaves scattered across the floor.

  She choked on her scream. He jumped back, then ran up to her, grabbed her hands, and started yelling, asking where she had put the child...

  It wasn’t supposed to be quite like this... Usually, mothers behave more reservedly. They give their children away themselves. But this one was just a bungler...

  But, be that as it may, you can’t hurt a changeling. Especially, you can’t drop him on the floor. And before that, you can’t leave him hungry all night and neglect to change his diapers.

  He was perfect. Just like she wanted. He didn’t scream..."

  The guest was silent, happily gnawing on cherry pits. She closed her eyes, once again reviving the picture of the recent past in all its details. I could almost hear the echo of a woman’s scream and the sound of broken glass...

  "She’s still a slob. First, she knocked over the seat, and then she pushed her husband so clumsily. I’m not making excuses for her. It really was an accident. The changeling hadn’t come into his own yet to do such a thing.

  The man tripped over one of the pillows scattered on the floor and fell. The back of his head hit the fireplace grate…

  The owner of the house arrived four days later. The lease had ended, and the key had not been returned.

  A bungler was sitting on the floor in the same clothes, in her own excrement and blood — his blood. She scooped it up with her palms and dripped it onto the withered leaves. She was trying to make a doll.

  They took her away, with a bloody baby blanket in her hands...

  I think the changeling will be interested in visiting the city. There are still old parks there. He will see his sisters..."

  The guest happily accepted the bag of cherries from me. The baby had already cut his second row of teeth, and there were so few sweet fruit trees in the forest.The treat will be to his taste.

  Needless to say, I received an invitation to the forest. It is especially beautiful at this time of year…