The summer was crazy hot. Already in the middle of May, when Andrew set off on his long journey, the alcohol column of the thermometer gently touched the mark plus twenty-eight during the daytime hours. Now in the central European part of Russia it was sometimes unbearable, it was hard to pedal on hot asphalt that was thawed in places. Overnight Andrey tried to arrange closer to the pond or river. A battered single tent used to huddle, as a rule, under a canopy of some shrub or low tree so that in case of a night rain it would not be too wet. The lonely traveler himself settled in the evenings on a folding chair a little aside, and with a map in his hands mercilessly rebuilt the planned route so as to take him away from the stifling motorways, but at the same time not to be removed too far from civilization. Formerly a brand new card at the end of the journey was a pitiful sight.

Originally laid with a red marker, the thread of the route faded and in some places flowed from the raindrops, and, not coinciding with it, other lines were drawn next to it with colored pencils: red - the intended route along country roads and forests, and the green - the real path traversed in a day. The last lines also did not always coincide. Often, in places where a clearing was indicated on the map, there were impassable forest debris, and the dirt road in the lowlands of the meadow turned out to be a huge swampy pool covered with sedge. But Andrey did not upset such moments at all. It was precisely behind this that he set off on his long journey, intending to roll the bicycle on the pedals for at least two thousand kilometers. Despite the fact that he had many friends and acquaintances as companions, Andrew went alone. He needed a single trip as air after five years of hard work without holidays, after a hard parting with his wife, accompanied by hysterics, shouts, reconciliation, and new scandals, after a long addiction to hot drinks and chronic depression.

And the longer his journey lasted, the more he became convinced of the correctness of his act. Together with the traveled kilometers of roads behind, all the past problems and experiences remained. The elastic headwind blew bad thoughts out of his head, causing a contented smile on his face. He left not only from his past, he left from himself, reincarnating inside someone new, not at all like the one he was before. It reminded him of the transfer of insects, when out of the awkward green caterpillar suddenly turned out a light and elegant butterfly. Something very similar happened to him. Throwing off the old skin of a depressed workaholic in the initial stage of alcoholism, he now clearly felt the irreversibility of the changes happening to him.

A slight gust of wind, bent over the worn edge of the card in his hands. Andrew distracted from his work and looked up. As a seriously ill patient transferred to a convalescent ward, he gladly took his daily medicine: the cool evening wind, the sweet smell of lake water and smoke, the red glow of the setting sun on the swaying tops of the coastal reeds, and the all-consuming cicadas, accompanied by lake frogs . There was no such peace in his soul for a long time. Probably only in distant, serene childhood, when the past days flew back without any regret, and there was a huge, almost endless, and incredibly fascinating life ahead, only then could he also sweetly enjoy the smell of smoke, and the warm summer wind that develops thick strands of hair. And carelessness. Complete carelessness! Somewhere on the horizon, lightning flashes glittered with the passing side of a thunderstorm.Nearby, a small fire crackled, over which, held by a wire tripod, housed a marching smoky bowler of an army type. Andrei neatly folded the card and put it in his pocket. The route for tomorrow was in general clear, unless, of course, the mysterious Russian roads set another unexpected problem before him. But it will be even more interesting. Leaning on one knee, he bent over the wheat cereal with canned meat that was boiling over in the pot, and greedily sucked in the aroma of dinner. During the day without lunch he had a serious appetite, and, surprisingly, he did not want to drink at all, as it happened in the first days of the trip.

Andrew fell asleep under the distant muffled peals of thunder and the rustle of foliage. Even the restless cicadas were silenced so as not to disturb the peace of the lonely wanderer, who visited their virgin world on a strange, loaded with things, aluminum horse.

***

As soon as the morning rays of the sun broke through the upper branches of the trees, Andrew realized that he was waiting for the next hot transition under the scorching sun. There was not a cloud in the sky, and it was already hot in the morning. According to the plan, he had to go through the forest for the first half of the day, under cover of thick crowns of trees, but just after the sun crosses its zenith, it is waiting for a nearly thirty-kilometer crossing on a dirt road through a huge meadow, and then completely fields and rare oak groves. And only in the evening, exhausted by the heat, he will be able to reach a small village located at the bend of the river, where there will be an opportunity to get drunk and swim. But all these are just plans.

Having collected a tent and replenished supplies of water, Andrei easily jumped on his bicycle, heading along the grass that had already dried up from the dew to the darkening forest not far away. As expected, the cut-through dirt road actually turned out to be a narrow path overgrown with hazel, so it was not always possible to ride a horse. Hanging on both sides of the rear wheel, tightly packed with things, the cycle backpack constantly clung to the protruding branches and branches. We had to dismount and carefully pass through the thickets, so as not to expose the precious property to damage. From time to time the path expanded to a full-fledged dirt road, and then Andrew gladly accelerated on small slopes, catching the raw forest air with his chest, tartly smelling of oak bark and moss. During one of these descents, to his great surprise, he suddenly noticed on a small clearing a bright yellow bicycle frame, slightly hidden by hazel leaves. From surprise, he even slowed down.

On the left was the sunlit strawberry field. About the last fact Andrew prompted sense of smell. The smell of overripe berries filled the entire surrounding space. Hazel at the far border of the glade suddenly stirred, and a young pretty woman fluttered out of it, smoothing off the hem of a light white dress with smooth movements. Raising her head and noticing Andrew, she smiled perplexedly and waved her hand. Absolutely not expecting to meet people in these places, let alone a beautiful woman, the guy was momentarily confused, hesitantly threw up his hand in the answering greeting, and again he was pedaling, moving away from an unexpected stranger. Further the road was already well knurled. Traces of the vehicle tread were clearly visible on wet soil. So the locals often visit this "magic" glade. Andrei, too, would not mind eating sweet strawberries, but there was no point in returning. In front of him more than one strawberry glade was waiting. Have time.

The road went down smoothly, and it rolled without even pedaling. Driving through the forest cool was a pleasure. With a tenacious gaze, Andrei snatched large caps of white mushrooms from the weaves of the low branches of the bush. Stop and pick. But where there! The bike was gaining more and more speed, throwing out last year's rotten leaves from under the tread of wheels. The wind was noisy in the ears, and the whole life of the cyclist was now limited to a swift flight along the winding green tunnel of the forest road. Like everything in life, this pleasure was short-lived.Bright sunny spot in the gap of trees announced the end of a fascinating attraction. Andrew reluctantly clamped the brakes. Already on the way out of the forest, he was overwhelmed with a wave of hot air from the meadow. Further, the road went under the open sky, surrounded by pale yellow withered grass ....