Koschei shifted his gaze to the brushes he thrown to the far corner of the room. And he faced his reflection. Now he also saw a handsome young man, as Hope did. </p>
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It seemed that the truth made it possible to stop accumulating anger and get rid of the heavy burden of guilt, offences and pain, which made him much older and disfigured ahead of time. And then he realized he must certainly let this brave girl go. But he won’t take the magic canvas from her, so she can always return, if she wants. But will she ever want to ...?</p>
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Chapter 7</p>
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He took the brushes and derived the blank canvas straight from the air with a flick of his hand. His friend Gorynych stared at him with amazement as well as the others. Everyone kept quiet, afraid to ruin such a happy moment for Koschei. Nobody had ever put him on the first place or tried to understand and support him. He thought about those who needed help more than he did. He remembered Baba Yaga. Her golden braid. She also was a wonderful friend, like the faithful Gorynych. But he had no idea how to help her.</p>
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Finally, the painting was finished. Hope expected to see the forest, but instead she saw her own room. The girl didn’t even ask how he knew about it. After all, he is a wizard! And what’s most important, now she could come back home.</p>
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Saying goodbye, Hope and Koschei thanked each other. After all, he helped her to believe that miracles happen and fairy-tales are much closer than they seem. Hope helped him to become much better than he could imagine, she found the light in him. Gorynych was sobbing quietly, standing by the canvas. He gently squeezed the girl in his arms and hadn’t let her go for a long time, as he didn’t want to part. Finally, he stepped aside and waved goodbye with his wing.</p>
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As soon as she touched the painting and returned home, Koschei’s overjoyed housemates got to cleaning up the house. Because they had found hope now. However, Hope couldn’t see that.</p>
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The girl got down to her lessons, afraid to tell her parents what happened to her. She wouldn’t believe herself if she hadn’t seen this with her own eyes.</p>
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Maths was especially difficult for her, and the numbers stubbornly didn’t want to add up. Instead, she was thinking about Gorynych, Koschei, dancing brooms and other wonders.</p>
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Suddenly a little crow fluttered straight out from the painting of the forest. It was carrying a too great weight in its beak – a big white envelope. It awkwardly landed on the table and reached for the girl to take the letter. Hope stroked the bird cautiously and laughed at herself – if she wasn’t scared of Gorynych, the crow is the last thing to be scared of!..</p>
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The letter was from Koschei. He begged her tearfully to help him to deal with a magic mirror and save «his wonderful Baba Yaga».</p>
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Hope read the letter several times and sighed heavily. Well, how could she abandon her newfound friend, who had suffered so much?..</p>
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Once again during this endless day the girl stubbornly stuck her chin out and got to writing a reply on a sheet of paper she took out of her school notebook.</p>
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«Dear Koschei!» – she wrote and paused to think.</p>
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«I have received your letter. I understand your concerns», – Hope paused again. As a matter of fact, she couldn’t imagine Baba Yaga needing someone’s help. She never seemed miserable. On the other hand, she would never think so of Koschei neither. Moreover, it was her friend’s favour.</p>
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She took a minute and continued her writing: «I promise to come as soon as I can. Give Gorynych a hug for me and remind him of a diet, Hope».</p>
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Hope folded the paper, put it in an envelope and gave it to the crow, which fluttered and disappeared in a magic canvas, like it never was here.</p>
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She turned out the light as she realized that she wasn’t able to wade through the lessons now, and climbed into the soft warm bed.</p>
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Perhaps it was just a dream. And tomorrow memories of this day will cause only a smile. She gave a soft yawn and fell asleep immediately, exhausted with the events of such a strange, but light day.</p>
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Epilogue</p>
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