"Yes, far away," laughed Ivan.

"I'm from Peter," Oleg said.

"You see, and Nastya's dreaming of Peter" – said Aunt Galya – "Well, take her with you" – she immediately wooed her neighbor.

"I'd love to, but I've got at least another six months to serve," said Oleg.

"Well, yes" said Aunt Galya thoughtfully, realizing perfectly well that one might not finish his service.

"And you, handsome?" – She turned to Kirill.

"From Moscow," Kirill replied.

"Ah, a Moskovit, spoiled," decided Aunt Galya.

Nastya tensed, realizing that Kirill was the most testy of them all.

But Kirill didn't react, it was familiar to him.

"Yeah, I think you've got more pampering here," he replied.

"Aunt Gal, well you somehow without your remarks, they're all on edge," Nastya said quietly in Aunt Galya's ear.

"Yeah, sorry," Aunt Galya realized her mistake and also thought that she was actually talking to suicide bombers. Of course, each of them has a chance, but it's probably about 50/50.

And even though they're peaceful, they're not immune to anything.

The guys tried to act as calm and friendly as possible.

Aunt Galya decided it was probably okay.

At least Nastya's safe and alive.

On the way to Grandma Nadia's house, Aunt Galya whispered in her ear again – "Nastya, don't let them drink, or God forbid what happens"

"Yes, thank goodness there's nothing," replied Nastya, thinking that indeed, thank goodness.

After examining Baba Nadia, Nastya decided to remove the plank, but strictly instructed not to step on it and to wear a stiff bandage.

Aunt Galya stayed with her, anyway, she had an empty house, no one to take care of her.

Her children had long ago left for the city, like most young people.

Oleg went with them, just in case.

Nastya really hoped that the night would pass quietly, and her hopes were justified this time. Everyone just wanted to sleep and not think about anything.

In the morning came the news from Artem – a high probability that tomorrow they will already advance and come, perhaps, to the village itself.

Artem was actually taking a big risk – he wasn't authorized to give details, but he just trusted his comrades, plus they had discounted their geolocation so he could see where they were.

Artem realized that there was no telling what the commander would say about the guys, but at least this way they would reach them in one piece.

The whole day was spent in agony, and by the rumbling it became obvious that they were advancing hard and fast, that Artem was right. Or rather, from where the rumble of the guns was coming from and how it was changing. It became clear that they would soon be leaving.

"Well Nastush, we'll leave you alone soon," Kirill began.

And Nastya was already guessing what he was getting at.

"So, bear with us one more time, okay?" – Kirill asked, as if it was just something so innocuous.

"It's quite possible that this may be our last time in life at all," he went on as if coaxing.

Nastya sighed, tears coming to her eyes. She was tired.

But it didn't change anything.

Naturally they were already in an even more agitated state than before. It was good that Oleg hadn't brought alcohol, although it was in the store.

"Nastyush, we'll honestly help you with absolutely everything, you can have no doubt about that," Kirill continued.

Oleg offered to open an account for Nastya on a cryptocurrency exchange, and they spent three hours with the account and authorization.

All three of them wrote down the data, in case anything happened.

But the account was made out to Nastya and transferred the crypto there, Ivan didn't have crypto, so Oleg transferred it for him.

They explained to her how she could convert them into real money.

And by evening, that "last time" had begun, which was both hard and long and somehow endless. Again and again they did not let her go.

In the end, everyone fell asleep, because no one thought about Nastya going somewhere else.

In the morning, the guys' comrades-in-arms showed up. The guys suggested that Nastya pack her things so that she could evacuate at once.

The commander was suspicious that they were here "chilling" so to speak, but understanding.

Alexei Vadimovich, a middle-aged man, dense with a belly and a little gray hair, looked carefully at the boys and Nastya. He noted to himself that Nastya was very tense, and they … slightly averted their eyes, though they tried to look straight ahead, constantly throwing glances at her, not wanting to go far away. Somehow a bad feeling crept up on his soul, even something prickled in his subcostal region. He pressed a hand to his right side. He grimaced a little at the unpleasant pain.

"Okay, get out of here, I need to talk to .... what's your middle name?"

"Anastasia Ilinichna," Nastya replied. She tensed up even more. She didn't really want to talk about anything. All three of them left. Alexei Vadimovich noticed that they did turn around.

"Anastasia Ilinichna, do you have any complaints about our soldiers?" – he asked Nastya, trying to look into her eyes.

"No, I don't have any complaints, everything is fine," replied a tired Nastya, trying not to look into his eyes but somewhere on the bridge of his nose.

He wanted to put a hand on her shoulder, but then he thought that if anything, she'd be more likely to take it as a threat than a friendly engagement. The hand lifted slightly and then lowered.

"Are you feeling well, do you need medical attention?" – he decided to ask a clarifying question.

"No, it's alright, it didn't reach us, thank God" – Nastya meant that not a single shell reached their village.

"This I know…" – Alexei Vadimovich said thoughtfully.

He continued to look at her intently. He could feel her tension. He realized that it probably could have been. But he didn't want to hear about it at all, or dig in that direction. If she said no, she said no.

"Anastasia Ilyinichna, it's okay, you're safe now, you can rest assured," he made one last attempt.

"Yes, thank you very much, I'm just thinking of leaving at once, as it happens," Nastya changed the subject.

"Sure – sure, the car will be on its way soon, do you have everything packed?" – He was actually glad she hadn't said anything. Or maybe there really wasn't anything?

Even if there was something, the guys seemed to figure it out on their own and sort it out.

Just in case, he approached them separately and quietly said, "Well, you guys, somehow help the girl there, after all, you've been staying at her place for so long."

He was hinting at something they'd already taken care of. If there was anything, at least make it up to them with money. Once again, he looked at them closely. If Kirill, in principle, was good at hiding his emotions, Oleg and Ivan were less so, and Alexei Vadimovich suspected from their faces that the case might not be as smooth as everyone would like to imagine.

"I really hope it's alright" at this he turned and walked away, he didn't want to discuss it all anymore, they were good fighters, he needed them.

Nastya could barely stand, literally everything hurt. Even standing and sitting was uncomfortable. But she pretended, as best she could, that everything was normal.

Artem came too.

"What a resort you've made for yourself here, and in the company of such a girl," he also hinted.

They decided not to fill Artem in on the details.