“You speak Russian so well,” I translate the topic. - Have you been to Russia?

- Worked for several years. Russian and Polish are similar.

- I wouldn't say. We tried to find out from the glaziers what happened, but we did not understand anything.

“Hopefully, in a couple of days, you will have a better understanding of our staff. Let's do this: we can go to Vozrozhdenie right now, we'll just drop by the hotel for things.

“Aren’t we in Renaissance?”

- No, Pani Zlata, this is our reception room. You understand, secrecy obliges. The professor smiles cloyingly, his eyes twinkle mischievously. He's like a little kid who's eager to spill a secret. – Have you heard about the Xenzh castle?

- Sorry but no.

– Oh, this is the oldest castle in Poland, with an ancient rich history. Whoever owned it, whoever equipped it, and many wanted to destroy it. You definitely need to know about it.

- And for what?

- Have you heard how they say: if you want to hide something, hide it in a conspicuous place? There are crowds of tourists almost every day in Książa, every year horsemen come to the auction - there are several excellent stables in the castle. But there are so many rooms in it that it can take years to restore. Therefore, no one was against the fact that our medical center occupied several, or rather, the western wing, as well as underground galleries. When you read about Ksenzha, you will be very surprised where they came from. Adolf Hitler himself planned to stay there. Industrial enterprises were going to be hidden underground. But Hitler, as you know, did not achieve his goal, but we acquired his legacy.

– This is very interesting and a bit strange, – I can't resist a frank reaction. – A hospital instead of industrial plants of the Nazis… But doesn’t the castle belong to the state?

- Belongs. But if you are related to the last owner, then you can apply for several premises.

- It is you? I ask in surprise.

- Yes, Mrs. Zlata. I will not bore you with the details of the family tree, but I propose to hit the road.

- Just like that? But I wanted to think, to study the documents, to communicate…

- On the way, it’s fine and we’ll talk. And your men are still studying medical contracts.

The professor is so sure of my agreement and insistent that I don't even know if it's worth arguing. I'm trying to reason like the terminally ill Zlata, who came with the hope of being saved. Surely she would immediately seize this last chance and go with Wierzbicki for treatment, but, of course, accompanied by her husband and brother.

I can’t find any other options, so I have to agree.

To be honest, had I not been intuitively suspicious of Wierzbicki, I would have liked him for his self-confidence, purposefulness, speed of reaction, and gallantry. How many doctors are willing to run around the hospital in search of a patient, and then personally take them to the hospital? Or is it all about money?

Events are moving too fast. After an idyllic stay in a hotel, we suddenly fall into the clutches of an unfamiliar professor, forced to trust him and drive further and further from Wroclaw, and even Russia, it seems, does not exist at all. The strangest thing about all this is that I'm starting to get used to a new life, not missing everyday life in St. Petersburg at all.

What will I do when I get back? I'll probably die of boredom. But only after the grandmother. I am horrified to realize that only she is the meaning of my existence, for her sake I hold on. The only problem is that my grandmother has progressive Alzheimer's, and she often does not recognize me. Several times I tried to call her at the nursing home, but the nurse answered, which means that the grandmother was not herself again.

Where does a person go when his personality gradually destroys this terrible disease? Sometimes I ask myself why I'm so unlucky. Mother, father, grandmother, and other relatives, for reasons unclear to me, do not maintain relations with us. In an incomprehensible way, she was left alone in the world.

- How do you feel, Mrs. Zlata? the attentive professor asks, apparently noticing how thoughts hurt me, and I almost cry from self-pity.

- A little headache.

- We'll be there soon. I'll open the window now. Do you feel how fresh the air is? This is already the territory of Ksenzha - rocks and ancient forests that surround it. You will definitely see all this.