**Across the Treetops**

I’ll tell you a story of the “God knows what that was” kind. This happened about ten years ago, in the summer, at my friend’s country house. We went there to relax, grill some barbecue, and have a few beers. The day and evening went wonderfully, and we decided to go to sleep. There were three of us, and we all went up to the second floor to sleep. There were only two beds: one large and one small. The homeowner, Lekha, took one bed alone, while Mitya and I shared the other.

The second floor also had a balcony, with windows opening onto it. Lekha was lying facing the balcony, and we were lying the other way—I’m not sure why it ended up like that. We were lying there, talking about something before sleep, when we noticed that Lekha had gone quiet—he just lay there silently. We assumed he had fallen asleep and continued chatting quietly. Suddenly, Lekha shot upright on the bed—quick as lightning—and gestured for us to come closer.

The night was fairly bright. We approached him, confused, and he pointed with his finger at the window. At first, I didn’t see anything unusual—just a starry sky lit by the moon, treetops silhouetted against it…

Then I saw it. An important detail: the country cooperative is in the middle of a forest, stretching for kilometers around. What I noticed was something moving across the treetops… someone—or something—was hopping along the tops of the trees. At first glance, it looked like a normal human—two arms, two legs, a head. No finer details were visible—it was too dark and too far away. But it moved fairly quickly, and the treetops swayed under its weight. And after about twenty seconds, it simply vanished from our view, or more precisely, from the window’s frame and balcony sightline.

We just sat there quietly, stunned. Then Lekha quickly moved to the balcony door and checked the latch. We drew the curtains over the windows and got back into bed—this time, all three of us on one bed, facing the window. And we finally fell asleep.

So be alert, folks, if you have a country house or summer cabin—God knows what might be hopping through the forests out there…