Everything was shrouded in darkness—black and impenetrable, so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. It felt as if someone had stolen both the moon and the stars forever, although the dark autumn sky was merely covered by a thick veil of gloomy, shaggy clouds that had been relentlessly weeping over the city for hours on end. Large icy drops were hammering down with all their force, trying to hit the few remaining leaves that had not yet fallen, splashing onto the thoroughly soaked autumn carpet covering the ground, and gurgling as they sank into puddles created by those that came before them.

And what about the streetlights meant to stand guard over the city streets while the sun gives its gentle light to another part of the globe? Well, for more than a year now, things in the city, as well as in the entire country, have been going completely off track, and replacing bulbs in street lamps is occasionally forgotten. Moreover, the light from the few functioning poles, directed solely at the roadway, is unable to break through dozens of meters of dense overgrowth. In general, it is not the best time—or, perhaps, even the best place—to go out and breathe fresh air at nightfall.