By the river, a six-year-old child spotted a wet rope. He pulled it, and a few minutes later, something dreadful emerged 
It was a pleasant, quiet day.
On the edge of a peaceful river, the guys were having fun. They threw stones into the water, floated small bark boats, and laughed so loudly that the sound reverberated throughout the forest.
Ilya, the group’s most inquisitive member, suddenly saw something odd.
There was a thick rope in the sand, nearly to the water’s edge. One end was coiled on the shore, the other vanished into the dark river surface.
“Look!” exclaimed Ilya. — What if the other end has treasure?
However, his pals became suspicious right away.
Someone hesitantly said, “Don’t touch it, it might just be trash.”
Another was added: “Or a trap!”
Ilya knelt down and took hold of the rope in spite of his trepidation. It was cold and damp. He felt resistance as he pulled. The other end was undoubtedly tied to something.
He shouted, “I’m pulling!” but his friends were already moving away. One person blushed, while another chuckled uneasily.
One of them yelled, “Let’s leave now!” and took off first.
Ilya was by herself near the river a minute later. He felt his heart racing.
He tugged once again, more forcefully. It seemed as though a hefty object was being pulled along the bottom of the rope. Something terrible started to rise from the depths as the water rippled.
Ilya froze, but she held on. Until he saw what had surfaced, he continued to pull.
The body belonged to a man. His garments stuck to his flesh, his eyes were closed, and water poured over his face. His neck was bruised, and the rope was wound around his waist.
Ilya let out a scream. After the rope fell out of his grasp, he staggered back and dashed in the direction of the hamlet. Even though his vision was blurry and his breathing was labored, he continued.
The body had already been transported closer to the shore by the current when the adults brought him back to the river. The man had gone missing for a week, it was later found.
And since then, nobody has ever ventured to touch the rope—that same rope. As a reminder that occasionally curiosity might lead to a dreadful truth, it remains on the riverbank.
