It was an ordinary tourist day in the old city of Brussels, starting with coffee and chatter with a long-time friend and continuing with a tour of the painting museum halls. It probably wouldn’t have stood out in any special way—if not for curiosity. Curiosity made Masha step into an elevator that took her down to the basement floors, into the very unknown. Long underground corridors held paintings by great masters, a gentle draft of air, and… familiar embraces promising love and safety. She closed her eyes—and when she opened them, she found herself in a completely different time, in an era new to her. She was again a little girl, ahead of whom awaited incredible experience and great adventures with her mysterious family—refugees among many who had flooded Europe after the terrible war, searching for a better fate during the harsh period of the new civilization’s formation. Is this just a strange dream that can be forgotten the moment you wake up? Or is it an incredible truth capable of leaving a mark on the soul, in history, and on a piece of red brick in the basement of an old Belgian manor? (C) Yulia Bruzhavate