Sentry

 My father served in the special forces, he transported nuclear warheads — of course, in special containers. Part of it was located in a hilly area. There were security posts at a distance from the unit: a booth surrounded by a fence, large iron gates, and a small mesh fence with barbed wire at the top. The booth had lighting, a table, a chair, a duty log, and a telephone with communication with headquarters. There was a window directly opposite the door. There were such posts every 2 to 5 kilometers: one on a hill, another in a hollow, etc. My father told me:

"It was winter. It's my turn to be on duty. I was taken to the checkpoint in the morning, and until late at night I was outside, guarding the facility with a machine gun at the ready. I made a log entry every half hour and reported to headquarters.

The last half hour has gone by. I went outside, stood, and smoked. And I see that someone is moving towards my post - everything is visible through the grid. I look — a woman is walking in a white shirt, her hair is white and she is pale as paper... And he goes barefoot. I fell into a stupor of surprise. Just then, a car came for me and illuminated the place with its headlights — no one... Okay, I thought, I imagined it. I opened the gate, let the car in, made a recording and drove to the barracks. I was replaced by a Georgian, my fellow soldier — our beds were nearby, we communicated well with him.

I arrived at the unit, undressed, and went to bed. At three o'clock in the morning they wake me up: "Gena, wake up! Pack up, go to the post, and stay on duty. Then we won't touch you for a day. Your partner got sick." Well, I'm always happy for a friend, and an order is an order. I got up and got dressed. And they took her to the Georgian's barracks, put her on a bed, but there was no face on him. He looked at me and said, "Gena, there's a white woman there!" That's when I was stunned, so I wasn't imagining it...

But what can you do here — you have to go. I arrived at the post. Everything went smoothly. Towards morning (it gets late in winter), when it was almost time to change shifts, I started peering into the distance again with a cigarette in my mouth. And he saw her again. Walking barefoot in the snow, all white... I told her, "Stop, I'm going to shoot!" But she doesn't seem to hear. I went up to the gate and started walking around it, as if looking for a loophole, probing with my hands. I just stood there. Once she makes a circle, I move my legs like a spinning top and keep an eye on her. Two laps, three... I felt the hair stand on end under my hat. She had just gone through the gate on the fifth lap when the car arrived. They barely brought me out of my stupor.

I only found out later that there had been military operations there before. Maybe it's a ghost, or maybe it's some kind of natural spirit..."