The village of Chasha, Kletsk district, is located 160 kilometers from Minsk. About thirty years ago there were children in every yard here - both locals and grandchildren who came. At the end of the 90s, the village began to die. In the village council I remember the report on the village: “11 people died in a year, born - a dash.”

Now 41 people live in Chasha, including only one child - Maxim Shamruk. Thanks to this boy, a bus with a sign “School” arrives in the quiet village every day at 7.15. At the bus stop, in the spot of light from a lantern, every morning there are two figures - Maxim and his grandmother Zoya Petrovna. The boy is an orphan: his father died seven years ago, four years have passed since his mother’s death. Grandmother, grandfather, puppy Jack and the village of Chasha are Maxim’s whole world. The boy is an orphan: his father died seven years ago, four years have passed since his mother’s death. Grandmother, grandfather, puppy Jack and the village of Chasha are Maxim’s whole world.