Ilya Boyashov is a writer with a double bottom. He knows how to tell a story in such a way that the fate of his hero, described as a special case, turns into a kind of general providential plot in the reader’s mind. It was this quality, coupled with artistic skill, that allowed Boyashov to soar to the literary Olympus in his time and take the place in modern Russian literature that is rightfully assigned to him today. Ilya Boyashov’s new story “Cocoon” is the story of a man who felt the presence of soul, like a disease, and sparing no effort and resources to recover from the illness, to get rid of the annoying tenant. Alas, this is the reality: infernal forces no longer need to buy human souls - the deal has lost its meaning. Today, many are ready to pay themselves, just to rid their physical self of an inconvenient neighborhood and find carelessness - inner peace.