Читать книгу Chernobyl - Ilinda Markova - Страница 16

THE RAIN HAD RETURNED and the lake was deserted. Squatting with a stick in his hand Rob was drawing lines in the sand. The stick broke and he hurled it over his shoulder into the lake. He was looking for another stick when the broken one flew back and landed at his feet. He picked it up. It wasn’t a boomerang, was it? Looking suspiciously around him, Rob threw it over his shoulder once again. There was nobody in sight and he went on drawing his strange lines. He was closing a circle when a pebble landed and marked its centre.

“Victor, stop it!” Rob warned without turning his head. “I know you are hiding behind the bushes, you stupid bum! You need more bashing and I am going to do it!”

In reply a torrent of black pebbles landed at the circle. Some of them hitting Rob.

“Come on Victor!” Rob snarled. “Show yourself, you’re mother will beat you up if she catches you playing with me.... Vic-to-or!”

Rob spun round with the intention of surprising Victor and giving him the promised bashing, but what he saw made his mouth drop.

Before him stood a small, ugly creature with funny legs and fins for arms. Its eyes were sad and oh shit, mismatched. There was a swelling underneath them which could have been a nose or anything for that matter.

His jaw dropping Rob felt fear. It was a strange feeling because he was the one inducing it in other boys’ hearts. Now he knew what dread and fear were.

He took a step back, staring at this bonsai monster.

“Who are you and what do you want?”

As if to hear him better the creature wobbled toward him with a friendly smile.

“What do you want?” Rob fought the urge to flee.

There was no answer. The hideous creature approached the circle and bending slightly, began to add new drawings by destroying Rob’s with its fin.

“Don’t do this!” the initial moment of fright behind him, Rob was now furious, ready to fight. At second thought he tried again: “Who are you?”

Clumsily, the pathetic creature picked up a black pebble.

“Me.” The voice was surprisingly singsong and tender.

Rob laughed. Now he was feeling neither astonishment nor fear.

“Stop spoiling my drawings!” Recovering his courage, completely in command, Rob hurried over to the funny-looking creature and exclaimed: “You’re the ugliest thing I’ve ever met! You have a name?”

The small thing nodded shyly.

“Kissy.” The voice sounded even milder.

“A boy or a girl?”

“A girl.” Kissy blushed and added. “I can become more beautiful.”

She covered her face with her fins and began to swell up until she nearly burst. By doing this she became uglier if it was possible to be uglier.

“All right, all right there’s no more need of doing it! I’m Rob. I don’t like girls but you are a funny one, so don’t be afraid no matter what you hear people talking about me!”

Kissy returned to her initial shape looking at him in adoration with her big mismatched eyes.

“Let’s try this game with the stick again.” He bent to pick up the broken stick.

When he looked around there was no one.

Rob rubbed his eyes.

“Kissy, Kissy!” he called out for a while but there was no trace of his new acquaintance.

“Kissy,” he repeated to himself as he returned home.