Читать книгу Note. Novel - Natalia Katsay - Страница 3

I want to tell you an unusual story that you will hardly believe in it. But nevertheless, everything that I will tell here is the pure truth; these events took place before my eyes. After a few years.

It was a warm summer evening. My father and I decided to go to the lake to go fishing. As I said earlier, we often went fishing together, both early in the morning and in the evening. And each time of the day has its own charm, in the morning – dawn, when all living things begin to wake up, and in the evening-sunset.

Approaching the lake, the father said:

– My brother promised to visit us, but, unfortunately, his visit to us is postponed. He will arrive a little later than we expected.

Dad’s brother was going to stay with us for a few days, and we were expecting his arrival any day now. He intended to introduce us to his adopted daughter, who was in his care. I’ve never seen this girl before. But it seemed to me that her company would bring a pleasant variety to my life. Therefore, when I found out that they postponed their arrival to us, I was very upset. I was looking forward to my uncle’s arrival and meeting his adopted daughter, Anna.

– And when will they arrive? I asked.

– Not earlier than in a month, maybe two, – the father replied.

Then he said the following:

– And I’m glad, my dear daughter, that you never had time to meet Anna.

– Why? I asked, burning with curiosity.

“The poor thing is dead – » my father replied. – Your uncle called me today and told me this terrible news. I’m sorry I didn’t say it right away, but I just didn’t know how to tell you about it.

I was shocked by this news. And tears gushed from my eyes. I clung to my father and began to sob. When my uncle called us, four or five weeks ago, he reported that his adopted daughter was a little sick, but he believed that there was nothing terrible in her ill health.

My poor brother has completely lost his head from grief. Judging by the phone conversation, he had completely lost his mind.

We sat down by the lake on a warm blanket spread out. Nature gave out a sad breath. The sun was sinking below the horizon, turning the surface of the lake scarlet. The crimson surface of the lake flowed and splashed almost at our very feet. And Dad told me the essence of the conversation with my uncle on the phone, word for word. I replayed this conversation in my head several times – but I could not fully understand the essence, because in many places my uncle contradicted himself. This chaotic conversation was so sincere, so fervent that I agreed with my father – grief clouded my uncle’s mind.

Father’s conversation with uncle:

I lost my dear daughter-yes, I loved her like a daughter. During the last days of Anna’s illness, I could not call you because I did not fully understand how serious the danger that threatened her was. I lost my daughter, I found out everything too late. She died in ignorance, full of hope, for happiness. It’s all the fault of the villain I let into my house, who took advantage of my hospitality. I thought I was taking in a decent, charming girlfriend for my daughter Anna. Oh, gods! How blind I was! My lovely daughter died without even knowing who caused her death. She went to another world, unaware of her illness and low addiction, the culprit of our troubles. I will devote the rest of my life to finding and destroying this monster. I hope to achieve my goal. Now only a barely noticeable ray of light is leading me on the trail. People warned me about the seriousness of what was happening, but I didn’t believe anyone. Now I curse my stubbornness, blindness, self-confidence, but it’s too late. I am in a severe nervous breakdown and cannot talk coherently about what happened. My thoughts are confused. As soon as I come to my senses, I’m going to devote myself entirely to investigating this terrible atrocity. I don’t know where my investigation will lead. If I am alive, then in the fall, if you allow me, I will visit you and tell you about what I can’t trust now, talking on the phone.

– — Goodbye. Pray for me, dear brother.

So ended this strange conversation. Although I had never seen Anna, but I felt so sorry for her that my soul and heart were torn by sadness and grief, my eyes were overflowing with tears.

The sun had already completely disappeared below the horizon, twilight was coming. A quiet evening came. Sitting by the lake, we tried to unravel the meaning of my uncle’s phrases. We began to gather, after walking about a few hundred meters, we came out on the road leading to our dacha. We headed for the house. The moon was shining brightly, which illuminated our path.

The path we had just walked along opened up in front of us. Majestic trees grew on our left side, and a ruined water tower towered on our right. In the distance there was a steep hill overgrown with trees and shrubs; ivy-covered pillars could be seen in the shade.

In the lowlands, fog was creeping over the grass and the lake, hiding the distance. The dim reflections of the moonlight glittered in the lake. The evening breathed silence and peace. Moonlight always fills it with some kind of mystery and magic. I was sad, and nature seemed to be sad with me, but still nothing could disturb the calm grandeur of these enchanted distances.

My father and I were silent, admiring the magic of these picturesque places, admiring the beauty of the landscape and the magical moonlight.

The full moon has the most unexpected effects on a person. They manifest themselves in dreams; and some people, especially nervous and impulsive, may fall into sleepwalking or even insanity. In some magical way, the moon is physically connected to life. And dreams on a full moon have a special, and sometimes even, explicit meaning that warns a person, predicts his future, scares him, inspires new actions and deeds. For example, when my grandmother died, before her death I had a dream: a tall, slender woman in a long white dress, smiling, approached me, as if hovering above the floor. And as soon as she got very close to me, abruptly stretched out her hands to my neck and began to strangle me, and her face became sinister and turned into a skull. I woke up in a cold sweat and for the first seconds I couldn’t breathe or utter a single word.

Tonight-the moon seemed formidable and magical. Looking back at the lake, I noticed how its surface shimmered with silver, as if invisible hands had lit candles and were waiting for guests from the other world.

I was in a mood when I didn’t want to talk about anything. Listening to the silence, I looked dreamily at the lake.

– Somehow sad at heart, – said the father and, after a pause, quoted Shakespeare:

Sadness, like a weight, oppresses my chest. Add your own – you will increase the oppression; With your longing – you will press me down harder.

And then, unfortunately, I don’t remember. But it seems to me that some kind of trouble is coming to us. And perhaps it has something to do with the ringing of my poor brother.

At that moment, the sound of a passing car was heard on the road, it was clear from the sounds that the car was rushing at great speed, such a sound, very unusual in our area, and even at this time of day.

Soon the car itself appeared. It was a huge black jeep, and even the windows were so black that it was impossible to see it on a white day, it was so black! This car was followed by a minibus, but just as gloomy.

The cars were very expensive and high-status, as my dad said, apparently they belonged to a high-ranking person. We, without taking our eyes off, looked at such an unusual sight. However, after a fraction of seconds, events took a threatening turn: when these cars almost approached us, the jeep began to turn to the right, then to the left, and my father and I panicked. The Jeep was rushing towards us, with the speed of a hurricane.

We were horrified by what was happening, and a woman’s scream could be heard from the window of the jeep. My father abruptly grabbed me in his arms, and then rushed to the side with me.

The finale of this scene came very quickly. On the way to the car, a huge poplar tree grew near the road, opposite it, on the other side of the road, there was a street lamp. Now the car was racing straight into the tree.

I looked at what was happening with horror and understood what was about to happen. I closed my eyes with my palms, turned away and for some reason screamed.

I opened my eyes a little: it was a terrible sight. Both cars were smashed, one drove into a tree, the other into a lamppost, and two wheels were spinning in the air. Smoke was pouring out of the cars. A woman got out of the jeep, she was muttering something and only swear words could be understood from her speech. She sat down by the car, leaning her back on it, but her appearance was very majestic. She kept throwing her head back, pressing a handkerchief to her nose. Through the door of the minibus, two strong men crawled out. They ran up to the woman, she told them something sternly, and they rushed to the minibus. One of them carried out a young boy; he showed no signs of life.

My father was already standing by the woman from the jeep at that moment, offering her his help. The woman didn’t seem to hear him. She stared intently at the skinny guy who was being sat down on the ground by two sturdy guards.

I came closer. The young man was in a faint, but alive. My father also came up and took his hand to take his pulse. He assured the woman from the jeep, who introduced herself as the young man’s mother, that there was a pulse, uneven and very sluggish, but distinguishable. The woman shook my father’s hand and gratefully leaned forward. It looked very mannered and even somehow theatrical. This is typical of many people from such circles as this woman, apparently they believe that this behavior is natural.

Oh, this woman, as they say, was well preserved, she looked no more than thirty, and she was very beautiful: medium height, not thin, I would say yes, with a perfect figure, in black leather shorts, high red patent leather boots with high heels, in a fashionable black leather jacket, her face was pale with excitement, but very beautiful, her eyes were large dark brown, almost black, long fluffy eyelashes, long slightly wavy hair, in general she looked stunning and carried herself majestically and confident.

– Is anyone able to withstand everything that has fallen on me? – she said.

– I’m going on a very important matter, and life or death may depend on any delay, even for an hour. My son will not be able to recover from the accident for God knows how long and continue our trip. I have to leave him; I swear, business does not allow me to stay. Man, tell me, is it far to the nearest village or town, or what do you have here? I will have to leave my son there; I will not see him for another three months, until my return. Oh, well, what to do?

I pulled my father’s hand and whispered in his ear:

– Dad, please invite her son to us, it would be so great. Invite me, please.

– Madam, you can, if you trust us, leave your son with us. Let him stay in our house until you return. We are only glad to have such a guest!

“ – I can’t abuse your kindness,” the woman said.

– On the contrary, you will do us a great honor. My daughter and I have just received the news that the visit we were waiting for has been canceled, and we are very upset. If you entrust your son to us and leave him, you will please my daughter with this. There are no injuries, he is conscious, let him stay with us and then I will go for a doctor who will examine him. If you are really in a hurry, leave it, and I assure you, your son will not meet such a kind attitude anywhere.

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