Читать книгу Time Jumps. The Paradigm of Immortality - Владимир Баранчиков - Страница 8

Peter took a deep drag on his cigarette, then carefully squeezed Dasha’s fragile wrist with his fingers, as if he was afraid of losing it, and began to tell about the strange find and his recent adventures. From time to time he stopped, catching his breath and choosing the right words, and looked at her – an unearthly, fatal woman, without whom he could no longer imagine his life. Daria listened attentively without interrupting, but the emotions that overwhelmed her were clearly reflected on her face: the pink skin of her face turned pale, then turned purple, her breathing changed its rhythm, her eyes expressed the whole palette of emotions: from delight to anger, from surprise to fright. Even watching her pleased and amazed, and the spontaneity of the expression of feelings was captivating: the sincerity and naivety of the child was clearly manifested in her. When the monologue came to the end, Peter took a deep breath and added almost plaintively:

– Dasha, I still don’t understand a lot myself. Help me figure this out…

Daria did not answer immediately. Her face lost its serenity, suddenly became thoughtful and serious. She gently released her hand, wanting to remain free, unfettered by anything. For a few seconds in complete silence, she stared at one point, pondering the decision, then she took the bottle and resolutely splashed alcohol into the glasses, after which she said in a low, muffled voice, wearily:

– Petya, your choice has already been made, you are the master of your magic machine, and you are its slave. I believe you and am ready to help in any situation. I hope I’ve already helped you in some way, – she smiled a little slyly. – But now I’m not ready to give a definitive answer. And therefore, let’s leave everything as it is for now. Isn’t that enough for today?

– Dasha, it’s so much that neither my soul nor my mind can contain it all, – Peter sincerely exclaimed, resolutely took the poured amber drink from the table, almost spilling it, and carefully put the glass into her warm fingers, squeezing them with his palm. – Let’s drink to the holiday that is with us today.

Daria moved closer to him, stroked his coarse hair and said:

– So be it!

Soon they will get to know each other again, discovering previously unknown feelings and sensations, the taste of sweetness, the tenderness of intercourse, the pain of attraction and the aroma of fire.

Dasha’s cell phone rang with a nasty chirp at nine in the morning. It seemed that the devil’s hammers were pounding insistently in Peter’s ears, preventing him from falling into a blissful sleep again. A new day was beginning, but he could not clearly reconstruct the events of the last few hours. He only remembered that in the twilight their bodies were intertwined, then repelled from each other, simple words suddenly acquired the significance of eternal truths, semantic accents shifted, sharpening the senses. Fragments of dreams and memories flowed into a jumble of sounds and images in which it was no longer possible to distinguish reality from fantasy. Wanting to free himself from the shackles of Morpheus, Kalinkin threw off the blanket and abruptly stood up, unceremoniously showing his beloved’s naked body to two budgies in a cage. The parrots immediately perked up, clicked and whistled, vying with each other to express their admiration for the picture that opened before them, like true connoisseurs of the nude style.

– It’s good that they covered the cage with a rag before going to bed: they would have seen something else, – Peter thought ironically, trying to calm his headache.

In the falling morning light, Daria really looked damn tempting, like an awakening Aurora. The ideal of female beauty suddenly showed signs of life and moaned softly, mentally begging the sky for mercy – she didn’t want to wake up after a stormy night. Like it or not, it’s time to come to your senses and brush your feathers…

At night, Peter, like a true gentleman, solemnly declared:

– I agree with your choice in advance. Decide!

– With anyone?

– Of course!

– Well, what do you think: in the future or the past? – Daria still didn’t want to go against his wishes. But Peter confirmed the original: decide for yourself!

Sleepless and slightly intoxicated, they did not approach, but gently floated to the door of the store, just in time for the opening of the local miracle shop. Daria was the first to pass, and Peter, after briefly trampling on the street, joined the crowd of customers and crossed the threshold of the trading floor. Their plan in theory was simple: to sneak unnoticed into the warehouse, close the door of the barrel, press the cherished button and fly away from here to this very mother. The second point of the plan was to take care of Grunya and Borya in advance, the birds sitting in the cage. This was an indispensable condition for Dasha when planning a trip, which they discussed in between, which is very attractive to erotomaniacs. Daria managed to negotiate with her girlfriend in the morning, who promised to visit her house and feed the winged ones, so the feathered issue was already resolved, and there was only one thing left: to break through to the goal – an iron barrel.

Half an hour later, as soon as it became possible, Daria asked a colleague to replace her for a minute behind the counter, and she rushed to the back room, Peter followed her. We went in, closed the door and began to look for the unit: thank God, on the spot! Their hearts were pounding with excitement. Daria looked hopefully at Peter, and he winked at her and abruptly slammed the lid of the barrel, but the long – awaited click did not follow – the time machine did not start… Thinking took only a few moments:

– Dasha, batteries!

– How much?

– Six pieces!

She quickly looked around the shelves, found a box with batteries, deftly took out the right package from it and gave it to Peter. Peter quickly replaced the old batteries with new ones. Before closing the lid, he looked back at Daria and asked:

– Do you believe in miracles? – and, seeing the tense expectation in her eyes, he admonished her before slamming the lid: – Go ahead, my love!

The inner lock clanged like a magic chord, and immediately a low vibrating sound began to press on the ears. Peter smiled encouragingly at his beloved, who was watching the mysterious device. Before her eyes, the iron barrel gradually melted into the air and disappeared, a small orange ball appeared instead, which began to grow rapidly and turned into the throne of the lord of space and a wanderer in time: a comfortable, large armchair with a hood and a wide stand with a screen. Daria ran up to Peter and hung on his neck for joy. Peter hugged her, then gently sat her down in a chair, and he settled down next to her.

The opportunity to look into the mysterious tomorrow, to witness the upcoming events, certainly intrigued the girl, but the past centuries, the refined French aristocratic society attracted her more. An era of glory for France… Even in her youth, standing in front of a mirror, she dreamed of herself as Queen Margot or Lady Winter. She was able to evaluate the intelligence, beauty and influence in the society of these bright historical figures from books, and the outfits shown in the films, palace splendor and luxury completed the picture that beckoned like a magnet. But can she be blamed for this – many girls dream of the same! Peter looked questioningly at Daria, and she, encouraged by his gaze, reached for the “Past” button.

– “Time” – July 15, 1663.

– “Place” – France, Versailles, the palace of King Louis XIV.

– A royal choice, – commented Peter: even in such a situation, he did not lose his sense of humor. After answering the questions, the travelers saw a warning highlighted in red on the screen:

– “Attention! In order to avoid a dangerous situation, the return is activated at any moment of the journey by the command “I want to go back”…

Daria shivered from nervous tension. Peter felt her condition and hugged her tightly by the shoulders. Suddenly, the door leading to the trading floor opened, and a lady administrator appeared on the threshold, attracted by a suspicious noise in the warehouse. When she saw the couple sitting in the chair, she only had time to ask:

– What are you doing here?

But they didn’t hear her anymore: time and space disappeared, absorbing them together with the mysterious apparatus.