Текст книги "Спасти Кощея"

Автор книги: Ангелина Крихели

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But this doesn’t change anything, Hope thought. If he wanted to hurt her somehow, he’d certainly do so. But he didn’t do anything like that. Moreover, he wasn’t as greedy as described in fairy-tales, caring only about his gold. Rather on the contrary. The plates whispered to her with trust that every day he made the brew for Gorynych himself. And, although he was constantly grumbling, he still cared about his friend. And he was such a great artist! How could such a wizard be evil?

However, Hope backed away slowly to the door by instinct. It would be funny (after all, even scarier, according to the fairy-tales, Gorynych stood there), if she wasn’t really scared at that moment.

She felt her back bumping into something. There was nowhere to hide. The girl exclaimed «oh» and turned frozen with horror, afraid to move. But it seemed that Koschei was no more interested in her. He kept on moving towards her. Hope looked around unwittingly and saw that the object she had bumped into was nothing but a mirror.

Once polished smooth surface of the mirror was framed with a carved wooden frame and covered with dust. It stood on quaint curled legs, proudly sticking out the handles one could carry the mirror with. But it stayed untouched for a long time. This could be seen by a layer of dust and an angry Koschei’s look over Hope’s head. But should you blame the mirror if the reflection is not to your liking?..

The girl was viewing delightedly the incredibly sophisticated, refined figures of forest inhabitants carved from wood. She carefully touched the frame with her hand, keeping at respectful distance as if afraid to harm a vintage, though inanimate object.   

But not only the woodcarver and mirror maker’s mastership amazed her – there was another thing. While Koschei was coming behind her back, she saw in the mirror not his reflection, but a young and handsome, like her father in old photocards, man. 

The girl frowned in confusion. Does the mirror lie for some reason or, vice versa, reflects the truth? She wondered, how old was Koschei? Do the immortals get old? Then why do they need immortality?

And why is he so angry with the mirror, if it reflects a handsome man? Or is it unrealizability that irritates him?

Hope remembered how her neighbor, an old woman, was constantly lamenting, if she had been immortal, she would have stayed young forever.  And how much this old woman was scared of every new gray hair.

– Dad, why is our neighbor so scared of grey hair? When I grow older, will I be scared of it too?  – a curious girl once asked, climbing on her father’s lap. Stained with brand-new paints for drawing, the girl cuddled up to the parent, as she knew it is always warm and cozy in his arms. 

The father sighed heavily.

– My little Hope, this woman is not scared of hair, she is scared of time and clock that is ticking in her thatch and paints it grey, just like you do with your brush. This is how clock hands mark their territory.

– But why is she scared of time? Is it so terrible? – the girl huddled up against her father, imagining the time as a living being that wishes to harm.

– It depends, – the father chuckled thoughtfully, running his hand down the daughter’s petite shoulders comforting. – For many, time is not enough. Just like for you when drawing.

– But this woman doesn’t draw! – the baby exclaimed in a fit of anger, since she understood the father’s response in her own way. – She does nothing but sit on a bench and nibble sunflower seeds!

– Nobody has enough time when it comes to some own purposes, don’t be so eager to judge. Better have a look at your mom, she isn’t scared of time at all…

The early childhood memories crossed Hope’s mind and fade away, leaving a strange taste and anxiety.

Chapter 5

– What a miracle! – the girl exclaimed, looking at Koschei’s reflection.  The curiosity got the best of her, leaving the fear behind, and the girl asked bravely. – Is this also a magic mirror?

Koschei stopped, shifting his gaze in astonishment from the mirror, where he saw a freak, at the girl who was peering at him as at something strange and glancing at the mirror occasionally.

– A simple mirror, – Koschei finally grumbled, casting a glance at the mirror once again.

– Not at all! – Hope persisted. – There, – she waved her hand towards the mirror, – and here, – she pointed at Koschei, – are two different people!

Gorynych looked in surprise at the mirror with his three heads, each after each, because he couldn’t fit all them in a room at once. He was shuffling his feet awkwardly, hovering on the doorstep. But he could see only himself and Koschei in the mirror. Zmey-Gorynych frowned displeased, as if a toy had been taken from him.

But the brooms turned out to be much defter. They gracefully swang their twig-skirts several times, sweeping away all the piled up dust from the large man-sized mirror. The mops also got down to work right away, piping huge basins of water like they were on a deck. The last of the brooms also ran by and looked in the mirror, and saw nothing but itself. It seemed like a mirror couldn’t place in everybody at once and reflected only one object at a time.

– Are you hazing me?! – Koshei yelled and Hope got really worried that  he was running out of patience. – What other two people are you talking about! Admit, somebody sent you here! – and he bent to her viciously, throwing his clawed hand in the air.

Wait a minute. Where are the claws?!

Koschei froze in amazement and began to view hands. Terrible, long, yellowed claws disappeared, and beautiful almond-shaped nails appeared in their place. 

He didn’t believe his eyes. How could that happen? For how many decades had he seen himself as a gray, slightly hunched, clawed man? But did he really look like this or was it just the way he took himself? How did others see him?

Absolutely weakened Koschei sank into a chair, which his housemates were able to move close by the mirror. He was peering at his hands, and the others were watching him expectantly. 

– I don’t know whether you will please to hear it or not, dear Koschei, but nobody has sent me to you. I’m afraid, I got here by pure chance...

The broom was casually waltzing around the owner’s armchair, attracting everybody’s attention. Hope couldn’t drag her gaze away from such a hard worker. She wondered if that was an enchanted girl. Or are they all enchanted?

– Do I look like a villain who would imprison a living soul in an object? – Koschei raised his head up and lowered it back thoughtfully right away. In truth, what could she think about him, if for decades he had seen himself only as a monster?

Hope realized that she was thinking aloud, but she couldn’t make up the way to correct this unfortunate oversight so fast.

Eventually, the girl hit everyone with the words she didn’t expect to hear herself.

– I don’t believe that people are born evil, – she claimed. – And you don’t look like an evil person. After all, if the fairy-tales were true, I would be in a dungeon now. And where are all the beautiful and clever fairytale princesses, that were languishing in bonds? – she looked inquisitively into Koschei's eyes, trying to comprehend his behavior. – There you go! Something just isn't sitting right… – the girl thoughtfully tapped the floor with a small slipper, whipping up a layer of dust, and then sneezed. The broom and the scoop, joined by the mops and basins of water, rushed at once to clear the floor of dirt and dust, pushing the girl to the mirror. – What did you do with those beauties? – Hope demanded.

– I did nothing! – Koschei resented and everyone was surprised to see how his hair shortened and darkened magically, forming a full head of beautiful, thick chestnut curls. – They were bored with their betrothed princes, which sometimes turned out to be not only Ivans, but also fool. So they came to me for advice. And when their knights in armor showed up, we played out the kidnapping. This way they were relieved by their princes. And that’s when Gorynych and I, – Koschei smiled bitterly, – had to fight these ardent gallants back. Indeed, I couldn’t tell them that the ladies were against such attention! I mean, it might wreck somebody's life – and the wounded soul never heals easily.

For some reason, the way he said this restored Hope's image of the beauty on one of Koschei’s canvases. Who was she to him? Was she one of those princesses who were in flight from the betrothed? And where did all these fussy ladies disappear then?

– Wow… – everybody whispered admiringly. Hope was surprised with such a turn of the story. And others were surprised to notice that as soon as Koshei revealed the truth that he never told anybody, his eyelashes turned darker to match his new hair.  

Hope kept wondering why it had happened. If Koschei’s immortal, than it wasn’t time that dyed his hair and eyelashes? What then? ..

– Could you tell me, – Hope said thoughtfully, – those rooms that I haven’t seen… The princesses lived there?

– Well, they hardly ever lived here, – Koschei answered simply.

– Then where did they live? – the girl kept asking. – Or do you keep there your winner’s trophies?

– Trophies?! – Koshei asked surprisingly, and Gorynych sniffed in the doorway.

– Right! You said that the knights rushed to you on their faithful horses to recapture the betrotheds. You are stronger, you have magic, so you were the winner ...

– It's a ridiculous conclusion. It's me who was the defeated. They left with a fair assurance that I lost the battle.

– And what about the beauties?

– They fell in love with the winners. It’s a natural selection. Women always choose the strongest. And the strong often pretend to be weak. There is some wisdom in it.

– But you were rescuing them! – Hope resented with all her heart without even noticing that she began speaking less formally with the elder, that was hardly admissible.

– Oblivion is the fate of anyone who does something for others… – Koschei smiled ironically, shifting his thoughtful gaze at his faithful friend and going deeper into his distant memories. Gorynych nodded his heads in agreement. Hope looked at him. 

– Just imagine, – Gorynych drawled contentedly, enjoying the newly gained guest’s attention. – I’m flying around the territory…

Hope smiled, noting with the corner of her eye that Koshchei stopped noticing everyone around, so preoccupied he was with his thoughts. A deep wrinkle arose on his forehead – the evidence of his wisdom, talent and past troubles.

– Spreading my wings widely... – the dreamy look on his cute snout changed into another. Gorynych waved his wings at the doorstep, getting comfortable.  – The forest and lake are spreading under me, birds are making the nests, and people are nesting funnily in their houses...

Then a neighboring head interjected:

– And they dare to claim themselves as the cleverest! The top of a food chain! But they took everything from beasts and birds. Nothing new!..

Hope couldn’t not help smiling while listening to enamored with his native land Gorynych. How many of her classmates loved their city as much as he did? When did we start feeling embarrassed about loving the motherland, calling it with a capital «M»? And how many adults had she seen, who felt as much inspired when telling about flying in the sky, looking at the green spaces and blue waters? And even if they’re flying not with the help of their wings, but inside the great metal bird, the view stays the same! Gorynych needs his huge green home, it is important for him, and what about people? They’re only interested in the ultimate goal of the journey, Hope realized with bitterness. In places where birds sing differently, other fish swim in the sea, other animals  trample the ground, other flowers grow. But what make those «others» better than our own, native? On the other hand, her mother always said: «If you eat your favourite chocolate every day, you will get sick of it soon». Maybe people just need a change? But can’t you make a change without running away? So that others can enjoy these changes too, if they’re so necessary for adults ...

Getting her mind back to the talker, Hope noticed that she’d missed a good half of the story, and the third Gorynych’s head had already followed the second, telling with the same inspiration about the adventure he had with Koschei.

– ...And I fired at him! – Gorynych jumped to his feet in excitement, then hit his head on the doorway and hissed angrily at the other heads. – Couldn’t you just move a little, or what?!

They were answering something to him, but Koschei, who shook up from the noise, occupied her attention.

– Why did you quit drawing? I mean, the paintings over there are so beautiful, – the girl waved her hand towards the room where Koschei had gathered many of his amazing works.

He looked doubtingly at the young guest, but didn’t argue. He, for one, never thought much of his skill, though he knew he could hold the brush.

By that time Gorynych had calmed down, his heads were put on the floor, his paws were placed under them, and sighed dreamily. They hadn’t have a heart-to-heart talk with each other for so long. Everyone had locked himself in own grief and endured it as they could. If only they tried to support each other, maybe everything would turn out differently. But no one could know how this would end, since there are no ifs in history...

– My drawing teacher, – the girl continued, – says, that you shouldn’t give up on your talents. And if you do something great, then, you should work hard to surpass yourself.

 

Chapter 6

Koschei raised his head as soon as he heard that Hope can draw too. While earlier she was evoking his curiosity, now he was struck by this brave little girl, who understood and shared his delight of touching the canvas with a brush for the first time, putting bright colours softly and creating real paintings. The waves of sheer magic are going through you body, pouring out onto the canvas, paper or board, and forming whole, brights images. He remembered the trembling the young artist was holding one of the portraits with. It was his early work. What would she say if she saw his late ones? It became incredibly interesting and important for him to hear her opinion. But he didn’t dare to ask. It would be too harsh, too early. To trust so soon could cause new pain. 

What a catch! No, he wouldn’t send her away and let her go at all, Koschei decided. At least, until he finds out her opinion about each of his paintings. He whistled at the amount of paintings in his house silently. His heart filled with the joy of anticipation, as if thousands of butterflies spread their wings in his chest all together, flying up to the light.

But then she continued her story, making him sad again.

– But I will never draw again, – Hope said and explained. – Because I can end up anywhere. I got here, for instance, when I drew the forest.

– So you got here through the canvas? – Gorynych perked up after her words, raised his head and looked carefully at Koschei.

The girl was shifting her gaze from one fairy-tale creature to another, baffled. Koschei answered his friend:

– Yes, Gorynych, it seems like I’ve found my last canvas.

– But how? – Hope asked.

Koschei started his story, slowly recalling the most forgotten days. 

– Once one young man on a strong war horse showed up at my place with a sword and demanded that I give him all my magic. But he saw my paintings. Like those you can see in a palace. And for some reason he thought that I use them to get into the royal castles and capture the beauties. So, he stole all the pictures he could find. He also took away empty canvases, so I couldn’t create any portals. Ridiculous. And on his way home he was robbed himself by Nightingale the Robber. The paintings started to spread among forest inhabitants. It is amusing, but the author never gets such wealth as the one who got his works.

– But is it true that your canvases can really transport a person to another place? – Hope wondered, listening to the story with bated breath.

Koschei shook his head.

– Well, that’s the thing, that they can’t. But faith is a powerful tool which does all magic. And this young man believed that the power was in the paintings and convinced others. I went to a great deal of trouble to find all the paintings, except for one, so they didn’t harm anyone. Because one who doesn’t know how to handle magic, is a danger to himself and to others.

Hope realized immediately that the last painting he hadn’t found was her canvas. That's how she occured in the magic forest! But how to come back home? And how did Matvey Ivanovich get this canvas?

– And why did that young man come to you if you say that you have never captured, leveled to the ground or harmed anyone? – the girl narrowed her eyes suspiciously, taking her time to believe in Koschei’s nobility. Everything in this world is deceiving, and only the almighty time knows how to set truth straight. You just have to wait.

He nodded. Koschei decided to trust her with his most important secret, and Gorynych put his head on his paws, ready to listen.

– I was the weakest boy from the whole lake family. But the eldest. So I had to watch the gateway when I grew up.

– What type of gateway? – Hope asked immediately.

– The gateway to the underworld. It’s a family tradition...

– Wait a minute! What do you mean, to the underworld?!

– There are so many different worlds… This is only one of them, – the interlocutor was evasive, answering the question. Hope understood that it was useless to insist, and she didn’t say anything, although her head was already filled with dozens of questions.

– I was often sick, – Koschei returned to the interrupted theme. – And nobody wanted to be friends with me. Nobody played with me. I wasn’t handsome or obedient, so I had no friends. But for Gorynych, of course.  With him, we have been friends since childhood. But he frequently flew away somewhere, and I was left alone. The forest inhabitants, who were the same age, often teased me and I quited trying to make friends with them. I started getting angry, offended. I drew more and played less with them. But then I suddenly realized that anger had made me stronger than others. I liked that I could be stronger than those who offended me... – he confessed, sneaking a peek at Hope. Contrary to the fears he had, the girl didn’t jump out of the armchair or ran away in disgust to his confession. He couldn’t observe his transformation while he was opening his mind, and he didn’t know how hard she wanted to see that handsome man not in the mirror, but in front of her. 

– I was angry, – Koschei kept telling his story, – and I fought. I fought with my offenders and started to win more and more often. I became feared. Both they and the village boys, that used to come and laugh at me, got scared of me. They saw that I won many times due to my magic and anger, so they couldn’t handle me with their fists or magic. And then they came up with another idea. They were looking for those who could handle me. They were telling every ready to listen person about my terrible temper. They were telling how cruel I am. And eventually, even I believed them. Why waste time and persuade someone if you can just meet others’ expectations? I believed even more, especially in those moments, when the next passing by hero knocked at my door, holding the sword in his hands, without trying to figure out the truth.

– Poor thing… – Hope whispered and Koschei shivered. No one had ever felt sorry for him. And he didn’t know how to take this and what to say her. So he just continued the story.

– And when I was determined to tell somebody the truth, they laughed at me and decided that I was fooling them, cheating on them, stringing them along… – Koschei said sadly and stopped speaking, lowering his head.

– It’s so good that I appeared here… – Hope muttered. – Now I will always take my time before believe somebody. I’d better ask the person people are talking about whether it’s truth or not.

The houseowner looked closer at the girl. She was speaking from her heart.

– And what if, – Koschei assumed timidly, – you appeared here so I could tell you all these things?

The girl frowned, then smiled, lighting up everyone around her with joy.

– Mission «Save Koschei»? Well, I like it… – she murmured pleasantly, but then grew gloomy suddenly. – But who will save me now? Because I have to return home by all means.

Koschei shifted his gaze to the brushes he thrown to the far corner of the room. And he faced his reflection. Now he also saw a handsome young man, as Hope did. 

It seemed that the truth made it possible to stop accumulating anger and get rid of the heavy burden of guilt, offences and pain, which made him much older and disfigured ahead of time. And then he realized he must certainly let this brave girl go. But he won’t take the magic canvas from her, so she can always return, if she wants. But will she ever want to ...?

Chapter 7

He took the brushes and derived the blank canvas straight from the air with a flick of his hand. His friend Gorynych stared at him with amazement as well as the others. Everyone kept quiet, afraid to ruin such a happy moment for Koschei. Nobody had ever put him on the first place or tried to understand and support him. He thought about those who needed help more than he did. He remembered Baba Yaga. Her golden braid. She also was a wonderful friend, like the faithful Gorynych. But he had no idea how to help her.

Finally, the painting was finished. Hope expected to see the forest, but instead she saw her own room. The girl didn’t even ask how he knew about it. After all, he is a wizard! And what’s most important, now she could come back home.

Saying goodbye, Hope and Koschei thanked each other. After all, he helped her to believe that miracles happen and fairy-tales are much closer than they seem. Hope helped him to become much better than he could imagine, she found the light in him. Gorynych was sobbing quietly, standing by the canvas. He gently squeezed the girl in his arms and hadn’t let her go for a long time, as he didn’t want to part. Finally, he stepped aside and waved goodbye with his wing.

As soon as she touched the painting and returned home, Koschei’s overjoyed housemates got to cleaning up the house. Because they had found hope now. However, Hope couldn’t see that.

The girl got down to her lessons, afraid to tell her parents what happened to her. She wouldn’t believe herself if she hadn’t seen this with her own eyes.

Maths was especially difficult for her, and the numbers stubbornly didn’t want to add up. Instead, she was thinking about Gorynych, Koschei, dancing brooms and other wonders.

Suddenly a little crow fluttered straight out from the painting of the forest. It was carrying a too great weight in its beak – a big white envelope. It awkwardly landed on the table and reached for the girl to take the letter. Hope stroked the bird cautiously and laughed at herself – if she wasn’t scared of Gorynych, the crow is the last thing to be scared of!..

The letter was from Koschei. He begged her tearfully to help him to deal with a magic mirror and save «his wonderful Baba Yaga».

Hope read the letter several times and sighed heavily. Well, how could she abandon her newfound friend, who had suffered so much?..

Once again during this endless day the girl stubbornly stuck her chin out and got to writing a reply on a sheet of paper she took out of her school notebook.

«Dear Koschei!» – she wrote and paused to think.

«I have received your letter. I understand your concerns», – Hope paused again. As a matter of fact, she couldn’t imagine Baba Yaga needing someone’s help. She never seemed miserable. On the other hand, she would never think so of Koschei neither. Moreover, it was her friend’s favour.

She took a minute and continued her writing: «I promise to come as soon as I can. Give Gorynych a hug for me and remind him of a diet, Hope».

Hope folded the paper, put it in an envelope and gave it to the crow, which fluttered and disappeared in a magic canvas, like it never was here.

She turned out the light as she realized that she wasn’t able to wade through the lessons now, and climbed into the soft warm bed.

Perhaps it was just a dream. And tomorrow memories of this day will cause only a smile. She gave a soft yawn and fell asleep immediately,   exhausted with the events of such a strange, but light day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Epilogue

They say that true love and sincere care can cure any ailment. But anger is not less powerful and can cause these ailments in a human.

Each of us outside is the same as inside. This is our mirror. Look at your reflection. What do you see there? A kind smile or an evil grin?

The fundamental evil cannot be found somewhere or other, because it is in each of us. And this is our main obstacle on the way to kindness and happiness. Well, let your true friends accompany you along the road to the light, and then everything will definitely work out for you!

Sincerely yours,

Author

 

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