Текст книги "Rescue of Araklia"

Автор книги: Игорь Княгницкий

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 1 (всего у книги 4 страниц)

Игорь Княгницкий
Rescue of Araklia

Chapter 1

– That country was under angel Eraqel`s protection. His beauty can`t be described in words. The flapping of his wings brought people fresh winds from the south, the light emitted by him gave warmth and joy of life, his breath brought new life.

– Grandma, grandma. Is it true that every person has a guardian angel?

– Of course honey.

– So, why have I never seen him?

– Alice, the angels are invisible. That`s why you haven`t seen him.

– Invisible… – the granddaughter thought about it – So they don't exist?

– It`s not like that. People can`t see everything, but it`s doesn`t mean, that it`s not there. You definitely have one – Alice's grandmother smiled, and after a short pause she continued – Okay, my child, go to sleep, it's late. You have to get up early tomorrow for school.

– Grandma, please – the granddaughter said sadly – Tell me more about Eraqel.

– I've told you that fairytale many times before. I think you would have memorized it by now.

– Yes, but I love angels so much – Alice smiled – And Eraqel in particular.

– Honey, you should sleep now. We'll continue from the same place tomorrow, okay?

– Okay. Good night.

– Have a good dreams, my sunshine.

Seven-year-old Alice lived in a small village forty minutes away from the city with her mother and grandmother. Alice's mother worked on a local farm, her grandmother did the housework and taking care beloved granddaughter. Alice just started elementary school. Alice`s father is missed. One day he went to work and disappeared. Alice only knew about her father from what grandmother was told and the pictures she showed.

– Alice! – Grandma called out for her.

– Grandma! – The girl exclaimed enthusiastically, when she saw the old woman as she passed through the gate of the school.

– How are you, my dear? How was school?

– Well… The teacher made us write letters. And we added and subtracted numbers.

– I see. But it would be more correct to say “we learned addition and subtraction”.

– Hmm… – Alice said, – All right.

– Do you want some yummy food? – Grandma asked with a smile.

– Of course! – The girl answered with lit up eyes, watching as the grandmother reach into the bag – Ice cream! You are the best grandmother in the world!

Alice threw her arms around her neck, hugged her, and kissed her. Grandmother smiled.

– And you are the best granddaughter. Well, do you want to walk for a while?

– Of course! – Alice answered with a smile, unwrapping the ice cream – It's so warm today! I don't wanna go home at all!

– Yes, honey. Such a warm May this year. It's just amazing.

The school was right next to their house. About ten-minutes walk. But there was another road leading to the school, which took more than half an hour. The road ran away from the residential buildings of their village, alternating with small forest edges. About halfway there was a small lake. On the one side of it was a gentle earthen shore. In the warm summer months it has many children and adults who came here to sunbathe and swim. The other side, vice versa, was steep. It was always possible to see the village fishermen, who came here in the hope of catching fresh fish for frying or fish soup.

The warm May breeze and the gentle rays of the sun were more than ever conducive to a walk. So the grandmother took her granddaughter by the county road across the lake.

– Do you want I`ll guess where we're going? – With a smile little Alice asked.

– Go ahead.

– We're going to the lake!

– That's right. We often came here to swim last summer.

– Yeah. Grandma, grandma, do you remember how Uncle Kolya caught such a huge fish?!! The girl exclaimed with admiration, spreading her arms as far apart as possible.

– Of course I remember. It was a Carp.

– Who?

– You already forgot – the grandmother smiled – That big fish that Uncle Kolya caught is called a Carp.

– Oh yes, exactly! Carp!

– That's right.

Shortly they came to the lake. Almost always when the weather was warm there were people here, so they were not surprised to see several families with children sitting comfortably on a picnic. Choosing a dry and clean plot of land near the water, the grandmother spread out a blanket, sat down and let her granddaughter play. Alice very quickly found a common language with another girl, who was a little bit younger than she.

– Lisa Petrovna, hello! – the woman said who sitting a little bit to the right – I didn`t recognize you, you will be rich! – she smiled.

– Oh, hello Natasha. What are you talking about? – Liza Petrovna smiled – I'm already rich. Here is my “wealth” running around, along with yours.

– Yeah. You're right. Children are happiness.

– Absolute truth – she smiled, keep watching her granddaughter play.

– Well, how are you, tell me? Is everything okay? How is your health? How is your daughter Masha?

–Thank God, we are good for now. Thank you for asking. Masha works a lot. The pension benefit is too small, you know that. And we don't have a breadwinner. So she has to. And I'm with Alice all the time.

– Yeah. I understand – the interlocutor answered slowly – How is the search for Dmitrii Sergeyevich going? Is it all over?

"Oh, honey. It`s “been over” for five years now. Emergency services searched for him half of the year. Every nook and cranny turned upside down. The entire village and the surrounding forests and the city. Of course it`s over. Six years have already passed.

– Yes, I understand… – Natasha answered sadly – However it's strange. He just disappeared, for no reason at all. Our places are quiet and peaceful. It is some kind of mysticism.

– Yes, Natasha. You picked the right word. Mysticism.

As time went on. Lisa spent all her time with her granddaughter, and only on weekends could she take a little break from her excessive attention, when her mother could be with her. After all, a seven-year-old child, constantly jumping, running and asking a million questions every day, took a lot of energy. Alice was a very energetic girl and even an adult would not be easy to follow her and give answers to all her questions. Life was calm and measured, and it seemed that nothing foreshadowed trouble, but suddenly, Alice's grandmother fell ill and died a week later. Granddaughter was very worried in those days. The girl just fell into a trance. The seven-year-old kid was like a zombie. Day by day, she just sat or lay down, staring at nothing. Only occasionally would she eat or drink anything. Three days after grandmother's death, when Alice`s mother was packing her up for a school, Alice threw a fit. She didn`t want anything or anyone. She flatly refused to go to school and just wanted to be left alone. Two weeks passed, until Alice partially recovered. She was very fond of her grandmother and could not come to terms the idea that she was no longer there. So much time spent together, so many interesting stories that she managed to tell her. And the most interesting, Alice's grandmother never held a book in her hands. She told all of those tales in one breath. Like all these colorful stories she once experienced herself. At least, that's what Alice thought.

11 years later.

Alice was lying on her soft bed, reading a fantasy novel. Her thick golden hair was “scattered” all over the bed and the rich blue eyes ran from the left to the right along the lines, trying to finish reading the most interesting things as quickly as possible. But soon, quite unexpectedly, her mother came into her room.

– Alice, what do you think?

– Regarding?

– Oh, come on! Tomorrow is your birthday, your coming of age. I think it should be celebrated in a special way!

– Hmmm. Honestly, I don't know – Alice drawled – I have not paid much thought to it.

– Let`s invite your friends and have a girls-party? We could invite Uncle Kolya, our neighbor. He plays guitar very well. I bet, it`s will be cool party! – Mother smiled.

– No, Mom. No need. I'll just stay with you and read a book.

– Oh baby, I don't understand you at all, – mother drawled in confusion – You should have fun, you should find a groom for yourself, but you are deep inside in your books… soaring in some clouds. I don`t mean to sound morbid, but after all, youth is once in a lifetime.

– Mom, it's fine. Why I should do something I don't like? Better to do something you really want.

– Well, as you say.

Alice asked her mother didn`t cook anything special or give her any gifts, but Alice`s mom could not leave the day of her daughter's eighteenth birthday without attention. So the next day, when Alice returned from the university, she was immediately invited to the table with treats.

– Oh, Mom, come on. I asked you…

– Honey, I don't want to hear anything. Eighteen years comes once in your life, so help yourself. I took a day off today for you.

Alice came home from the university hungry, so she ate the treats which her mom cooked up on both cheeks. Watching with what appetite the daughter ate the meat, baked under potatoes, at the same time throwing a salad of fresh vegetables into her mouth, Katya suddenly remembered the day when Alice turned six months old. That evening, Katya wanted to arrange a small celebration dinner and modestly celebrate this date together with her husband, who for some reason didn`t return from work for a very long time.

His schedule was always stable, a five-day work week, from eight to five, and he always was at home by six-thirty at the latest. But something went wrong today. When it was seven o'clock in the evening, Katya didn't give it much thought. “Well, maybe there was an accident somewhere on the road, and the bus got stuck in traffic” or “maybe he stopped at a couple of shops on the way back home”, she thought. But when it was eight o'clock and he still wasn't there, she immediately dialed his number. She heard the beeps, but he didn't pick up the phone. Katya started calling relatives and friends, but none of them knew where her husband might be.

Six months ago, after Alice was born, Dima has changed. Very often he was depressed. He became more taciturn. Constantly thinking about something, and getting more and more self-absorbed. And Katya, of course, saw it. She often tried to bring him into a frankness conversation, so that he would share with her what was eating him. But Dima always answered “everything is fine”. But Katya understood, that her husband “wasn`t all right” at all. Yes, the economic situation in the country left much to be desired, but Dima was a physicist who worked in a private laboratory, and they had enough money to live on. Yes, little Alice was often ill and cried. She woke up several times during the night, and Katya couldn`t calm her down for a long time. And Dima, of course, went to work completely without getting enough sleep. She knew it was hard for him, but she hoped he understands it was hard for her as well. Katya had to take care of the baby, and entire housework was completely on her shoulders.

Katya didn`t think all this things was critical for their new family. Everyone goes through it. But most of all, with regard to his current behavior, she was concerned about what Dima had once told her. Long before Alice was born, when they started dating, they had a conversation about children. Then Katya asked him: “Who would you like to have in the future, a boy or a girl?” Dima answered unequivocally: “The boy”. Then Katya asked: “What if it's a girl? Won't you love her”? “Of course I will – Dima replied, with not really sincerely smile – “but I hope you will birth me a son”. Katya pushed this thought away as best as she could. The thought that he didn`t love his daughter and might be he don`t need such a family at all, filled her with wild horror! She just didn't believe it. Dima was a very good person. He didn't drink or smoke. He was intelligent, polite, tactful, honest, fair, and made enough money with his own mind. But sometimes we don`t know those with whom, as it seems at the first view, we can live a long and happy life.

When it was ten minutes to nine, Katya thought, “If he doesn't show up at nine, I'll call the police”. But he didn't show up. And she was about to dial the emergency number, but her daughter suddenly woke up and confused her plans. Katya changed Alice's pampers, feed her, and put her back to bed. And when she picked up the phone again, she heard like the gate clank outside and a man's figure past the windows staggering walk. Katya was waiting for him at the front door and when he entered, she was shocked by what she saw. He was drunk! Carelessly “hanging” his jacket on a hanger, which a second later fell to the floor, he silently went into the living room, put a bag with several bottles of beer on the table, took out a glass and poured himself a full one. The beer that had been shaken up on the way immediately frothed, and part of the glass immediately was on the table.

– Dima, what's going on?! – Katya asked in complete bewilderment.

– I drink beer! What is not clear?! – He answered loudly.

– Keep your voice down, I just put Alice to bed. What do you mean, “I drink beer”? You don`t drink at all, do you?

– Well, now I'll drink.

Katya just stood in a stupor, not even knowing what to say to this. Dima was practically a non-drinker person. For five years, he drank, well, maybe two or three shots of vodka on some big holidays and Katya offered it to him herself.

– I have a wonderful life, – he chuckled – and it's getting even more wonderful! So why not have a drink?

– What kind of sarcasm is that? What happened? Can you explain?

– I don't want to explain anything. Leave me. I want to be alone – he said, sipping his beer.

– Oh no my dear! Go ahead and explain to me what a hell is going on? I have a six-month-old child in my arms that requires constant attention. Plus the garden and the housework are also on my shoulders. I don't need an alcoholic in the house.

– Oh, come on! Stop it please. You'd think I'd sit at home all days and spit at the ceiling!

– I didn`t say that. I just want to know, why did you suddenly decide to get drunk?

– Why, why… I told you I have a great life, so I decided to celebrate.

– What is the sarcasm again? What's the matter, Dima? What's wrong with our life? Everything was good, isn't it? You've got a good job, we've got loan in the bank and bought a house, we've had our baby we wanted.

– You wanted to… – he said in a low voice.

– Excuse me?

– Nothing. Go to sleep.

– I didn't catch it. What did you just said?

– I said I don't work in “Vega Technologies” anymore.

Katya perfectly well heard what Dima said, but the news that he had lost his job shocked her no less than what was he said earlier.

– No, that's not what you said. Repeat it! Don`t be like a woman, be a man!

– Like a woman!!?? – He screamed, jumped out from his chair – I'm sick of this damn life, you got it? I'm a scientist! Physicist! But I`m earning pennies! Besides, that scoundrel Albert! I want a car run over him somewhere! He just a spoiled son of a rich dad! He doesn't need the lab and our research. His father died a couple of days ago, and what do you think? He's selling the lab and dismisses all the scientists. Scumbag! Just like that, he manages of other people's destinies, without even imagining what consequences people may have.

After this emotional speech, Katya immediately heard Alice crying in the next room.

– I asked you speak quietly. Now you woke her up. Okay, don't worry. You're a sought-after scientist and you'll have no problem finding another job, so…

– I don't need another job. I'm sick of everything! – Dima interrupted.

– Are you fool? – Katya was indignant – We have a small child in our arms, who needs to be fed and clothed!

– I've always felt myself like out of place – he muttered, sipping his beer again – I could rule the whole world…

– Oh my god! Enough! You're saying bullshit. I don't even want to listen. Go to sleep. Tomorrow you'll sober up and then we'll talk.

The next morning, Dima went to work closer to lunch. He is really no longer worked in “Vega Technologies”, as well as many other physics scientists. He just had to go to the HR department, sign the papers about dismissal by his own will, and collect the payment. It shouldn't have taken long time, just about two or three hours. Therefore Katya was waiting for him at home not later than four o'clock in the afternoon. But he didn't come. Not this day, not the next. Katya announced a wanted list.

Soon it became known that he did not come to work that day. As a result of interviews with the villagers, it was established that some man, around eleven o'clock in the morning, went in the direction of the forest. An active search began. But after six months, they were discontinued. The official report, which was issued to Katya when the case was closed, was marked “missing person”.

Very soon Alice noticed her mother's deep thought and hurried to ask her what she is thinking about:

– Mom, are you okay? You look so pensive – Alice asked with a smile.

– Yes, everything is fine baby. I just remembered something. Well, never mind. By the way, I have a present for you. Wait a second, I'll be right back.

Katya left the room, and in a minute later returned with a parcel in her hand.

– Mom, are you kidding?! – with a full mouth, Alice mumbled, and after chewing continued – We are not so rich. How can you afford this gift?

– Calm down, I didn't spend any money and it's not really my gift.

Alice looked at her mother questioningly, waiting for her to continue.

– You know, when my grandmother died…

– Mom, please don't! – Alice cut her off – Don't talk about grandmother now.

– No darling, just listen. I know how much you loved her and she loved you the same. So, when she was dying she gave me this – she picked up the bundle from her lap and slowly began to unfold an old, dusty rag – She made me promise that I would give it to you on your eighteenth birthday.

Alice saw an old wooden box, covered with copper. The lid was engraved with a design of two spread wide wings. The border was stamped with symbols which is look like letters in some unknown language. Also, there was a hole for the key, but most of all Alice was interested in the verse that was written on the bottom of the box.

“Just light and wings in right position,”

“Will tell the truth about that,”

“Where does the sleeping Ont still keeping,”

“An oldest secret for all time”

After turning the box several times her hands, Alice asked:

– What about a key?

– I wouldn't mind opening it by myself and take a look what's inside, but your grandmother didn't give me anything else. And to exactly the same question about the key, she said: "Just give it to Alice”

– Hmmm – the girl mumbled and stood up – Okay, Mom, thank you for the treat. I'll go sit outside and explore my unusual gift, maybe find a way how to open it – she said.

– Yes, of course, darling.

The mother noticed Alice`s eyes light up when she picked up the box. Her daughter always has been attracted to various old things, myths about fantastic creatures from other worlds, and so on. Alice, without exaggeration, was taken deep inside into the Fantasy books stories. And every time, every new story Alice experienced by herself, like it was in reality. She had probably read more than five dozen books by now, and if the room of the average girl of eighteen years was a room with soft toys and beautiful posters of movie characters, then Alice's room it was books, books, books.

Chapter 2

– Grandma, Grandma, take a look I found it! – Alice exclaimed.

– Well, let me see – grandmother said, coming closer – Well done baby, this is White mushroom. Carefully cut off the leg and put it in the basket.

– Yes, of course.

Little by little, their baskets were filled with mushrooms and gradually they went deeper into the forest. Anyone who didn't know the area well enough could easily get lost in such a big forest, but not Alice's grandmother. She knew this forest as well as if it were her second home.

Shortly, they came to a small glade. In the center of it was a massive oak tree. The massive trunk of this tree couldn`t be wrap around even by ten people. The branches going very high up and the crowns fell ten meters away so they touched the firs and larches growing nearby. Alice exclaimed again:

– Grandma, take a look! Wow! What a huge tree! I've never seen like this before.

– Yes, baby, I know. But it's not only a big tree.

– Really? – Alice looked inquiringly.

– Yes my dear. This is the oldest oak tree in our forest. He is the master of the forest. In ancient legends, they are also called Onts.

– Onts? Hmmm – Alice drawled thoughtfully – And how do you know so much?

– Well honey, I'm already old, I've lived a lot and seen a lot. That's why I know.

– Onts. Hmm. I like it! – The girl smiled – Just like in my favorite fairy tale about Eraqel.

– That's right, my dear.

***

When Alice woke up, she immediately grabbed the box which was right next to her bedside table and began to study that short verse again. The girl realized that the dream she had was not an accident. And the mighty oak tree which still stands in the woods near their village is most likely the same “sleeping Ont” who keeps the secret. That was a secret she had to solve.

Being an absolutely diligent student, Alice never skipped classes at the university. She always did all her home tasks and actively answered questions in the classroom. But not today. Today, she had completely forgotten about everything in the world. Quickly jumping into her jeans, putting on a jumper and jacket, Alice put a bun in her mouth and ran into the woods.

Many years have passed when Alice last time was in this forest. And even more since that days when she and her grandmother went here to collect mushrooms and berries. So she had to spend at least two hours before she came to the glade with the oak tree.

The first thing which caught her eyes were the leaves. It was fall, the end of September. Deciduous trees actively yellowed and dropped the leaves, but not that ancient giant. The leaves were rich green color, like it was not September but May, and it wasn`t even going to indulge for a long winter sleep. It seemed it will stand here all winter, spreading it`s mighty green branches, in the middle of the snowy desert.

Alice sat down on the grass a few meters away from the tree and began to learn that verse again. Now she was interested in the first line. What kind of light? What kind of wings? And what is the “right position”? What does the author mean by the word “right position”? The right position regarding to what? How can all this things point to the truth?

Because of long and hard thinking Alice began to feel a little headache. She put the box aside and lay down on the grass. The sun disappeared behind the clouds. “Oh, come on… I don`t need a rain now! Well, Grandma… you left me such a hard puzzle” – the girl thought to herself.

After a while, the sun came out again, but still it was a little dark around the oak. It`s crowns were so curly so they almost didn`t let the light in. Alice continued to think about the puzzle and realized – she had only one “wings” which the verse was talking about. Those which were engraved on the box. She got up to take a look on them again, and the next moment she saw something what made her shiver slightly.

A small ray of light, shining through the curly oak leaves, fell down exactly in the middle of the picture, and the wing, which was to the right start shining, like bright light bulb was under it. Alice began manipulating the box. Without moving, she turned it thirty degrees to the right, then sixty degrees to the left, turning clockwise and counterclockwise… No special changes occurred. Every time, the wing which was on the right side has glowed. “What if…” – thought Alice and moved the box in that way so the beam fell down not in the center, but on the left wing. Something changed. The wing began glows more brightly, but not more than that. Alice put her hands to her face: “Oh my God, what am I doing wrong? How else should I turn it, damn it!”

But when she took her hands away from her face and looked at the box again, she immediately froze in a daze. The wings are glowed like they were made of gold by soft yellow light, and from the right wing there was a beam which is pointed somewhere at the trunk of the oak tree.

“So I did everything right! All I had to do just wait for a while. I did good, I did good, I did good!” – Alice repeated to herself, and without wasting a second, she ran to the spot on the tree where the beam of light was pointing. The bright spot on the oak's bark shimmered like it was not a wood at all, but some kind of mother-of-pearl stone. Alice pressed it by her finger. The tree bark moved a little bit inside and then just below this point, another piece of bark fell off the oak trunk and fell down to the ground. The girl looked in that place and saw a small recess, which has a small key. Without a long time thinking regarding purpose of it, she picked up the box and inserted the key in the lock. A light click and the box has been opened. Alice opened the lid and saw a small recess, which has another key. Medium-sized, wooden, with the same symbol of two wings carved on the handle.

“Oh, come on… I solved the puzzle and fond the key of another key but a little bit bigger?! Well, grandma, you have a lot of secrets around” However, she wasn`t upset at all by this discovery, but rather even more excited, because now she had to find out what this new key opens. Put it back in the box and shove it into the pocket of her jacket, she set off on her way back.