Apricots ripened in my grandmother's garden.
“Here I give you everything with me,” she rejoiced, “both compotes and jams.
- Will you cook your branded one for us too? I asked.
- For you, granddaughter, by all means.
Babushkino apricot jam was special. Whole apricots floated in the thick, amber and surprisingly fragrant syrup. Instead of a stone, each contained a shelled seed. At home, my mother hid this jam somewhere in a secret place and put it on the table only on holidays. Those who have tried it at least once, always looked forward to dessert. Others were surprised, praised and asked for the recipe. Mom just laughed in response.
“I don’t even know how to cook it myself.
When I imagined how I would surprise and please my family by saying that I knew a family secret, I literally hung around my grandmother’s neck:
- Teach me! Oh please! I will try very, very hard! Will you teach?
She nodded back and smiled.
Let's see what you can do.
I thought that my grandmother would immediately call me to the kitchen. And we will start to conjure with her there. But instead, she handed me two large enameled buckets:
- Go to the garden. Meet him in his fruitful glory. Here you will put selected whole fruits. Here - crumpled.
I didn't dare to argue with her. She just made a sour face, showing her extreme displeasure with her whole appearance.
With with great difficulty I mastered these two buckets. Some apricots had to be picked underfoot. Remove others from the branches. In the end, I was so tired that I began to call my grandmother for help. She came right away.
The next day I woke up in complete delight: today we will begin to work miracles!
Instead, Grandma again held out two empty buckets. I didn't believe my eyes.
- How? Collect again? But I don't want that at all!
- If you don't want to, don't do it. she answered. And went to the house.
For several days I picked the already hated apricots. But they didn’t let me into the kitchen, which smelled amazing smells.
Why, grandma?
- If you want to learn something - think about it.
I thought all day.
She went out into the garden and gasped. The sun had not yet fully risen, but its first rays were already shimmering in dewdrops. The apricot trees, which I had almost treated as enemies only yesterday, were fabulous! They shone and sparkled with a reddish summer glow. And they smelled.
I picked one apricot. For a moment it seemed that I was holding in my hands a miraculously materialized sunbeam. It felt wet to the touch. The taste is fragrant and very sweet.
- What, accepted "baptism"?
Grandmother! I didn't notice when she came up.
How wonderful and how beautiful!
– Now I believe that you can give people this beauty. Yagoda, she also sees a person. He will give his whole self to one. And the unfortunate cook will get the brew. Well, put on an apron!
Page 3 of 36
Chapter three. Upside down
In the future, events occurred that made Znayka completely forget about the moonstone for some time. What happened was so amazing and extraordinary that it is difficult to describe. Znaika, to put it simply, had no time to think about some kind of stone, in which, moreover, he did not see any use.
The day on which all this happened began as usual, except that Znayka, waking up, did not get up immediately, but, contrary to his rules, allowed himself to lie a little in bed. At first, he was simply too lazy to get up, and then it began to seem as if he was either in pain or dizzy. For a while he didn't know if his head hurt because he was in bed, or if he was in bed because his head hurt. Znayka, however, had her own way of dealing with a headache, namely, not paying any attention to anything else and doing everything as if there was no pain. Deciding to resort to this method, Znayka cheerfully jumped out of bed and began to do morning exercises. After doing a series of gymnastic exercises and washing himself with cold water, Znayka felt that he no longer had pain or dizziness.
Znaika’s mood improved, and since there was time before breakfast, he decided to clean the room: he swept the floor in the room, wiped the closets with a damp cloth, in which he kept various chemical substances in jars and a collection of insects, and most importantly, he sorted out the books that he had accumulated on the table, on the bedside table near the bed and even on the windowsill. This should have been done a long time ago, but Znayka somehow didn’t have enough time.
Removing books from the windowsill, Znayka decided at the same time to remove the moonstone lying there. Opening the cabinet in which he kept a collection of minerals, Znayka put the moonstone on the bottom shelf, since not a single free place was found on the upper shelves. To do this, Znaika had to bend down, and bending down, he again felt a slight dizziness.
- Well! - Znayka said to himself. - My head is spinning again! Maybe I'm really sick? I'll have to tell Pilyulkin to give him some powders.
Along with dizziness, Znayka had some strange feeling of hanging upside down, that is, for a moment it seemed to him that he was turned upside down. Looking around and making sure that he was not upside down at all, Znayka closed the closet door and was about to straighten up, but just at that time something seemed to push him from below and threw him up to the ceiling. Hitting his head on the ceiling, Znayka fell to the floor and, feeling that he was, as it were, picked up by the wind and carried somewhere, grabbed a chair with his hand. This, however, did not help him stay in place. The next moment he was already in the air again, and, moreover, with a chair in his hands. Flying off into the corner of the room, Znayka hit his back against the wall, bounced off it like a ball, and flew to the opposite wall. Hooking a chair on the chandelier along the way and breaking the lamp. Znayka hit his head in bookshelf causing the books to fly apart. Seeing that the chair was of no use, Znayka threw it away from him. As a result, the chair flew down and, hitting the floor, jumped up like rubber, while Znayka himself flew off to the ceiling and, bouncing off it, flew down. On the way, he collided with a chair flying towards him and was hit with the back of the chair right on the bridge of the nose. The blow was so strong that Znayka went mad with pain and stopped fluttering in the air for a while.
Gradually coming to his senses, Znayka became convinced that he was hanging in some kind of ridiculous position in the middle of the room, between the floor and the ceiling. Not far from him, a chair hung upside down, the chandelier hung in some unnatural state: not vertically, as it always does, but obliquely, as if some unknown force was drawing it to the wall; books floated all over the room. It seemed strange to Znaika that both the chair and the books did not fall to the floor, but seemed to be suspended in the air. All this was similar to the state of weightlessness, which Znayka observed in the cockpit spaceship while traveling to the moon.
- Weird! muttered Znaika. - Very strange!
Trying not to make sudden movements, he tried to raise his hand. He was surprised that it did not take him any effort. The hand went up as if by itself. She was light as a feather. Znayka raised his other hand. And this hand seemed to weigh nothing. It even seemed to be pushed by something from below. Now that his excitement had subsided somewhat, Znayka felt some unusual lightness throughout his body. It seemed to him that he had only to wave his hands, and he would begin to flutter around the room like a moth or some other winged insect.
“What happened to me?” Znayka thought in dismay. “One of two things: either I am in a state of weightlessness, or I sleep and I dream about all this.”
He began to goggle his eyes with all his might, trying to wake up, but, making sure that he was not sleeping anyway, he finally became despondent and cried out in a plaintive voice:
- Brothers, save! 
Because no one came to help. Znayka decided to quickly get out of the room and see what the rest of the shorty's friends were doing.
Starting to carefully make swimming movements with his hands and feet, Znayka began to slowly move through the air and gradually swam to the door. There he grabbed the lintel with his hands and began pushing the door with all his might with his feet. It would seem that opening the door is a simple matter, but in a state of weightlessness it is not as easy as it seems. Znaika had to spend a lot of effort before the door was open.
Finally getting out of the room and finding himself on the stairs (or rather, above the stairs), Znayka began to think about how he could go down. Everyone can easily guess what to go down in the usual way, that is, going down the stairs. Now Znayka could not, because gravity no longer pulled him down, and no matter how much he moved his legs, it would not lead to anything.
In the end, Znayka nevertheless came up with good way. Reaching for the railing, he began to descend, clinging to the railing with his hands. It probably looked very funny from the outside, because Znayka's legs dangled in the air, like a mosquito, and as he sank lower and lower, his legs lifted higher and he turned more and more upside down. 
Having descended in such an original way from the stairs, Znayka found himself in the corridor in front of the door to the dining room. Muffled screams came from behind the door. Znayka listened and realized that the short men who were in the dining room were alarmed by something. After a few failed attempts Znayka opened the door and found himself in the dining room. What he saw left him astonished. The short men who had gathered in the dining room did not sit at the table, as always, but floated in various poses through the air. Around them floated chairs, benches, bowls, plates, spoons. A large aluminum pan filled with semolina floated right there.
Seeing Znaika, the shorties made an incredible noise.
- Znaechka, dear, help! yelled Rasteryka. - I don't understand what's happening to me!
- Listen, Znayka, for some reason we all fly! cried Dr. Pilyulkin.
- And my legs were taken away! I can't walk! screeched Syrupchik.
- And my legs were taken away! Everyone lost their legs! And the walls are shaking! shouted Grump.
- Hush, brothers! Znayka shouted in response. - I can't understand anything myself. I think we are in a state of weightlessness. We have lost weight. I experienced the same state when I flew to the moon in a rocket.
But we're not flying anywhere, - said Tube.
“It must have been someone who came up with such a prank on purpose!” shouted Toropyzhka.
- Someone played a trick on us! - picked up Rasteryka.
- Well, what a joke! Donut screamed. - Stop it now! I'm dizzy! Why are the walls shaking? Why is everything turned upside down?
- Everything is in place, - Znayka answered Donut. - You yourself turned upside down, from this it seems to you that everything around is upside down.
- Well, let them turn me back right away, otherwise I won’t answer for myself! Donut continued to scream.
- Calm! Znaika said. - First we need to find out why we lost weight.
And the stranger said:
- If we have lost weight, then it must be found, and that's it. What else is there to find out?
- And you, fool, be silent, if you can’t offer anything sensible, Shpuntik said with irritation.
- And you don't call me a fool, otherwise I'll give you a fist!
With these words Dunno waved his fist and gave Shpuntik such a strong slap on the back of the head that Shpuntik spun like a top and flew across the room.
Dunno also could not stay in place and, flying in the opposite direction, hit his head on a pot of porridge. From the push, liquid semolina splashed directly into the face of Donut, who was nearby. 
- Brothers, what is this? .. For what? .. This is a disgrace! Donut shouted, smearing semolina on his face and spitting in all directions.
Trying to avoid collision with the spitting Donut and the floating clods of semolina, the shorties began to make sharp movements with their arms and legs, as a result of which they began to fly around the room in all directions, colliding with each other and hitting each other various damage.
- Hush, brothers! Calm! - Znayka strained, who was pushed from all sides. - Try not to move, brothers, otherwise I don’t know what will happen! In a state of weightlessness, you can not make too sudden movements. Do you hear what I'm telling you? Calm down!!!
Angry, Znayka slammed his fist on the table near which he was at that moment. From such a sharp movement, Znayka himself turned over in the air and was rather badly hurt by the back of his head on the corner of the table.
- Well, I told you! he shouted, scratching the bruised spot with his hand.
The shorties eventually understood what was required of them, and, having ceased to make aimless movements, they froze in the air: some up, under the ceiling, some down, not far from the floor, some upside down, some upside down, some in a horizontal, some in an inclined , that is, oblique, position.
Seeing that everyone had finally calmed down, Znayka said:
- Listen to me carefully. Now I will give you a lecture on weightlessness... You all know that every object is attracted to the earth, and we feel this attraction as gravity, or as weight. Thanks to the force of gravity, or weight, we can move freely on the ground, as our legs, under the weight of our body, are pressed against the ground and acquire traction with it. If the weight disappears, like now, then there will be no grip and we will not be able to move in the usual way, that is, we will not be able to walk on the ground or on the floor. What to do in this case?
- Yes, yes, what to do? - shorty responded from all sides.
- It is necessary to adapt to the new conditions created, - Znayka answered. - And for this, all of you need to learn the third law of mechanics, which is especially evident in conditions of weightlessness. What does this law say? This law says that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. For example: if I, being in a state of weightlessness, raise my hands up, then my whole body will immediately fall down. Look here...
Znayka resolutely raised both hands up, and his whole body began to smoothly fall down.
“If I put my hands down,” he said, “then my whole body will begin to rise up.
Before reaching the floor, Znayka quickly lowered his hands down, as a result of which he smoothly flew up.
- Now look! Znayka shouted, stopping under the ceiling. If I move my hand to the side - for example, to the right - then my whole body will begin to rotate in the opposite direction, that is, to the left.
Vigorously discarding right hand aside, Znayka came to rotary motion and turned upside down.
- See? he shouted. - Now I'm upside down, and the whole room appears to me upside down. What do I need to do to roll back? To do this, just wave your hand to the side.
Znayka waved his left hand to the side and, again coming into a rotational movement, turned back upside down.
- You see that by performing simple movements with your hands, you can give your body any position in space. Now listen to what is required of us in the first place. First of all, those of you who are upside down need to turn upside down.
- And those who are upside down, need to turn upside down? - asked Dunno.
“But this is just not necessary,” Znayka answered. - Everyone should be upside down, because this position is familiar to every normal shorty. Secondly, everyone needs to get down and try to stay close to the floor, since it is natural for every normal shorty to be on the floor, and not looming under the ceiling. I hope this is understandable.
Everyone began to make smooth movements with their hands, trying to take a vertical position and go down. This was not immediately possible for everyone, because, having taken a vertical position and lowered down, the short man pushed off the floor with his feet and soared back up to the ceiling.
“Keep close to the walls, brothers,” Znayka advised the little ones, “and when you go down, grab onto something immovable with your hands: the window sill, the doorknob, the steam heating pipe.
This tip has been very helpful. It wasn't long before all the shorties were at the bottom, except for Donut, who continued to tumble awkwardly through the air. Everyone vied with each other to give him advice on how to go down, but this did not bring any benefit.
- Well, nothing, - said Znayka. - Let him practice. With time, everything will work out well for him. And you and I will rest a little and try to get used to the state of weightlessness.
- How! Get used to it! - Frowning, grumbled Grumpy.
“You can get used to everything,” Znayka answered calmly. - The main thing is not to pay attention to weightlessness. If it seems to someone that he is falling down or turning upside down, and such sensations are in a state of weightlessness, then you need to quickly look around. You will see that you are in a room and you are not falling anywhere, and you will stop worrying. Who has questions?
- One question worries me very much, - Dunno said. - Are we going to have breakfast today, or are all breakfasts and lunches completely canceled on the occasion of weightlessness?
“Breakfasts and lunches are not canceled at all,” Znayka replied. - Now the kitchen attendants will prepare breakfast, and in the meantime we will get down to work. First of all, it is necessary to secure all moving objects so that they do not fly through the air. Tables, chairs, cabinets and other furniture must be nailed to the floor; ropes should be stretched through all rooms and corridors, as for drying clothes. We will hold on to the ropes with our hands, and it will be easier for us to move.
Everyone, except for Donut, immediately set to work: some stretched ropes through the rooms, some nailed furniture to the floor. It wasn't easy. Try to hammer a nail into the wall, when with each blow with a hammer, the reaction force throws you in the opposite direction and you fly without seeing the light and not knowing what you will hit your head on. Now everything had to be done in a new way. In order to hammer in one nail, it took at least three short men.
One was holding the nail, the other was hitting the nail with a hammer, and the third was holding the one who was hitting the nail so that the counter force would not throw him back. It was especially difficult for the kitchen attendants. It's good that Vintik and Shpuntik were on duty that day. They were two very inventive minds. Once in the kitchen, they immediately began to turn, as they say, brains and come up with various improvements. 
- In order to work normally, you need to stand firmly on your feet, - said Vintik. - Try, for example, kneading dough, chopping cabbage, cutting bread or turning a meat grinder when your body hangs in the air without any support.
- We cannot stand firmly, because our feet have no grip on the floor, - Shpuntik said.
- Since there is no clutch, it is necessary to make sure that there is one, - Vintik answered. If we nail our shoes to the floor, then the grip will be quite sufficient.
- A very clever idea! Shpuntik approved. The friends immediately took off their shoes and nailed them to the floor.
“You see,” said Vintik, putting his feet into his boots, “now we stand firmly on our feet, and our body does not fly anywhere at the slightest push. Our hands are free and we can do whatever we want.
- It would be nice to nail chairs next to the boots so that you can work while sitting, - suggested Shpuntik.
- Brilliant idea! Wink rejoiced. The friends quickly nailed two chairs to the floor. Now that their feet had traction on the floor, hammering nails was easy. 
“Look how wonderful it turned out,” said Shpuntik, sitting down on a chair. - How could I sit on a chair if the shoes were not nailed? I could only sit if I held the chair with my hands, but then I would not be able to do anything. Now my hands are free and I can do whatever I want. I can write and read while sitting at the table, and if I get tired of sitting, I can get up and work standing up. Saying this, Shpuntik sat down on a chair and got up from it, demonstrating all the conveniences of the new method.
Cog pulled one foot out of the boot and said:
- One foot is enough for reliable grip on the floor. With the other foot out of the boot, I can take a step forward, a step back, or a step to the side. Taking a step to the side, I can freely reach the stove; taking a step back, I can still work at the table. My agility is thus increased.
- Amazing idea! Shpuntik exclaimed, jumping up from his chair. Look: if I take a step to the right, I can reach the closet with my hand, and if I take a step to the left, I can reach the faucet. Thus, without losing stability, you and I can move almost throughout the kitchen. That's what technical savvy means!
At this time, Znayka looked into the kitchen.
- Well, how are you, breakfast will be ready soon?
- Breakfast is not ready yet, but a stunning invention is ready.
Vintik and Shpuntik began vying to tell Znaika about their improvements.
- Well, - said Znayka. - We use your invention, but breakfast still needs to be cooked. Everyone wants to eat.
“Now everything will be ready,” said Vintik and Shpuntik. 
Znayka left, or rather, sailed away from the kitchen, and Vintik and Shpuntik set about preparing breakfast. It turned out not to be as easy as they initially thought. Firstly, neither cereals, nor flour, nor sugar, nor vermicelli wanted to get enough sleep from the packages; if they did get enough sleep, they did not get where they needed to, but dispersed in the air and floated around, stuffing themselves into the mouth, nose, and eyes, which caused a lot of trouble for Vintik and Shpuntik. Secondly, the water from the plumbing did not want to be drawn into the pan. Flowing under pressure from the tap, it hit the bottom of the pan and splashed out. Here it gathered into large and small balls that floated in the air and also climbed into Vintik's and Shpuntik's mouths, and into the nose, and into the eyes, and even by the collar, which was also not so pleasant. On top of all the troubles, the fire in the furnace did not want to burn. After all, in order for the flame to burn, a continuous supply of fresh oxygen is necessary. When a flame burns, it heats up the air around it. Heated air is lighter than cold air and therefore rises, and in its place fresh air rich in oxygen flows to the flame from different directions. But in conditions of weightlessness, both cold and heated air weigh nothing at all. Therefore, heated air does not become lighter than cold air and does not rise. As soon as all the oxygen around the flame is used up for combustion, the flame will go out, and there's nothing to be done about it! Realizing what the snag is, our friends decided to cook breakfast on an electric stove.
“And it will be even better if we don’t boil anything, but just boil tea,” suggested Shpuntik. - It's easier to fill the kettle with water.
- Brilliant idea! Wink approved. Acting as carefully as possible, the friends filled the kettle with water, put it on the electric stove and tied it tightly with a rope to the table so that it would not float anywhere.
At first, everything went well, but after a few minutes, Vintik and Shpuntik saw how water began to bubble out of the kettle spout, as if someone was pushing it out from the inside. Shpuntik hastily plugged the spout of the teapot with his finger, but the water immediately began to bubble out from under the lid. This bubble got bigger and bigger, finally broke away from the lid and, shaking as if it was made of liquid jelly, floated through the air. The screw quickly opened the lid and looked into the teapot. The teapot was empty.
- That's the story! - Shpuntik muttered. The friends refilled the kettle and put it on the hot stove. A minute later, water began to pour out of the kettle again. Here Znaika appeared again:
- Well, will you be there soon? Shorties are hungry!
- Here we have some kind of miracle! - Shpuntik said in confusion. - The bubble is coming out of the teapot.
- The bubble climbs - this is not a miracle, - Znayka answered. He approached the teapot and looked sternly at the bubble that was blowing out of the spout of the teapot. Then he said "um" and tried to plug his nose with his finger. Seeing that the bubble began to crawl out from under the lid, Znayka again said "hm" and tried to press the lid more tightly against the teapot. Convinced that this did not lead to anything, Znayka said “um” for the third time and thought for a moment, after which he said:
- There is no miracle here, but there is a completely explainable scientific phenomenon. You all know that water is heated by stirring. The lower layers of water in the kettle, heated on a fire or on an electric stove, become lighter and float up, and cold water from the upper layers descends in their place. In a teapot, it turns out, how to say it, the water cycle. But such a cycle occurs when water has weight. If there is no weight like it is now, then the lower layers of water, having warmed up, will not become lighter and will not rise up, but will remain below and will heat up until they turn into steam. This steam, expanding from heating, will begin to raise the cold water above it, as a result of which it will come out of the kettle in a bubble. And what follows from this? 
- Well, what should? Shpuntik spread his hands. “It probably follows that the bubble will come off the teapot and float through the air until it smears on someone’s back.”
“It follows from this,” Znayka said sternly, “that it is necessary to boil water in weightless conditions in a hermetic vessel, that is, in such a vessel, the lid of which closes tightly and does not let water or steam through.
- We have a boiler with a hermetic lid in our workshop. I'll bring it now, - said Vintik.
- Come on, hurry up, please. You can’t break the diet, ”Znayka said, moving away.
Cog freed himself from his boots nailed to the floor, kicked off the table with his foot and flew out of the kitchen with the speed of a bumblebee. In order to get into the workshop, he had to go out into the yard. Flying out of the kitchen, he began to make his way down the corridor, pushing off with his hands and feet from the walls and from everything that might meet on the way. Finally, he reached the exit door and tried to open it. The door, however, was closed tightly, and Vintik's attempts did not lead to success for a long time: when Vintik pushed the door forward, the jet force imperceptibly threw him back, and he had to expend a lot of effort to get to the door again.
Convinced that he would not achieve anything in this way, Vintik decided to resort to another method. Bending over in three deaths, he rested his hands on the doorknob, and his feet rested on the floor at some distance from the door. Feeling that his feet have acquired sufficient grip on the floor. Cog tried to straighten up like a spring and leaned against the door with all his might. Suddenly the door swung open. The cog flew out of it like a torpedo fired from a torpedo tube and rushed through the air. Rising higher and higher, he flew over the gazebo, which stood at the end of the yard, and disappeared behind the fence.
Nobody saw it.
Kroger waved his arms, trying to keep his balance; he stood at the very edge of the well, and it seemed to stand like that for an eternity. Surprise and growing fear were written on his face. For a moment it even seemed that he would have time to find balance. But then he disappeared over the edge of the well, and his plaintive cry came from there, instilling horror in everyone. A moment later, Jessica heard a violent splash.
The weight of the weights fastened to his belt carried Kroger to the very bottom of the well, and he was immediately dragged by a powerful current.
Trying not to breathe and feeling a burning sensation in his airless lungs, he pounded his arms and legs, trying to get out. But everything was useless. Carelessly, almost contemptuously, the water - now it seemed icy - dragged him along, pulling him further and further. Scouring the muddy bottom with his hands, Kroger hopelessly tried to grab onto something that might slow him down.
One hand, desperately digging in the mud, finally stumbled upon something hard; Kroger grabbed the object, but in the end, he only managed to pull it out of the mud. The thing was very heavy and smooth to the touch. Meanwhile, Kroger, who was being dragged along by the current, immediately hit another object, then another, and the water caught them all and carried them along.
His lungs, which had turned into two flaming sacs, gave way, and Kroger opened his mouth to take a breath of air - water poured into his mouth, down his throat, into his lungs.
His hands continued to clutch the objects that he pulled out of the mud, and the body was carried out of the well by the river that fed it. Kroger's eyes, open but already blind, could not see what priceless things accompanied him on this journey. It was part of the treasure he so eagerly sought; and now they sailed with him into eternal darkness.
There was a long silence in the well after Kroger's disappearance. Jessica stood frozen and speechless. Suddenly Maria said:
“Maybe we should try to save him?”
Jessica turned around in fear. Maria and Tom stood side by side. Tom looked dazed, blood flowing from a wound near his temple, but otherwise he appeared to be unharmed. Panting, Neil came over and took Jessica's hand.
“It is utterly useless, since Señor Kroger is utterly useless himself. The voice belonged to Hernando. - Let him leave. Let the gods get it. Anyway, he's being swept away by the current.
– The current? Neil asked curiously.
- Yes, señor. River. It flows along the bottom of the sacred well. The current is very strong. It will drag the lord until he dies; it has already swallowed up countless other people. The river protects the treasures of the rain god. I warned Senor Kroger, but he did not want to listen.
Hernando sighed heavily, then bent down and picked up something from the ground. It was a small golden figurine that Kroger took from the well. Hernando smiled his sardonic smile and handed it to Jessica.
“Here, senorita. Would you like to take it as a keepsake?
Jessica was shaking violently.
“My God, of course not! I don't want to remember anything. I just want to forget.
Hernando shrugged philosophically.
- As you wish. I'll take it instead of paying if you don't mind. And now we may be on our way. I will accompany you to Merida, and there we will part.
Jessica stood for a moment, looking at the well. Then her eyes fell on the rise on the opposite side of the shaft. The Indians were still there, since morning. They were too far away to see for sure, but Jessica had a strange certainty that the Indians were smiling.
- Jessie. Neil touched her arm. It's time for us to leave this terrible place.
- Yes, dear.
Turning her back to the well, Jessica surveyed the ruins ancient city and walked away, holding Neil's arm tightly. She walked without looking back once; she looked ahead to where their future was waiting for them.
Mr. and Mrs. Wingate Manning request the honor of attending the wedding of their daughter Jessica Anna Manning on Sunday, September 25 at three o'clock in the afternoon in the Great Hall of the Tampa Bay Hotel.
After the wedding, a festive reception will take place.
GLOWWORM
My friend Sasha and I decided to go to a small forest round pond. There were water lilies in bloom. We hoped that at least one had bloomed close to the shore.
Near a tall sprawling pine the path forked.
- You go to the right bank, and I'll go to the left, - suggested Sasha. - Suddenly there is only one flower? How will we share it? And so it will go to the one who found it.
I turned onto my path and almost immediately stumbled painfully on a rotten piece of wood. I already wanted to get angry, even tears of resentment appeared in my eyes. But then the stump winked at me! At first, I couldn't believe my eyes. But the stump did, indeed, look at me with an amazing green little eye.
I took the "peephole" in my hands. He lay on his palm and continued to glow.
- The water lily blossomed on my side, on mine! Honestly! Sasha emerged from the bushes. - What do you have there? - Something interesting? she looked over her shoulder.
- Oh, what a mess! Worm! Drop it! Drop it immediately! And she hit me hard on the arm.
- Do not dare! I screamed. But it was too late. The firefly fell into the grass and went out.
For a long time I then climbed on my knees, pushing each blade of grass, looking under each leaf. Everything turned out to be in vain - the forest light no longer lit up ...
APRICOT JAM
Apricots ripened in my grandmother's garden.
- Here I give you everything with me, - she rejoiced - and compotes, and jams.
- Will you weld your brand name for us too? I asked.
- For you, granddaughter, by all means.
Grandma's apricot jam was special. Whole apricots floated in the thick, amber, and surprisingly fragrant syrup. Instead of a stone, each contained a shelled seed. At home, my mother hid this jam somewhere in a secret place and put it on the table only on holidays. Those who have tried it at least once, always looked forward to dessert. Others were surprised, praised and asked for the recipe. Mom just laughed in response.
I don't know how to cook it myself.
When I imagined how I would surprise and please my family by saying that I knew a family secret, I literally hung around my grandmother’s neck:
- Teach me! Oh please! I will try very, very hard! Will you teach?
She nodded back and smiled.
- Let's see what you can do.
I thought that my grandmother would immediately call me to the kitchen. And we will start to conjure with her there. But, instead, she handed me two large enameled buckets:
- Go to the garden. Meet him in his fruitful glory. Here you will put selected whole fruits. Here - crumpled.
I didn't dare to argue with her. She just made a sour face, showing her extreme displeasure with her whole appearance.
With great difficulty, I mastered these two buckets. Some apricots had to be picked underfoot. Remove others from the branches. In the end, I was so tired that I began to call my grandmother for help. She came right away.
The next day, I woke up ecstatic.
today we will start the magic!
Instead, Grandma again held out two empty buckets. I didn't believe my eyes.
- How? Collect again? But I don't want that at all!
- If you don't want to, don't do it. - She answered. And went to the house.
For several days I picked the already hated apricots. But they didn’t let me into the kitchen, which smelled amazing smells.
- Why, grandmother?
- If you want to learn something - think about it.
I thought all day.
I didn't read in the evening. I put my cell phone at six in the morning. On a call, she jumped right away so as not to wake the whole house.
She went out into the garden and gasped. The sun had not quite risen yet, but its first rays were already shimmering in dewdrops. The apricot trees, which I almost thought of as enemies only yesterday, were fabulous! They shone and sparkled with a reddish summer glow. And they smelled.
I picked one apricot. For a moment it seemed that I was holding in my hands a sunbeam miraculously materialized. It felt wet to the touch. The taste is fragrant and very sweet.
- What, accepted "baptism"?
Grandmother! I didn't notice when she came up.
- How wonderful and how beautiful!
- Now I believe that you can give people this beauty. Yagoda, she also sees a person. He will give his whole self to one. And the unfortunate cook will get the brew. Well, put on an apron!
Budapest. Shining dad at the airport. Interested in the car:
- Did you repeat the language well? Now let's check and, of course, looks at me:
How do you greet your peers?
- Sia! (Hey)
- With adults?
- Servus!
- Not!
- Yo on the spot...
- Not.
I see that dad is getting angry. I'm straining.
You should speak to adults - Chocola (kiss).
- Everyone? - I'm scared. - And in the store?
- And in the store. Once upon a time, it didn't bother you.
Once upon a time, yes. I was little then, and now I'm 13! But for the pope, these are not arguments. He has one argument - if you want to live normally in any country - learn to observe and respect local customs.
I close my eyes and imagine how I enter a store in Moscow and say to the saleswoman:
- Kisses!
I wonder how she will react? Or a security guard? Or our school principal? Well, with the latter it is more or less clear that he will call his parents. Or maybe a doctor?
- What are you muttering?
- I'm not mumbling - I'm rehearsing.
- Rehearsing what?
- Chocolat.
“Come on,” Mom says. - They meet us.
She leaves through the right door, I through the left. A woman is standing near the car and looks at me with curiosity.
- Chocolom! I scream at the top of my lungs and throw myself on her neck. It seems like I'm doing everything right. Why is she rejecting me then?
And then everyone around them starts to curl up in laughter. And the woman is with them. Even dad wipes his eyes wet with laughter:
"Daughter," he asks. Why are you lashing out at strangers?
It's like he doesn't understand...
Some people think that love is the best thing that can happen to a person. The ability to love is not for everyone. Not everyone is able to master such a serious gift and fully know its truth. One way or another, one word carries a huge amount of meaning, and behind it no less problems and not the most successful consequences. People are used to believing that love brings happiness and goodness to the world, but if you go deeper and learn much more about this, your opinion may change, as well as your attitude towards feelings and sympathy. The words “I love you” can play a big role in life, like “I cherish you” or “you are important (important) to me”, in any case, they are used to distinguishing real love from cynical, cruel and naive, which most often pops up in modern world. Love due to something also cannot exist normally, especially when it comes to money, property, profit. Such love is built on lies and hypocrisy. The other side of this strange thing is far in the pants, but it also cannot be called real love. As for the heart, I thought about this topic more than once, it looks like an ordinary organ that pumps blood and supports the body, but for many it is something more.
You never understood what love means. She believed that there could be nothing between people, and all this was just affection, nothing more. Jungkook was no different, considering love to be delusional and feelings to be temporary mental illness. But everything changed too quickly. At a party that your friends kindly invited you to, you drank enough to behave inappropriately and utter a bunch of various nonsense to your beloved enemy. You can't get along with Jungkook yet high school when you accidentally stepped on his newest sneakers and got them dirty. Guk then screamed for a long time, was furious, but you didn’t care, the next day he took revenge, cut all that school uniform during physical education, and your war began, which lasted until the day of the party.
In the morning, my head hurt terribly, I was thirsty, but as soon as you more or less recovered, feeling someone's heavy hand at your waist, the alcohol instantly dissolved, like happy fantasies, everything crashed into bad reality. Jungkook was sleeping next to him. It was clear that you were not playing cars together on a double bed, almost completely undressed.
- Fuck. - your first phrase for that day, the morning was promised beautiful. In your apartment, and you were there, house was going on. Bottles in the corners, a lot of food on the table, scattered things. - I danced a striptease?!
- Exactly. - a sleepy guy came into the kitchen, yawning and stretching. Horror froze on your face, you suddenly remembered for a second all the words pouring out of your mouth in an uncontrollable stream. Don't worry, it's mutual. - he smiled sweetly, coming closer and enclosing you in a strong hug.
Nobody believed in love...
Being a girl with strong character you and Hooke quarreled more than once over trifles, put up, by the way, just as violently as you quarreled. He could go weeks without coming home, staying with friends or at a club with a bottle of alcohol and cheap girls for the night. You knew that he didn’t go there to read books, there was an unpleasant feeling, but you didn’t show it, you kept it in yourself. And thoughts of jealousy generally tried to avoid and drive away. Although the guy did not openly show his feelings, his heart still increased its rhythm several times each time, and a wide smile involuntarily appeared on his face. The hot-tempered character of the guy was a heavy burden for you, sometimes Hook broke down, but he wouldn’t allow himself to raise his hand on the girl, and when the nerves were at the limit, he just left to avoid big problems. You yourself could not understand in any way what you feel for this strange, impudent and slightly crazy guy. Sometimes he did such things that a normal girl would run away for a long time, but not you. Something stopped you, repeating daily in the mornings “what am I doing?”, And in the evenings falling asleep on Chon’s shoulder with the words “this is how it should be.”, but you both knew that this should not be so. You are like enemies, you should despise each other, dislike, but that's not how it all went as planned, completely wrong. Sometimes you tried not to answer calls, ignore, avoid meetings, leave, but each such case ended in the same “beautiful” way. Chon could no longer live without you, just like you without him. You were bound by some kind of transparent thick thread. Each of you thought that the word "love" in your relationship is inappropriate, rather a short-term affection. But this very attachment dragged on for something. Three years, but not a short time.
"Y/N, I'll be there by 21:01" - you got a message. Punctuality is his forte, always on time, not a second late, right on time. You were annoyed by this accuracy, you had to be on time and keep track of time, but today is not the day to be a decent girl. Today you were invited to an elite club by friends, there was no reason for such an exciting trip, as such, you just decided to take a break from everything and relax, which you gladly agreed to, I haven’t climbed out of the four walls for a long time. It’s just that, having surrendered to heavy bits and degrees in a glass of champagne, you didn’t even notice how the arrow had already exceeded ten o’clock in the evening, there were still no messages, and you knew he wouldn’t write. Never writes after nine, he doesn't care.
Great music, loud screams, variety of drinks, lots of people, nice guys on the sofas. Speaking of them, six handsome men lounged on the couch and had a conversation. Four have already had night companions, while two have not yet acquired. But sidelong glances in your direction and whispering are unlikely to lead to something good. Being distracted for a few minutes, you did not notice how one of the strangers on the couch was already standing next to you and frankly. stop laughing?
- Jungkook won't be happy. - he chuckled, looking at the entrance, you twisted your face, from which the guy laughed even harder and waved his hand. - My name is Hoseok.
- Y/n, nice to meet you. You smiled at him as you stopped dancing, but suddenly you felt heavy breathing on your neck, and Hoseok seemed ready to double over with laughter.
- Played...
Jungkook asked me to follow her, don't worry. - standing near the exit of the apartment, Hoseok tried to calm his girlfriend, future wife and mother of his four-year-old son, begging for a walk to the "shop and right back." But I/D knew where he was going... straight to the club.
- Jung Hoseok, maybe enough to go to discos and parties already! You have a child and a girlfriend, do you really want to repeat that service ... - they didn’t let her finish, Hoseok cut off the verbal flow with a hot kiss, then smiled brightly and retreated to your hopeless and positive “for an hour ...”
JH: Persuaded.
JK: "That's why I don't want to be in a permanent relationship."
JH: "You're just not mature enough."
JK: "And that's not the reason, I'm annoyed by commitments and restrictions in a relationship."
JH: "Well, what about Y/N?"
JK: "We have an open relationship, where I want, I go there, no one forbids, I'm free as a bird."
JH: "You love her, don't push her."
JK: "No."
JH: “Yeah, and that’s why you begged me for two hours of free time that I could safely spend with my family, made me go to some club at nine o’clock in the evening to follow and make sure your girlfriend didn’t get into trouble and she's fine. And after that you will still say that you don’t feel anything for her. lala. certainly."
JK: Everything. Stop talk about this. I'll be there at eleven."
JH: "That's the way it always is, I'm waiting, hurry up, I don't want to get pissed off by I/D."
End of Flashback.
Finished it. - a quiet whisper in your ear, which you heard perfectly despite the loud music, sent goosebumps through your body, making you cringe in fear and tremble slightly. And the hands that tightly pressed your body to another, warmer one scared me, would it really suffocate right here ... - I missed you.
- You were not at home at exactly nine, attended an incomprehensible event. It is not known with whom she danced, frankly dressed, drank and behaved inappropriately for a normal girl. - Listed your actions Jungkook as soon as the door to the apartment slammed shut.
- Are you serious now? Frankly? Who is unknown? Actually, your friend was there! - you grunted displeasedly as you walked into the room and sat down on the bed, kicking off your uncomfortable high-heeled shoes.
“That doesn't mean you have to smile at every friend of mine. - the guy snorted, throwing outerwear into the closet and following you.
- Jungkook~i, what are you doing all of a sudden? We have an open relationship. Free of charge - you spelled it, frowning, the mood was spoiled.
- I don't care what they are. You are a girl, and you should not hang out at night in clubs, fucking with everyone in a row! he exclaimed, provoking you. Indignation knew no bounds, you became terribly unpleasant from his words.
- If you walk right and left, I can't or what? You hissed and got up from the bed.
- Not.
- From what?
- I so wanted to.
- And I don't care what you want, I'm not your property and I won't do what you want! - you shouted, getting out of the room and locking yourself in the bathroom.
- Stupid! Yes, you went. - the entrance soon slammed, announcing that only you remained in the apartment. Without turning on the light, she slowly sank to the cold floor and buried herself on her knees, tears involuntarily poured, rolling down her cheeks and dripping onto the floor. There was a strange feeling that you were used and thrown out, although it was so according to you. Devastation, coldness, indifference, detachment, all this was present in you, for the first time you wanted to die, finally leave this world and no longer appear here and not experience such severe pain.
Not a week later, not a month later, he did not return. It's been three months since Jungkook disappeared and you found out you were pregnant. There was an option to have an abortion, but after that you definitely could not live. A goal appeared, a piece of you appeared, hope appeared.
Apricot trees in the first rays of the sun shone with a red summer glow. You picked one apricot. For a moment it seemed that you were holding in your hand a miraculously materialized sunbeam. It was sticky and wet to the touch, but sweet to the taste. At the end of August, the sunny gilding, lying on the fields, meadows, copses, does not blind the eyes, does not breathe heat, but is soft and pleasant. The clouds are especially convex, rounded and so white, as if illuminated from within. The sweet smell of summer is in the air, a smile involuntarily blossoms on the face, the soul is warm and good. Walking with a small child, you enjoyed the beauty of nature and the pleasant atmosphere of the garden. The birds sang their own songs, chirping loudly in the sky and in the trees.
- Well, I / D, it's time for us to go home. - you whisper to your five-month-old daughter, smiling affectionately and driving a small stroller towards the house, taking fresh air deeply into your lungs. Good weather, great mood, until he showed up.
Are you that dumb? Hoseok exclaims, sitting down next to the younger, who has been drowning his feelings with alcohol for the past three months. - You can't understand such an elementary thing, are you serious?
- What do you want, hyung? Jungkook replies wearily, filling a faceted glass with a dark liquid and setting the bottle of bourbon county aside. - I did everything I was capable of.
- What?! What are you rubbing me here?! Yes, you didn’t even lift a finger to somehow improve relations. - the elder nods to the familiar bartender and another bottle is already flaunting on the counter. - Do you even understand how she is suffering now, what pain you caused her with your fucking character and behavior?
- Suffering? Are you laughing? Yes, she is glad that I, a sort of annoying fly that can only fuck, flew away. If I were gone, she wouldn't blink an eye, she doesn't care. Besides, the last sentence proved my reasoning. Jeon grins, drinking a glass of bitter liquid in one gulp, not even wincing. Lowering his empty gaze to the tabletop, he repeats the movements, thus continuing to relax. - We have an open relationship.
- Do you believe in your own words? When we were hanging out with you for the last time, I remember that you rushed around the hall in search of your beauty, you were ready to tear and throw, kill anyone who even looked at such a beautiful girl, while stubbornly repeating “open relationship” to my every question . You seem to have completely lost your mind. Hoseok repeats after the younger, draining his glass of dry red wine in one smooth sip and licking his lips as he straightens up. - You know what, friend, of course I understand everything perfectly, you're like all of yourself good, cool, courageous, handsome, fucked up, but why offended the girl? Besides, the one you love, dude, they don’t do that, I’m telling you as an elder.
- I don't like her. - Hook stubbornly repeats, squinting and banging his fist on the countertop. - I do not like! And she went to hell, I got sick of running after her.
- You're still dumb. There is no way you can understand that a girl is a fragile, thin, defenseless creature, in need of care and affection, in need of love. And you are a stupid sheep who cannot accept his own feelings in any way, drowning grief in degrees and continuing to be an even bigger sheep and a goat. - Ho rolls his eyes, there is a moment of silence.
Hoseok suddenly remembered everything that happened to him, lowering his vile gaze into the glass and thinking. What would have happened if he had not changed his mind in time, would not have returned, spat and forgot. But he is sure that he would not forget, not his love, I / D is dear to him, and Hoseok is sure that otherwise the cards would not have fallen out for the better, morally destroying both him and the girl, and the little son who is life for Chon, everything that is. What a pity that Hoseok did not immediately realize all his mistakes and the long wait shook the family, but in the end everything was restored, got back to normal, and now the guy never dares to think about something vicious, black, he lost too much, fortunately not forever and ever.
What I want to convey to you. You are probably aware of my past, and most likely you understand how lousy I felt all those years, sitting out in bars and clubs, walking with prostitutes and killing myself at home in the morning, knowing that dreams could not overcome myself and return, look in the eyes of the one that I lost and whom I hurt, and I know how much she suffered, how she coped in my absence and believe me, it was not sweet for her, for this I blame myself. And I will most likely blame for the rest of my life, because this feeling is deeply embedded, even though she forgave, I can’t forgive, they don’t forgive this. Do not repeat my mistakes, after it will be impossible to correct them. - Jung Hoseok stood up, grabbing his cap from the table and with a swift step went to the exit from the stuffy and such an annoying room, because now the family is more important for him, close people come first, and everything else can wait, he no longer wants to repeat past mistakes . Although terrible scars will remain, looking at them you will want to roar and kill yourself, memories will only cause suffering, which he will carry in his heart all his life.
Please forgive me, Y/N~I, I acted like an asshole. Caused you so much, made you disappointed, insulted. Just know that even if you don’t forgive me, what I deserve, I sincerely love and loved you, please don’t cry anymore because of someone like me. - Jeon lowered his gaze, uttered every word mentally killing himself, he was to blame and this feeling was eating away, as Hoseok said. - I'm such an asshole, I left my girlfriend with a child under her heart and went to calm myself, forgive me.
I... Jungkook, I don't hold a grudge against you, I understand perfectly well who needs a pregnant girl and worries...
Not! You didn't get it right. No, no, no, I did not disown the child in any way, I would not dare, I did not know, my mistake, for which I paid a big price, forgive me, Y/N, please.
We all make mistakes, sometimes we do terrible and ugly things. When happiness itself climbs into our hands, we so want to push it away, but when it dissolves, we are looking for and trying to return the lost, which is not easy to do, and sometimes impossible.
But we all make mistakes, which means we must try to forgive them, yet a person is able to change even when there seems to be no chance. Thank you, Jungkook, you gave me a second life in the form of a child and returned my former happiness, returned that same warmth in my heart, don’t leave anymore, don’t leave me, otherwise I won’t be able to, thank you.
I will never leave you, thank you for everything, Y/N.