Rescue of Araklia. Игорь Владимирович Княгницкий
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– 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,