Вадим Иванович Кучеренко
In Year of Active Sun
– Because I am absolutely lonely here, – she replied.
The boy got surprised and then asked her:
– So, there is no one on this island, right?
– No one except me. And also you now.
– That’s fine! – the boy exclaimed. – I have decided: I am staying here. I am sick of wandering, to be honest.
The girl was about to clap her hands with joy, but suddenly she heard him asking:
– When are you leaving for the ocean?
– I am not leaving! – she laughed. – Why do I have to look for a friend at the ocean, if he himself found me here? We will be friend with you!
– Friends? – the boy winced. – And live together on the same island? And see each other all the time, and talk to each other… And all things like that? All that, meanwhile I want to be alone and think to myself. No way! Not for this purpose I’ve traveled such a long distance to get into the world of conventions again. I want freedom and loneliness… By the way, you promised that you would leave!
– Well, – a girl signed sadly and a tear of disappointment, the first in her life appeared on her cheek. – I promised and I will leave. Just help me to set a mast and I’ll learn controlling a sail myself.
– Sure, the boy agreed and this time his glance wasn’t severe. – The cover of my air balloon will perfectly suit for the sail. We can find some big pieces of cloth and connect them together with the vines. The sail will be patched, but silk is durable and reliable fabric. You won’t regret, believe me.
– I believe you, – she said sadly.
So, they started working. They had just to set a mast and attach a sail to it. However, no matter how much they tried to finish the work, as soon as possible, not being distracted by idle talks, the raft was ready for departure only at dusk, when even flying fishes floating over the water to enjoy the sunset were invisible. The girl who has never sailed on a raft couldn’t go to the ocean at night. And she decided to ask:
–
Let me stay on the island until morning.
The boy reckoned, that they had been working for the whole day and the girl must have been tired as he was. So, she really needed some rest before the long journey. Besides, she is not talkative, she had hardly said a couple of words for this time.
–
You are not going to offer me your friendship again, aren’t you? – he asked with apprehension.
– No, – she promised.
So, he allowed her to stay till dawn…
Sometimes, at night the ocean starts glistening from inside, as if the sun hasn’t hidden over the horizon, but has sunk at the ocean bottom. It was this way that night. The glistening glow has surrounded the island pushing darkness away. The moonlight was coming into the hut through the holes at the roof made of palm leaves. The girl was lying on a mat which was her bed. The boy was sitting by the window, staring at the bright big stars, as if enchanted. Suddenly, his eyes got wet. He felt alien at this hut, on this island, on the whole planet. This feeling was painful like a sudden cramp. A short moaning sob has burst out from his chest. But the next moment he got ashamed of his weakness, knowing that he was not alone in the hut. He took a look at the girl and saw her crying silently. The boy guessed that she was crying from compassion for him, she was feeling his pain as her own, but tied with her promise, didn’t dare to say a word. Their eyes met. And suddenly they became spiritually close to each other not knowing how it happened.
