Solnishko and Maksim’s Friends’ Club
Susanna Arutyunyan
Anna Kazaryan
Mariya Kazaryan

Translated by Arsen Bobokhyan

Cover Design by Arabo Sarkissian

Typesetting by Ninetta Adamyan

© Susanna Arutyunyan, 2022

© Anna Kazaryan, 2022

© Mariya Kazaryan, 2022

ISBN 978-5-0056-7977-2

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Dear reader!

Childhood. It happened so that in the XXI century children play mainly in Furby, Tamagotchi, Computer games, etc. And what are the consequences! Enclosing in own virtual space. Many children are even unable to articulate their thoughts verbally.

However, creativity helps to realize childish imaginations. You should believe in yourself and work hard. God will bless you.

Here are Solnishko and Maksim with their friends. Their games of imagination, at least for a while, will get you back from the virtual world.

From the authors

Chapter 1. Creation of the website “Literary circle”

Two weeks passed. The children and even the adults continued to be in the euphoria from the holiday. There was only talk about the performance. After all, the holiday allowed everyone to look at each other from the other side and to reveal the possibilities of each in extreme conditions. The conditions indeed were extreme. Not every day the children could appear on a real stage, to follow the course of events in the performance which changed in an unpredictable way, not to get lost, not to panic but to continue calmly as if nothing had happened, to live on the stage within the image of the own hero. The performance made it possible to reveal all the internal reserves of children not only for the surrounding people but first of all for themselves. They believed in themselves, they felt a kind of rush of new energy. Some of them had already risen in their dreams to a person who was professionally engaged in theatrical art. Their self-esteem grew. As for the parents, many of them reconsidered their attitude towards children, began to reckon with them more, to trust them more and accept them not just as their little sons and daughters but as persons in childhood age. Those who refused to participate in the performance regretted about their choice and asked Solnishko to engage them more and more in their games with Maksim.

During another day of memories Granny said:

– My dear children, everything was wonderful, the holiday was glorious. Everybody was satisfied. But the holiday was over and work days came. Therefore I propose to distract from this topic and to move on. Otherwise we stomp in the same place. Each of you has a lot to do which should be taken seriously.

– Granny, why are you always so serious? You do not let Maksim and me rejoicing at our success, – Solnishko expressed dissatisfaction.

– You know darling, I listen to you and hear: “I’m flying and flying…”.

– Oh, Granny, it is impossible to dream with you, – the granddaughter was offended.

– So, you cannot dream with me?! – Granny resented.

– Okay, okay, you are right. I said, without thinking. You are saying everything right but what should we do with the children who want to play with us?

– You should think about it again! You had a wonderful idea in this regard, in my opinion, – answered Granny.

– What kind of idea? – the girl couldn’t remember.

– Unless you switch from the performance to anything else, new ideas will not arise. Maksim also doesn’t react in any way. But he approved your idea. And you discussed it for a while. Now, do you see that you need to return to the present day with all its problems and pleasures? – Granny answered her granddaughter.

A few more days passed. Life went on. Summer was in full swing. Many friends of our heroes parted somewhere: some to the camp, some to the summer cottage, some to the sea. Solnishko and Maksim were no exception as they were also getting ready for a trip. Vacation was especially important for Maksim. Indeed, with the first of September he had to go to school. The prospect of nearly two months of separation upset the children. They wanted to spend more time together, to communicate more. They decided that they needed to acquire their own Internet address and, while on vacation, write letters to each other. Maksim already read well and knew how to write. In addition, Maksim’s computer literacy allowed him to freely navigate the World Wide Web. He promised Solnishko to ask his computer class teacher to help him create an Internet address for himself and Solnishko. But there was a problem that upset the girl: she did not read fluently and did not know how to write. Her computer skills were at the level of a “teapot” as well. And, worst of all, she had to admit everything to Maksim. But Maksim was extremely kind. He promised before his departure to help Solnishko master the computer at a level sufficient for communication. She, in the meanwhile, would intensively read. As for writing, the work on the computer would help her to write more competently. After all, the program itself corrects errors or provides information about the error. So they decided. And it should be said, just in time. Every day, mother had to persuade, request, use various tricks to configure Solnishko to read another lesson. The reading itself took a little more than twenty minutes, but incredibly much was taken of mother’s energy. And here is such an incentive. Solnishko woke up and still in bed, began to read. Then she was already going to kindergarten. And after dinner, when the mandatory program scheduled for that day was exhausted, they were engaged in computer. Maksim kept his word, and a week later the children had their own Internet address.

Perhaps it was the closeness of separation that raised the idea of creating a club of friends of Solnishko and Maksim in the memory of the children. Discussions on this topic and discussions with adults, at the end, gave birth to the idea of creating their own website on the Internet under the name “Literary Circle”. Solnishko’s Granny suggested announcing a competition for the best novel, story and tale. Everyone liked this idea. And intensive work began on the realization of the dream. Parents of the children provided financial support, and also technical – the same computer class teacher. Thus the first story posted on the site was the celebration of Solnishko’s birthday. Fortunately, by the efforts of adults everything was filmed on video. Solnishko’s Dad was fond of photography and shot almost at a professional level, so the shots turned out to be very interesting and colorful.

Is it necessary to tell how enthusiastic the children were? How much strength, energy and emotions they put together with adults in implementation of this project. But when the work on the site was basically completed, it was necessary to leave. The children were immediately sad. The only hope was that this was not for long.

Maksim left with his mother to his Granny in the village, and Solnishko went to the sea with her Mom and Larisa. Dads stayed in Moscow.

Chapter 2. Magic Power of Love

2.1. Thirst for adventure

Every summer Maksim had his vacations in the village with his Granny. He liked to go with her to the forest for mushrooms and berries, to fish in a pond, swim, sunbathe and run across a meadow, simply to relax from the hustle and bustle of Moscow, from endless employment, when the day is scheduled literally in minutes. He liked when someone read for him historical books about ancient civilizations, sailors, pirates, discoverers, he was fond of popular science literature.

There is a lot of work in the village. Maksim helped his Granny in everything. All this was enough for him to rest and recover, but not this summer. The boy was bored. Even chess and a computer could not save him.

Maksim thirsted for adventure. At that time he did not know yet that our thoughts, words, emotions can be materialized. For much of the day he was in dreams and illusions. Perhaps that is why his dreams were extraordinary and so exciting that it was possible to escape film watching. One day Maksim dreamed as if he found himself deep in the forest all alone. It was already late and he got lost. There was such silence all around that he could hear the beating of his own heart. Fear seized the boy. Behind each tree he imagined either a hungry bear, eager to grab and drag him to his lair, or a lone wolf, fighting off the pack and scouring in search of prey. The farther he went, the more terrible it became: behold the Leshiy, waiting for him behind each bush, and there is Zmey Gorynich, who went out for a walk through the forest in search of fresh human blood and the thrill of sensations.

Maksim literally became numb. He did not know what to do: to go further or go back? Meanwhile, it began to darken and get colder. It was necessary to make some decision as soon as possible. And Maksim decided to go on his way in search of a night shelter. But, alas, in the dark he did not notice a tree fallen to the ground, apparently, by a strong wind. He stumbled, injured and dislocated his leg. The leg was swollen and each movement caused severe pain. The boy spent a lot of time and energy looking for a stick on which he could lean and somewhat alleviate his suffering. Then it started to rain. When Maksim was completely exhausted, wet and lost hope of finding shelter, dim light loomed ahead through the trees. The boy was delighted, and at that moment his only desire was that this light should not be a mirage, a figment of his imagination.

The hope of finding shelter gave the boy new strength, and, overcoming the pain, he went towards the light. Soon all doubts disappeared in himself. The light came from a hut, sheltered in the thicket of the forest. Maksim’s heart pounded. So, there are people nearby who will help him. When the boy finally reached the hut, he knocked on the door. No one answered. He knocked again and again. There was no answer. Then the boy tried to open the door. The door succumbed and he entered the hut. It was illuminated through the light emitted by a candle. It was tidied up everywhere. A large mat was spread out on the floor, the stove was burning and something was boiling in the stove in a large clay pot, covered with a lid. Only now Maksim suddenly felt a strong hunger. But from the pot came a strange intoxicating smell, not conducive to food. There was not a soul around. It seemed that someone had just gone out of the hut for a short while. Approaching closer to the stove to warm up, the boy patiently began to wait for the owners of the hut. He took off his wet clothes and shoes, laid them on the stove to dry.

Quite a lot of time passed, but no one appeared. Then the boy, exhausted from fatigue, pain and hunger, decided to eat a little. He took the pot out of the oven, put some of its contents in a smaller clay pot, took out a wooden spoon and began to eat a pottage soup, if only you could call like that the muddy liquid made possibly from leaves, roots and flowers of different plants. The food was very tasteless, with a disgusting smell, but Maksim, forgetting the saying often repeated by his mother, that it was better to be hungry than to eat, whatever, continued to eat. Soon he felt that his body seemed to be filled with lead. Legs, hands, head, tongue hardly obeyed him. With the last spoonful of food, he felt himself falling into a whirlpool. There was total darkness. It is not known how much the boy overslept. He woke up from severe pain in his leg and the touch of a terrible monster, bending over him and carefully examining his leg. The monster was huge. It occupied almost the entire space of the hut free from things. The monster resembled a two-headed snake with the body of a crocodile. His eyes burned with fire. The boy was horrified and closed his eyes. But, strange thing, with such dimensions and terrible appearance, it spoke in a beautiful and soft human voice:

– Already better. Wait a while. I fixed your leg, healed the wound, now I will again rub it with ointment, I will change the bandage and you’ll feel better.

So it began carefully looking after the boy. Its movements were quick and agile. It was felt that the monster was able to handle wounds and heal. All this was so ridiculous that it seemed to Maksim that he was still sleeping. But the pain let go and fear left him with it. The boy suddenly realized that he trusted the monster and even rejoiced at his presence. A conversation ensued between them, from which it followed that Maksim slept for seven days. The pottage soup he ate was actually a terrible potion of a witch, who had bewitched a noble prince and turned him into a monster. The boy was lucky that it was not yet completely ready. Otherwise, Maksim would fall asleep forever.

– The potion is prepared for a whole year, and this period expires today. Exactly at midnight the witch will return for it, – said the prince in the guise of a monster.

– Excuse me Your Majesty, but how can you talk so calmly about this?! – the boy was surprised. – How many other lives can the witch cripple?! – Let me destroy the potion, – said Maksim, heading for the stove.

– Wait! – the monster stopped him. – What are you doing? This potion is my only chance to regain my former appearance, – the monster shouted.

These words stopped the boy and made him think. It turned out that the witch needed the prince in order to prepare the potion. Threatening the prince with the death of his parents, the witch took the word from him that he would strictly abide by all her instructions. During all this time, the monster kept fire in the furnace, every day at the same time it added the necessary number of roots, leaves, flowers and fruits of certain plants that it collected in the forest to the contents of the pot.

– However I can not understand anyway why the witch chose me.

– But because you were born a prince, so, a man of honor. Then, educated and obviously you have something to lose. To inspire you to work hard, Your Majesty, the witch invented a spell:

– Be in the guise of a terrible monster until a beauty girl will not be fallen in love with you.

And the witch continued, by grinning:

– And if it’s not, it doesn’t matter either, you’ll wait for my death, maybe in a few years… in a thousand. My death is your deliverance.

– The year has passed. As soon as I appeared, all the girls scattered.

– Your suffering is in vain, Your Majesty. The beauty girl is an indefinite concept, – the boy tried to console the prince.

– Your truth, – the prince answered. – I really didn’t think about it. – As for death, then the witch was deceiving. Jesus Christ himself appeared to me in a dream and said:

– The witch’s death is in her potion. And if you manage to feed her all the potions at once, then she will fall asleep forever.

– All this year I have been carrying out a plan of salvation, but I haven’t come up with anything. And time remains less and less. The witch will appear, take away the potion and I will have to wait for my chance for another whole year. Yes, and it’s not safe for you to stay here. If the witch sees or smells you… then I can’t help you here, – the monster finished his story with sadness in his voice, – but because… your leg is almost healed, your swelling has gone down, you can return home before it gets completely dark.

– Let me take care of you in gratitude.

Maksim lay down on the mat, closed his eyes and tried to concentrate, as his mother often did when she was meditating. Mom was doing yoga. Many people among Mom’s friends were not serious about her hobby, but she said that it was thanks to Yoga that she was able to remove all stressful loads: physical and emotional. Yoga also helps her make the right decisions and, most importantly, on time.

“Mom, help me, don’t let me down,” – the boy begged, mentally addressing his mother and trying to relax as much as possible and concentrate on the problem that tormented him.

At first, nothing worked. Maksim could not throw off the burden of the past, all the emotions that fell on him. This prevented him from starting from scratch. It made it difficult to focus on the present. Then he tried to revive the image of his Mom, the dearest person to him. It seems to have worked. The tension subsided. Even a smile played on the boy’s lips. Gradually, he calmed down, plunged into the sweet dream of childhood memories, when in moments of disappointment, sadness and longing, Mom caressed him, indulged all his whims, and when he calmed down, as if instructing him meantime, she taught him about life. And all this was so unobtrusive, calm, without fuss, annoyance, in a quiet melodious voice, and, as a rule, before bedtime. He suddenly distinctly heard his Mom’s voice, calming, lulling. And the boy began to quietly sink into a nap. It seemed to him that his soul had separated from his body and began to wander around the hut, looking into every corner of it. Then it went somewhere down to the cellar, the entrance to which was hidden under the mat. It began to examine the shelves filled with bottles, buckets, jars of vinegar; on them lay various dried herbs, garlic, the remains of people and animals, skulls, bones, hair… In a word, the whole witchcraft set of the witch. Then, as if having finished the inspection, the soul returned to the body and an inner voice awakened him from sleep: “It is time, my friend, wake up! You know what to do. Hurry up.”

And Maksim, as if nothing had happened, got up from the mat, lifted it and went down to the cellar. Meanwhile, the monster which had been amazed at him all this time continued to remain silent. It could not go down due to its size and therefore began to wait for the boy upstairs. After some time, Maksim appeared with cans of vinegar and a bunch of garlic in his hands. He began to scatter garlic and sprinkle vinegar in the corners, on the floor of the hut and cellar. Then he asked the monster to crush the garlic. As a result of all these manipulations, the hut was saturated with the pungent smell of vinegar and garlic, which interrupted even the terrible smell of the potion.

– Maybe you can explain what do all this mean? – the monster was curious.

– I need to hide in the cellar. So that the witch did not smell a human smell, I had to make this mess, – the boy explained.

– What do you command to tell the witch? How to explain all this to her? – asked the monster.

– You will tell her that you accidentally touched with your tail cans of vinegar and a bunch of garlic, – Maksim explained. – And when the witch lies down to rest, replace the contents of the pot with a decoction, which we will now prepare. Then mix the potion with her lunch. She will not feel anything with hunger.

– But garlic and vinegar are in the basement. I can’t get there. The witch will guess that strangers have been here, – the monster objected with doubt in its voice.

– I apologize, Your Majesty, I could not come up with anything better, – the boy replied with a note of annoyance in his voice, caused by a misunderstanding of the prince. Thus he continued:

– It’s because you don’t get there, she, tired of the road further, will not suspect anything. In addition, you will be extremely polite and courteous with her, my prince. Although she is a witch but still a woman…

– It was invented superbly! – the monster evaluated the plan of Maksim. – I dare to hope the witch will not change her usual routine.

The new potion was ready. Roles were divided. It remained to wait for the witch. She did not keep herself waiting long. At exactly midnight the wind whistled, a storm rose, the forest rustled, swished, the shutters of the windows of the hut rattled, the door creaked, and the witch flew into her hut on her broomstick. She screeched, noticing the monster which was removing garlic crushed on the floor:

– What a pogrom you made here!

– Sorry, this was not on purpose. My tail touched a bunch of garlic and a jar of vinegar, – the monster began to make excuses.

Sneezing and cursing, the witch went to the stove to check the quality of the potion.

– I see you worked hard. The potion turned out to be excellent, – said the witch, opening the lid of the pot and stirring the muddy liquid with a wooden spoon. – Only these disgusting smells of vinegar and garlic do not allow me to enjoy the aroma of the potion.

– Okay, all the talking later. I’m tired of the road. I should lie down to rest, while you will cook dinner. In the mortar you will find everything you need.

With these words, the witch lied on the mat and fell asleep in a sound sleep. Her snoring was heard not only in the cellar, but throughout the forest.

The monster, meanwhile, laid out the witch’s bones, skulls, berries, greens and meat from the mortar in a large pot, added water and put it in the oven to cook. An unbearable smell of human remains went throughout the hut, which in the process of cooking became more and more disgusting. Then the monster changed the potion to a new decoction, and added the potion to the witch’s dinner. It seemed to the monster that the witch would wake up very soon and it would not be able to complete the work he had begun. But each time the witch only turned over from side to side and continued to snore. The monster was very restless. Today its fate was decided. Any wrong move, any accident could delay the implementation of his plans for a whole year.

The prince in the form of a monster was in a hard condition, but it was even harder for the boy. He crouched in the cellar between barrels filled with some strange and nasty-smelling liquids. Their smell made him sick, his head was spinning, and he seemed to fall into some kind of semi-unconscious state. This was the only place where the witch could not notice him in case she tried to go down to the cellar. In addition, Maksim decided to be careful perhaps in order to kill the human smell. All these inconveniences drowned out fear. But he took a big risk.

Meanwhile, the witch did not think to wake up. Three hours have passed. The monster tried to escape from thoughts of salvation. But nothing worked out.

– How did the boy meditate? – thought the monster. – I need to concentrate on something good.

And the prince remembered his country, the palace, the king and the queen. How sad they must have been when he disappeared. How much grief has gone through, how much tears have been spilled… However, no need for sad things.

Images were recalled from childhood when, as a child, he comprehended the wisdom of fencing, learned to ride a horse. The best teachers in natural sciences, languages, music, painting, dancing and military art were invited to teach him. Father was fond of the East and believed that his son should perfectly master all types of cold weapons, martial arts. He paid special attention to healing, the study of all kinds of poisons, their antidotes.

The prince remembered his faithful friend-mentor, with whom he shared all his innermost thoughts, experiences. The prince read a lot. He was especially interested in stories about generals. He knew the details of all the famous battles. Since childhood he was fond of Alexander the Great and Hannibal. The prince largely imitated them. He led the same Spartan lifestyle. He absented himself from the palace for a long time, disguised as artisans or merchants and wandering with his friend in the kingdom. He knew well the needs and aspirations of his people. He tried to be fair and be faithful to his principles.

Once during a hunt, they wandered with a friend into a dense forest and fell into the hands of an evil witch. The prince sent his friend back. He was saved, but the prince did not have time to hide. And the evil sorceress turned him into a terrible monster, of which only one sight was terrifying for everyone he had to face. And therefore, the monster itself, sparing the feelings of people, shied away from them. And if the witch didn’t instruct at specific hours to collect everything necessary for the potion in certain places in the forest, it would sit all year in a hut. Hunger made the monster hunt at night.

– But why I am thinking only about bad things. Apparently, it’s time to get up, – the monster did not have time to think, as the witch’s shrill voice came:

– It’s time to serve. You seem to become lazy. You don’t want to work or speak. Should I see your relatives, in order for you to amuse me and to enquire? – the witch began to tease it.

– I wish you hadn’t seen them, – the monster replied. But, having decided that it was not worth annoying her again, the monster became more pleasant:

– You’re right, I’m sorry. Now I will feed you, and you, please, tell me about my parents.

– That’s better. Sit next to me. Otherwise I’m bored.

The witch started a meal and began to tell the monster about her adventures, about the places where she had visited, about the parents of the prince. When she stopped, the monster, fearing that the witch would not finish the meal, began to talk about what it saw in the forest, what trials fell on his lot during the hunt, what happened new during their separation. And the witch, listening to him, sank deeper and deeper into slumber, not realizing what was happening to her. And finally, it happened! The witch finally fell asleep, her spells slept… And a handsome young man in the clothes of a hunter appeared before the boy who came out of his shelter. Both watched in fear the witch, who had fallen asleep forever.