With these thoughts, he puts the knife in the bucket and, grasping the leg of the mushroom with both hands, pulls. But the mushroom doesn't want to give in. Then Oleg begins to loosen it gently in the ground. He digs his fingers into the ground, embraces the mushroom at the very base. Gradually the opponent begins to weaken and eventually loses his position. And now Oleg is holding the lifeless body of the Mexican in his hand, and in the air there are several thin legs of the Mexican.
"But now you will be eaten only once," Oleg encourages him and goes to his father, already knowing that he will be caught.
***
Having put his son to bed, Oleg and Yulia, sitting in the kitchen, invent ways out of this world. It seems to them that the laws of time, according to which they live, exist only on Earth. Probably, there are other spaces and planets, not yet studied by scientists, which are governed by other laws. The most logical way out is to fly out of this world in search of a new home. And pigeons will have to move them to another reality. Yulia laughs and wipes her tears with her palm when she tells it.
- Why should there be a dove? - Oleg asks.
- These are smart birds. Have you heard of postal pigeons? - Yulia answers.
- Have you heard of storks that bring in children?
- That's why you don't have to be smart at all! What difference does it make what kind of child to bring to whom.
This is always the case. You can't argue with her.
In case it doesn't work out, Oleg has another plan. It is necessary to be nailed to nomads, to gypsies or Mongols. They should know all the trails and trails where they can get out.
Evenings in the kitchen with his wife, as if immersed in childhood. Then this small tradition will cease to be supported. Julu will be demoted, and Oleg will work on two bets to feed the family. In the morning, he will take revenge on the yard, then mow trees, bushes and lawns in the city park. To come sweaty and tired home, to watch some shit on TV, to plump on a bed. And at least one pigeon, of which there are plenty, offered to take him out of this wheeled world.
***
Someone's sitting on the bed, feeling Oleg without opening his eyes. As it turned out, it is not a wife, but a black-haired thin man in a blue tulip. He has a tall hat with red fur on his head, long black plaits hanging from underneath, ending in large metal rings. All his clothes are covered with tangled small ornaments. He looks at Oleg. It is impossible to tell by his face whether he is young or old. It is still, only in the oblong black eyes there is some movement. It seems that they are filled with liquid, which is bulging and beats against the eye cavities.
A stranger suddenly gets out of bed and goes to the exit. Oleg immediately, without hesitation, rises and follows him. His attention is drawn to the rippling robe: the interweaving of colorful links, sea waves turning into horns of a ram, various labyrinths in which the eyes get stuck. He looks away and discovers that they are walking along the field. Tolip leads him on and on, Oleg moves, caught by a tide of vivacity and hope. It is not clear why, but he trusts this man.
The field ends. The mountains begin. A man in a tulip quietly walks on the rocks, Oleg climbs behind him, ripping off the skin on his hands. After a long climb they find themselves on top. It is flat and resembles a volcano crater. In the middle of a hole gleams.
The escort walks in a circle, leading Oleg. Suddenly he stops, turns around and looks at his companion, who looks down and sees that the rock on which they stand orange with veins, like the eye of a pigeon, which Oleg failed to catch. The abyss in the center narrows down and then dilates like a pupil. The one who is escorted looks long into the abyss and, as soon as it is maximally dilated, jumps. Oleg jumps after...
He opens his eyes and sees an old hold with three mirrors. He looks at him for a long time without thinking about anything. Then she suddenly comes out of her sleepiness and realizes that she is in her room.
After a little while the pain starts to come on, he starts to cry like a child, whining and pounding his hands on the bed.
***
Oleg cannot remember the moment when this man became his stepfather. Nobody warned him. One day he just came back from school, and this man was in their apartment. He gave Oleg a rubber, for some reason, green spider. He bent over as if waiting for some reaction, and then left for the kitchen. He stayed with them at night, and Sunday morning came, and the man, as it turned out, Uncle Yura, walked all day in tights through their apartment, fried eggs, watched TV. And Oleg realized that he would have to get used to it.
To be continued on the next part