Mom and daughter were quite different. Miniature Olga had dark thick hair and emerald eyes, approximately the same picture was with Alinin's father. But the liquid, giving gold hair and the celestial color of her daughter's eyes did not fit into the family idyll. Such a funny joke with her great-grandmother created, giving her great-grandson his appearance. For this, my mother often called Alina a witch, the girl inherited from such a distant generation, perhaps too pleasant features of the face.
- Are you even glad? - Alina raised her tired eyes on her father.
- Yes, of course she was glad! Despite the terrible fatigue, aching knee pain and complete confusion with things. Only this comprehensive joy and did not allow her now to fall on an inflatable mattress and fall asleep unwanted sleep hours at fourteen.
The man got up from the table and left the room. Not even a minute later, he returned with a guitar in his hands.
- Will you play, Alinka? - he smiled kindly, giving his daughter a six-string instrument.
- Are you sure that the neighbors will like my concert? It seems too late.
- Today it is possible, - Aleksey Valentinovich said, - he winked at me boyishly. At such moments, he seemed to Alina to be especially her age, rather than a 40-year-old man and an exemplary father.
And she sang. About the boundless seas, mountains, magic fairies and love is strict and mischievous.
German life gradually became a habit in Alinina. Every day Erlangen fell in love with himself even more. There were green parks, where the girl loved to walk in the early morning, relative silence, aromatic coffee and cinnamon buns in front of her house.
Alina turned around in front of the mirror. Beautiful clothes also gave her great pleasure in Russia, but here in Germany the ritual of selecting the right outfit has acquired some special meaning for her. Today she was wearing a gray pleated skirt with black flowers embroidered on the bottom and a light white sweater. The girl looked at her reflection for the last time, shoved herself in a dark blue shoe on a small heel and walked out the door.
Schlossgarten was not far from the house where Alina's family settled. The girl loved to walk there in the morning, before the German courses. In the morning it was especially quiet in the park, all the other residents of the town were going to work at that time. Alina walked slowly, going further and further into the park. The heels made a pleasant knock, a black purse repeatedly sliced through the air. There were benches on the alley.
At first the girl saw a point. Then the dot turned into a stain and finally into a human being. Alina smiled. Similar lines were in some book about the war. Perhaps she even read this book recently. But now the past seemed to be extremely distant, that no matter how she tried, she could not remember the name of this probably very sad book.
There was a man on the bench. He had long black hair and his neck and arms were decorated with different amulets. Against the background of everything that was happening, he looked quite strange. The blue girl's heels missed the rough men's shoes. In the solar plexus settled intrusive and unpleasant feeling, which has the beginning of fear and echoes of disgust. Steps became uncertain. A few more seconds and Alina had to stop. The body was shaken, her knees shaken and did not let her step again. The world was losing shape. She took a deep breath and patiently exhaled. Once again. Again. These simple actions brought her back to reality. But the feeling did not retreat. Alina felt someone's presence from behind and turned around.
That man stood in front of her. He looked at her closely, and Alina noticed that his eyes were completely black. It all happened again, but this time it was as if something was blocking his breath. The girl could barely hold on to avoid falling down, but the stranger did nothing. Through Alina's thick veil, it suddenly seemed that he was smirking.
- Enschul...Enschuldigung - she could have said much more, but now this long basic word, learned in her first German class, was the peak of her strength. Alina had already been softened and was about to fall, counting the number of bones that would hurt after hitting the asphalt. But the wind blew and the girl could breathe. A shadow appeared on the stranger's face. The wind was blowing more and more, and with every moment of his strength, Alina felt better. Her hair got tangled and scattered in different directions. The man recoiled either from a strong wind or from an incomprehensible fear that - something filtered through his teeth and suddenly left. Alina looked after him.
She herself burst into tears, bent over a bag she had dropped a few minutes earlier and cried even harder. Now, with horror and pity for herself. The wind that had just saved her had been replaced by calm again. Is there anything normal about a hurricane that suddenly started and then calmed down? Alina picked up her shoes and ran home, spitting unconscionably on new and very beautiful tights.