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I cautiously climbed out of the hollow and stretched with pleasure, inhaling deeply, and looked at the tree that served as my shelter. The leaves are oak. Still, where does an oak tree come from?
I hadn’t heard the sound of water yesterday. It came from the right. I did not pay attention out of tiredness. I went to the sound, soon saw a stream, washed my face with cold water, and rinsed my mouth, which instantly made my teeth cramp.
I had to go back somehow. I used the sun to identify the sides of the world and headed southeast, I wasn’t sure exactly, but it felt like the right direction.
I had been walking for half an hour when I ran my hand over my neck and found that my pendant was missing, the latch on the chain must have broken, and the pendant had fallen off. Tears came to my eyes. My father had given me that pendant years ago. I always wore it, and here it was a reminder of home, of my mother and Maksimka and Mukhtar.
I went back, searched around the oak tree, looked in the hollow. I couldn’t find anything.
And then I saw a white dog staring at me. I looked closer. It was a wolf. The hair on my head began to rise, and my consciousness from horror almost left my frail body. Now the cute little wolf was going to eat me, and no one would even know it. I loved animals, of course, but I didn’t want to become someone else’s dinner.
What to do, how to be? I grabbed hold of a tree branch and pulled myself up as hard as I could, pushing myself up against the trunk with my legs, somehow climbing onto the branch, and it was good that it was thick, so it would hold. What if I fell?
The two of them appeared suddenly. The branch didn’t crunch, and I didn’t hear any other sounds. The wolf disappeared silently among the trees in the forest, as if it had evaporated, and in front of me there were two guys, from who knows where, dressed as hunters. But they were strange hunters. They had no guns, but they had… bows, and arrows on their backs. Maybe they’re in some kind of role-playing game.
– Belle, can you tell me where the reading room is? – The short guy asked in a low voice, smiling all over his mouth. I jumped down from the tree. The taller one frowned. What didn’t he like? I didn’t touch them, so they could go on their way.
– And why did you climb the tree? From wolves, or what? – Now we’ll frighten them away, there are many of them now. What about reading?
– What? A library?
They looked at each other and laughed. Meanly.
– Library… what?
– Well, go to the village.
They’ll go, and I’ll find out where the village is.
– What village? – The shorter one, the one who was smiling all the time, asked.
– Are there many here? Well, the one on the shore.
– That’s where we’re going,“ they had forgotten all about the library, „and you?
– I have to go there, too,“ I said, „they’re waiting for me,“ I added, just to make sure they didn’t get the wrong idea, „I have to hurry.
– It looks like we’re on our way. Let’s go,» the smiling man made a hand gesture, like they were letting us follow them. That made me smile. I would have gone that way anyway, just unnoticed. If they were hunters, though, they wouldn’t miss it.
– Alex,» the one who was slightly shorter and always smiling introduced himself, «and this is Vlad,» he nodded at his mate.
– Alice. You could be Lѝsa.
– So you’re a sly fox?
– No. Not fox, Lѝsa,» I said, putting the accent on the first syllable.
The sun rose high above my head. It was a hot summer afternoon, the forest air was clear around me, and I stopped in a clearing where I could see the sky clearly. Shivering jets of air, clearly rising upward.
Among the trees, almost merging with them, stood a wooden house. I rubbed my eyes in surprise, staring at it for a long time. Behind the house was a small vegetable garden with beds of carrots, cabbage, onions, basil, dill, parsley, beets and various other vegetables. My companions knocked on an unpainted wooden door. Inside, light curtains hung around the edges of a small window. A small, clean-looking old lady with a kind smile on her face silently opened the door for us. The hinges were well oiled, probably someone taking care of her and her dwelling.
– Grandma Lisa, meet the guests! – said one of my companions, the talkative Alex, cheerfully and loudly.
– Come on in, kids. From the hunt? And who’s that with you?
– Found it in the woods,“ he laughed in reply, „sitting in a tree.
– From wolves, – I said embarrassedly.
– Yes, there are much wolves now. I’m afraid of wolves near my village, they howl somewhere near at night.
– Never mind, granny, we’ll sort it out, – Vlad promised, and I was even surprised that he spoke.
– Who are you going to be, little girl? – Grandma Lisa asked, setting the table.
– My name is Alice, you can call me Lisa. I’m from the seashore, where the fish factory is, – I answered.
– And what is such a fish factory? – Surprised grandmother.
– The factory. We work with fish there, – I said.
– Are the factories called factories now?
She laughed. I’m not laughing. How do I know where to go and where to find my new friends. Although, now, perhaps, the old ones. The new companions don’t seem to mind making friends, at least Alex does.
– I walked along the beach, but somehow I didn’t count the time while I was walking, it got dark quickly, and I walked into the woods. I think it was not far, but I did not know how to get out. There was a thunderstorm last night, so I spent the night and went out.
– I’m Grandma Lisa. And the guys are Ty’s friends. It is my grandson, with father they live in village, – she outlines a room in the small house with the big stove, in the middle a wooden table with the same stools, on which we sit, by a wall behind a stove a couch, – So I live, there is also a small room with a bed, – waved into depth of the house.
A clean washed window with light curtains, colored homespun runners on the floor, old, but good-quality furniture. Something is missing, I can not figure out what, but suddenly it dawns on me that there is no source of light. Nowhere. The ceiling is empty, no table lamp is visible, only in the corner on a small table with knitting stands in a candlestick unused incense, apparently, it was the source of lighting in the evenings. «Gee,» I thought.
– Well, we’ll be on our way,» Alex began to say goodbye.
Vlad nodded his head, and they left.
– You get some rest, Lisa. Then go to Tinia. Ask around, maybe people in the village will tell you something, – advised Grandma Lisa.
The mood was not very good. How is it possible that the old woman did not know anything about what was on the coast, because she probably lived on the island all her life. And the guys didn’t know anything either.
My legs were humming, I didn’t feel very well after a night in the hollow, my head ached, and the herbal decoction that Grandma Liza had offered me came in handy.
Grandmother gave me a skirt, or the residents would not understand my outfit according to her words. I wore jeans and a T-shirt yesterday before I went for a walk, which helped me not freeze to death at night. What kind of nerdiness is that? Anyway, you can’t go in someone else’s house with your own rules.
Chapter 4. The New World
I jumped over mossy rocks in a shallow spot of a fast but shallow river. To get to the village, I had to cross it. It is not wide, you can jump over large stones without even getting your feet wet, someone had laid them out one by one, like a bridge. I felt just like some kind of caveman in the wilderness.
I crossed to the other bank, found a barely visible path that ran a little away from the shore, but almost along the river, then it turned abruptly to the left.
What was this, what was this strange settlement? The huts, some low, squat. Somewhere there was a faint smoke, as if stove was burning. There is no electricity here, that is why they heat stoves in summer, probably, to cook food. I didn’t see any poles with wires anywhere. Gee, how is that possible in the late twentieth century?
In the village, I talked to the women at the well. None of them had heard anything about a plant on the shore. This left me puzzled, rather shocked. Soon I was all agitated, and panic gripped me. Why was I being looked at like a Neanderthal at the mention of the word «telephone»? Did I grow horns?
A few women sitting on a bench outside one of the houses told me that I was confused about something. Two men came up, and they confirmed the women’s words. I had already stopped asking, I just sank down on the bench, my ears were filled with cotton, people were opening their mouths, saying something, and I was sitting there looking at them. There was only one thing in my head: «No! It can’t be! This can’t be.»
I wandered back. At least my grandmother wouldn’t have prying eyes watching me, because I had aroused so much interest with my questions. I had always been embarrassed by the attention of strangers, and in this situation especially. They wouldn’t understand, they’re fine, I’m the one who got here in the middle of nowhere, and I’m the one who has to get out of it.
«Why me? Why did this happen to me? It’s not fair!»
Fear gripped me. «I’m going to stay here forever! My life is over.»
I returned to the hut on the bend of the river. Grandma Lisa welcomed me with open arms. To my words about not knowing how to get home now, she smiled and said:
– Now I won’t be lonely on long winter evenings.
What? Long winter evenings? No! I need to get back by that time, not just to the fishermen’s village, but to get on a motor ship, that is, to sail away from the island, and then to fly on a plane as well. And I could only sail away before the beginning of the stormy season. It was even scary to imagine that I meet the New Year here, although to be in a snow-covered forest with tall cedars and spruces was at least interesting, but better not here and not now. I didn’t say anything about my world not being here, I just said that I drove from afar, then I walked, and that’s how it was.
And I stayed at Grandma Lisa’s house. With her we talked about current problems and affairs, she knew a lot about everyday life and taught me. I learned how to make the same delicious drink from herbs as she did from St. John’s wort, oregano, thyme and various berries. My grandmother had picked herbs herself before I came along, and we collected some of them together.
I was not alone, we talked a lot. She did most of the talking, and I hadn’t quite gotten the hang of it yet, often trying to remember every minute of the last two days, to understand what had happened.
The old woman told me about this strange island. Several centuries ago, all the inhabitants were united under one ruler, but the neighboring villages were still at war with each other. Then the people elected a head in each village and made a peace treaty between the villages of the Calshires and the Tarians. She is a Tarian, her village is behind the river where I went. The Kalshirs live a couple of days’ journey from here, that’s if you walk. Now every village has a chief who runs the settlement. In general, Grandma Lisa turned out to be a very kind and pleasant woman.
Not far from where we lived, I found a large lake with clean, clear water. I liked to sit for a long time on the shore, dangling my feet into the cool water, and watch the sunset. Sometimes I bathed, and it helped to distract me from unnecessary sad thoughts.
One nice August day I was sitting on an old fallen tree by the water, and I felt that someone was near me. There was no fear, as if there should be. I turned around.
Behind me, five meters away, was a young man of about eighteen, with dark hair, gray eyes, and a kind smile. Well-built. Above average height, with fine features and a dimpled chin. He looked shyly and smiled shyly. I smiled back and asked:
– What’s your name?
– Ty,» he answered.
– Where are you from, Ty?
– Across the river is my village, called Tinia. I came to see my grandmother, and when I visit her, I like to come here.
– So you’re Grandma Lisa’s grandson?
We talked for a while, then just sat next to each other, occasionally exchanging words, we were silent and looked at the lake water for a long time, no words were needed.
The white lilies growing in the lake, we call them water lilies, are so beautiful and delicate. I love these beautiful delicate flowers, their smell of freshness and purity is so beautiful. When I see them, I immediately think of my childhood, as a five-year-old girl sitting on a pier on the old river Chumysh and first time in my life admired these flowers, we then went with my parents to visit friends.
– I haven’t seen you here before,» he smiled, and his gray eyes lit up.
– Yes. I’ve been here recently. I’ve been staying at Grandma Lisa’s for a few days. I can’t find my way back. I came from the other side, – I waved my hand in the direction, – no matter how many times I go there, there’s nothing there, not even a phone in your village, – I was still hoping for something and didn’t fully accept in my soul what happened, – So I live at my grandmother’s for now. Maybe they’ll find me soon, I’m not that far away.
– Who’s going to find you? – Ty looked at me, waiting for an answer.
– There are many of us. We came from the mainland, I said.
– From the mainland… How far is that?
– We sailed on a boat for two days. No one here seems to know about it. Everybody’s surprised at what I say and they all look at me with pity,» I shrugged awkwardly.
– It’s just that you’re from far away. Our people don’t know much about things that aren’t related to the island,» Ty tried to reassure me.
I was surprised, but I said out loud:
– A ship like that, something like that. You don’t have them?
– We have ships, but we don’t call them that weird. Our fishermen go out to sea in them. Then there are boats, they don’t sail very far, they mostly fish and crab in the coastal waters. And we don’t have telephones, I don’t know what they are.
– It’s a thing, you can talk to it from a long distance.
I liked talking to him, he was so kind and understanding. I was glad that I had a friend with whom I could talk about something important and not so important, because, being almost isolated, I was bitter and lonely. The future seemed hazy and distant, and Ty understood me, my pain, the fact that I couldn’t go back to mine.
It turned out that Ty often came here to visit his grandmother, bringing her groceries. He and his father live in the village, but his grandmother prefers the edge of the forest.
Ty and I talked about everything. Like how nice it would be to visit other countries. He didn’t know about Australia or Antarctica, but I didn’t know anything about this island, which strangely kept me going. When I told him that people were different in my country, Ty wasn’t surprised. We had already realized that we were not at all alike, and at the same time we had a lot in common.
– We have different people living in our country. That’s called nationality. And then there are other countries. Some are friendly, some are not.
– I’m not surprised. There are others on the island besides us. We want to live in peace with everyone. But the Calshires from the neighboring village want our village to belong to them, too.
As I understand it, there are many other islands near this island, and not all of them are inhabited, there are rock islands. On some of them there are a lot of bears, there people walk around with rattles in their pockets to scare the animals away in case of emergency. There are a lot of volcanoes, hot springs with multicolored stones, there are some where the water is very hot and you can boil bird’s eggs. In those springs where the water is a pleasant temperature, you can swim, and then it is so great to stand under the cool jets of the waterfall.
Tai told me that there is a town to the east, but it is far away. It’s a day’s walk from here and another half day’s journey. I wanted to go there, and Ty promised that we’d go together soon, since it’s dangerous to walk alone in the desert, and he goes there sometimes, mostly to buy something for his grandmother.
His grandmother lives in seclusion. She has no friends, because that’s how life works out. She settled in her time in a forest, when her husband perished in the taiga, left and did not return. She took her grief hard. She loved him very much. She and her daughter lived together, and then somehow her daughter grew up, married a good guy and began to live in the village. When Tai was due to be born, she visited her mother. She gave birth before her due date and died in childbirth. The cabin in the woods was where it all happened.
Grandmother lived alone from that time, Tai went to her several times a week, brought food, and sometimes Tai’s father came to visit. He is the head of the village now, he has a lot of things to do. My grandmother was glad to communicate with people, but not much, she got tired quickly.
– She took me in to live with her,» I said thoughtfully.
– Yes. I went to see her today. She said she didn’t live alone now.
Chapter 5. We’re going into town
Grandma Lisa and I were sitting at the table eating breakfast when Ty came in the morning a couple of days later. He joined us and had a fresh berry compote.
The sun had not yet risen high when he and I hit the road. I wanted to see what the town was all about, Grandma told me to stop at the bazaar and buy different spices and good tea.
We walked along the river behind the lodge, crossed over moss-covered greenish stones to the other bank and rounded the village. We walked along a small road towards the morning sun. It shone tenderly and warmed everything around us.
On the right the cold sea was murmuring. The dark sea surface glistened in the sun, and the foamy waves unhurriedly rolled onto the shore, slowly running back. All day we walked and walked along the steep cliff shore. Only once we sat down for a snack. Before the road, our grandmother packed a sorrel bag with scones and pies, and gave us a bottle of milk.
As the sun began to set in the west, Tai suggested a fire and a good rest. He found a brook and made a stew of the grits he had brought from home. We made a fire of brushwood. They spent the night there, and in the morning, at first light, they ate some leftover stew and flatbread and set off.
