And why did you climb the tree? From wolves, or what? Now well 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.
Theyll go, and Ill 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.
Thats where were going, they had forgotten all about the library, and you?
I have to go there, too, I said, theyre waiting for me, I added, just to make sure they didnt get the wrong idea, I have to hurry.
It looks like were on our way. Lets 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 wouldnt 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 youre 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 whos 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. Im afraid of wolves near my village, they howl somewhere near at night.
Never mind, granny, well 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. Im 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. Im 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 dont seem to mind making friends, at least Alex does.
I walked along the beach, but somehow I didnt 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.
Im Grandma Lisa. And the guys are Tys 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, well 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 didnt know anything either.
My legs were humming, I didnt 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 cant go in someone elses 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 didnt 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 womens 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 cant be! This cant be.
I wandered back. At least my grandmother wouldnt 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 wouldnt understand, theyre fine, Im the one who got here in the middle of nowhere, and Im the one who has to get out of it.
Why me? Why did this happen to me? Its not fair!
Fear gripped me. Im 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 wont be lonely on long winter evenings.
What? Long winter evenings? No! I need to get back by that time, not just to the fishermens 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 didnt say anything about my world not being here, I just said that I drove from afar, then I walked, and thats how it was.
And I stayed at Grandma Lisas 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. Johns wort, oregano, thyme and various berries. My grandmother had picked herbs herself before I came along, and we collected some of them together.