What the hell are you talking about! I muttered.
Now, recalling these episodes, I wonder why we dont say kind words to our loved ones, dont support them in their moments of sadness. Was it hard for me to answer something like, Honey, of course, Im going to be not simply sad, but damn sad! Please, dont die! No, on the contrary, I grumbled!
When Katya put on a helmet and a vest before the rafting, she looked like a twelve-year-old girl, although she always looked younger than her years. I would like Katya to give birth to my daughter, but all the time how many years? I put off the important decision for a while.
I took a picture of Katya against the backdrop of a stormy river and a boat. We signed an agreement that the organizers didnt bear any responsibility for our lives and the like. After the briefing, we bravely rushed into the battle, not yet knowing that in one of the rapids, we were going to face, a tourist like us had recently died.
The instructors name was Sam. Originally from Nepal, he spoke English and knew a few words in Russian. I saw Katyas eyes light up.
Sam, she exclaimed, have you seen Kailash?!
Oh, Kailash! This is a great mountain near my country! Sam said proudly and looked up at the sky.
At that moment we were surrounded by delightful landscapes of towering mountains. And, to be honest, I didnt understand, what could be so extraordinary in some Kailash! There were a lot of mountains on Earth! I seemed to be the only one who hadnt sung praises to Kailash yet.
Our boat didnt capsize in the end, although two men did fall out of it.
***
We spent the next two days among the ruins of ancient towns.
I seem to be able to fly over to that column! confessed Katya, standing on top of a nameless hill with the remains of a temple.
No, no, dont, dont try! I stopped her.
And people of previous civilizations could fly! Just imagine, with the power of their own thoughts, they moved heavy stones and even mountains!
Are you talking about Kailash again?! Change mountain! There are a lot of them!
Katya pursed her lips in resentment and fell silent, but soon a local resident approached us, offering a parasailing, and I sent her to fly first over the sea, and then over the mountains.
Katya was an outgoing girl. Yes, a girl
It would seem that her tragic life experience, many times greater than my own, should instantly turn any creature into an old one, but Katya looked young and remained a child in her soul.
However, she managed to combine the incongruous, was drawn to everything out of standard, loved extreme sports and sometimes, as it seemed to me, flirted with death. Katya was not afraid of it, but she was afraid of spiders! Can you imagine? Afraid of insects, but not of dying! Strong-willed and kind, smart and beautiful, which was already a rarity, and at the same time completely defenseless, she clearly needed a strong male shoulder nearby.
Probably, I loved her, but I was afraid to admit it to myself I was afraid of responsibility and of losing my own independence I neither expressed my love openly nor pampered Katya.
For example, when we went for a walk in the local evening bazaar, she saw a tiny pyramid of multi-colored onyx.
Look, how beautiful it is! Katya exclaimed. Pyramids normalize, strengthen and focus energy, turning it in the right direction! They also translate the earthly into the heavenly! Every pyramid is real magic! They say the whole complex of mountains around Kailash is a city of various pyramids!
The pyramid cost a penny, but I defiantly ignored the transparent hint. Why didnt I buy Katya a piece of her coveted magic? I was already jealous of Katya to Kailash with all the fibers of my soul and absolutely indifferent to the pyramids, since I understood nothing in them. Most likely, I think now, that not buying was my subconscious protest as a refusal to admit to myself that Katya knew something I didnt know, that during our shared life she had become more well-read and advanced in the Otherworld, she had grown a lot, overtaken me in many ways
***
Returning to the hotel after a walk along the sea, we heard a sudden shout behind us and looked back. A man in a white T-shirt with the logo of a large travel company for some reason desperately waved his hands, looking at us point-blank. We froze, and the man ran up to us.
Are you refusing our night excursion? he asked Katya.
What do you mean? she wondered.
You bought it from me half an hour ago at the Sun Hotel! the travel agent exclaimed and took out his notebook. Here you are Svetlana!
No, you are confusing something. Im not Svetlana, Im Katya!
Besides, my friend, I felt like showing my importance, we are from another hotel, and we are leaving tomorrow morning. So, we have no time for night excursions!
Blimey! Sorry! It means the girl, settled in the Sun Hotel, is your exact copy!
The man apologized again and left.
A bad sign, Katya said and became gloomy. Copies are met shortly before the death of their original. Or loved ones see the look-alikes of those who are about to die.