Short stories

Puzzle

I was given another puzzle for my birthday.

Why do they think that I like puzzles? Well, yes, I do put them together but… Not because I like them, but because it's a mess! And everything has to be neat and beautiful!

Beautiful...

Like sometimes they ask me something stupid... For example, "Did you like the gift?" I once answered "no". It turned out that not everyone likes the truth. And what should I do? Lie? If I lie, the puzzle piece won't fit! So after that I keep quiet. Because there is no other suitable answer, one that would look beautiful and fit in.

My parents wonder why I don't talk. But how can I?

Putting puzzles together is a hard work. And conversation is even more difficult than any puzzle!

Okay, "yes" or "no" questions - those are easy! There are only two possible answers – those are the most universal “puzzle pieces”.

If one doesn't work, the other one will!

But if they ask me: "What color do you like?" I have to think! So as not to make a mistake! I was silent for a while. Then they started asking me leading questions: "red?" "blue?"

Oh! "blue"! It fits! This piece fits into the puzzle.

Or they asked: "What's your favorite dish?" Do I know? This is exactly the case when several puzzle pieces fit the same spot. So which one should I choose? I remain silent. Again leading questions: "Do you like pizza?", "And pasta?" Now I'm in my element - my favorites pieces – either "yes” or "no”. Everything becomes simple here! Now I can answer!

But it's not enough for them! Why don’t they ask only "yes or no" questions like before? Or at least monosyllabic questions. No! Now they want a detailed answer!

Like once they asked: "How did you break the alarm clock?" Well... it's a long story... There's no short answer... And I don't like big "puzzles"! It's harder to tidy them up. I remain silent.

Or: "Why aren't you dressed yet?" Do I know? More precisely, I know, because here it is... a toy car, or… not exactly... I don’t have this word in my vocabulary yet. I remain silent again.

It's like a puzzle. If a piece doesn't fit, I don't shove it in, I don't hammer it in! The same goes for a conversation: if a phrase doesn't fit, I look for another. And if nothing fits? I remain silent.

Recently I was taught to start responding “why” questions with "because"! What a discovery! It turns out that this fits any question that starts with "why". It turned out to be a universal puzzle piece! Now I answer: "Because!", and that’s it. Well, not everyone likes it; they still continue asking this "why". Then I remain silent.

Why? Because everything should be beautiful! There should be an order! And if the phrase doesn't fit? It's out of order!

Or another question that often baffles me: "What are you doing?" How do I know which part of my action they are interested in? At what point in time? That I'm climbing onto a chair? That I open the cabinet? That I look for candy? Too much to fit into one sentence. I'll keep quiet.

Oh! I also recently learned that to this question I can respond "nothing." It turned out to be another universal puzzle piece!

What's interesting is that over time, puzzles become more complicated, and sometimes I even find larger pieces that fit. Or pieces made up of smaller pieces - whole structures! Yes, it turns out that you can do that too! Although small "yes" or "no" pieces are still my favorites!

But I'm learning! I won’t stop. And when I accumulate more pieces, I'll learn to assemble larger puzzles!

But for now I'll keep quiet!

Lightening and Thunder

— Where are you running! Wait! — He rumbled, out of breath, unable to keep up with her.

This was not the first time they had started the race together, but he always lagged behind.

She was so beautiful, bright, fleeting! He wanted to catch up with her so much!

But again he couldn’t keep up.

She shone, sparkled, teased! He just thundered after her with his big heavy boots.

But sometimes she allowed him to come closer — dancing was her greatest passion, and when she, sparkling incessantly, whirled in a dance, running across the entire sky, he joyfully thundered around her. But either out of politeness, or afraid to scare her away when she was so close, he did not dare touch her.

So then, she, sparkling cheerfully, took off running again, and he again tried to catch up with her.

Today, when the sky is covered with dark clouds — against this background she looks especially beautiful — these two have started playing tag again… where she always runs away, and he always tries to catch up.

Such is the fate of those two who cannot exist without each other, but at the same time can never touch one another.

Still, he does not lose hope. Maybe today he will finally reach her.

Repository of destinies

— And here we have the holy of holies! — the old man raised his index finger meaningfully. — The repository of destinies!

We entered a large room lined from top to bottom with shelve-racks filled with some sort of tubes.

— Access to this unit can be granted only by the Almighty HIMSELF! Can you feel the level of trust, young man? This is the post of paramount importance!

I reached out toward one of the tubes, but the old man pulled me back.

— Right here. You can look at these. — He pointed to a shelf with the inscription: «Sinners — fourth level», next to which stood a box carelessly filled with tubes piled on top of one another. — These are training samples.

I took one and looked into the round opening of the tube — nothing special. Like a kaleidoscope, one of those we played with as children. I turned it slightly — the colored glass shifted the pattern a little. I shook it and got a new pattern, then shook it harder…

— Well, that’s enough for this unfortunate one!

I was surprised.

— Ahm… — the old man hesitated, — even though these are experimental samples, they are still… living people. The arbiters of fate train on them. Sinners deserve falls and blows of fate, but everything is good in moderation. And even for fourth-level sinners there is a limit! Therefore, a new set is selected for each lesson.

— What do you mean? Every time I turn this tube, something changes in the fate of the person to whom it belongs?

— Exactly! Didn’t they teach you this? What did you do in class, young man?

I shrugged.

— Okay then. And, of course, — the old man continued, — under no circumstances should you touch the righteous ones — only the Almighty HIMSELF sends them trials! Anyway… — he exhaled, — it is better not to touch anything here at all! As they say: «Out of harm’s way!» Well, that’s it. Have you seen enough? Ready?

I nodded.

— Well, then you start tomorrow!

He patted me on the shoulder in a fatherly way, and we headed towards the exit.

Just then… I tripped over that very box filled with the «experimental samples of fourth-level sinners», and, to break my fall, I grabbed one of the racks. Pushed by my weight, it creaked and tilted slightly… It lurched slowly until it touched the next one, and that one touched the next…

The tubes began to fall to the floor one after another, as if in a slow-motion movie.

Aghast, I watched as the domino effect was irrevocably changing the fate of all mankind right before my eyes…

An Exquisite Present for an Exquisite Lady

Ella had lived a long and decent life, been a good wife, and was now the widow of a highly respected man. At least, that’s what those around her thought. However, she had committed sins in her youth, and in an attempt to atone for them, she donated the bulk of her inheritance to charity. She even bequeathed the family mansion to a nearby orphanage. God had given them no children, so there was no one to leave it to anyway.

Having managed her late husband’s affairs, she now whiled away her days reading books and strolling in the garden.

And then, on one such ordinary day, a package was delivered to her. It contained a small box with a letter attached. She unfolded the piece of paper and read the text, written in beautiful calligraphy:

«My darling, my beloved, now that you are free, nothing can stop us from being together! As a token of my eternal love, please, accept this gift — an exquisite souvenir for an exquisite lady, the queen of my heart!» There was no signature.

Ella glanced at herself in the mirror — for a woman of sixty-something, she looked fairly good, but…

She tried to recall which of her former admirers might still have feelings for her. There was one among them, the memory of whom made her blush even now, forty years later — her greatest and most terrible sin. They had a gardener — hired him in a hurry because his predecessor had died suddenly a week before the planned celebration under unclear circumstances.

The new one was young, handsome, and often worked shirtless in the garden, and broke quite a few young hearts among the servants and guests. Moreover, he proved to be quite an interesting conversationalist and wasn’t shy about showering the Lady of the house with compliments. Whether her husband discovered their affair or whether it was just circumstances, one day the young gardener disappeared from their lives as suddenly as he had appeared…

She turned the box over in her hands — heavy, beautifully carved. She placed it on the table in front of her and opened it.

Noo… No way! He wouldn’t be able to afford that!

A large nugget lay on the velvet. An emerald?

Ella picked up the stone, and… it immediately flared, illuminating the room with a cold glow.

She felt a surge of strength, as if she could move mountains! Now, the person looking back at her from the mirror wasn’t a well-groomed elderly widow, but a young beastie with a wild shock of black hair and a glint in her eyes — in her palm lay a similar stone, only scarlet with dark veins.

A shadow behind her detached itself from the wall, approached, and placed a hand on the reflection’s shoulder. «My queen!» Ella felt that touch too. So familiar… There was no fear; on the contrary, warmth spread through her body like electricity, tingling and sparking at her fingertips.

«Am I a witch?»

«Yes, my love!»

«And you?»

The shadow smiled predatorily:

«Your liberator, thirsty for a reward.»

She put the stone down and stretched her arms forward — the charges between them transformed into lightning, gradually forming a glowing ball. Throwing it at the wall, she laughed — freely and easily for the first time in years. The wallpaper and curtains caught fire. Delight filled her!

For a brief moment, she thought about all her prayers, all her charity, that had just been wasted — but what difference would it make now, when the whole world lay before her, where she belonged only to herself and was free to do as she pleased?

With another ball, she shattered the window and, like a black bird, fluttered through the flames after the shadow of her liberator.