Ловушка для Мыслеформы. A Trap for a Thought-Form. Премия им. М. Булгакова / M. Bulgakov Award (Билингва: Rus/Eng) - страница 47

«Privet… Kak prasla v Mouzei?»

«Спасибо, Паш… Тебе одиноко?»

«Niet familia. Daleko dom. Da trudna… Ti znais Gja rabota v Germany sitsas kontrakt, nu zakrita vse…»

«Ты сейчас не работаешь, да?»

«Da»

«Ты знаешь немецкий?»

«Niet, nu outchiou. Trudna…»

«Сам учишь или с учителем?»

«Sam…»

«В Германии лучше, чем в Греции?»

«Da. Adekhat v Greece loutse… Zit v Germany… Nu sitsas ni mozna litat damoi. Daje v Greece. Vse zakrita, aeroport zakrit…»

«Я могу тебе чем-то помочь?»

«Niet… A ti xotchis zamous? Mi pazenitsa. Хotchis? Gde ti xotchis? Russie? Greece? Germany? Mozna v Greece. V kakoi stranie? Kak ti xotchis?.. V tzerkov ou nas afizalna. Tolka tak haraso, pravilna tak. Ti veris v Boga? Gja da… Gja priedou k tibie I mi pagavarim… Da?»

The Guardian met me at the door.

«Frozen?» he asked, having heard the Blizzard howling outside, as I entered the Mansion.

«I like winter,» I smiled.

For some reason, the Guardian froze, looking at me as at a sudden glitch in the Matrix.

«Are you sure you prefer winter to spring?» he asked once more.

«Yes, why? The Blizzard is real magic! Does it matter?» I was surprised.

The Guardian hung my furs on a hanger and followed me into the cafe disappointedly.

«Today you will introduce us a Little Imp, won’t you?» he asked, making coffee for me.

«No, an ordinary old Waterman from „Nowhere“.»

«Wow! Is No-where now-here!? Or «here and now’?»

«Imagine! He has been looking for Nowhere all his life. Anyway, I think he found it in his book.»

«Then what is he doing here if he has found what he was looking for?» the Guardian got surprised.

«Do you mean the Mansion is visited by only those who are still in search?»

The Guardian brought me coffee.

«You are even cooler than I imagined,» he sighed for some reason.

«Is it bad?»

The Guardian didn’t answer, since the Cat approached us.

«Me-e-ow…»

The Waterman appeared in the hall without a retinue, swam to the stage and, without ceasing to swim along it in one direction or the other, immersed the guests into a trance with tales about his search for Nowhere all over the globe. From time to time, he took out ancient maps with blurry signs and symbols, but his melodic voice had a much stronger effect on the audience.

I watched the guests evenly nodding their heads in a trance, and at some point they seemed to be… puppets. I closed my eyes, and then opened them and saw… Ray! I screamed and closed my eyes once more. Someone grabbed my arm from the right side of the Giant Mirror. I opened my eyes again and saw the Guardian.

«What’s wrong?» he asked ingratiatingly.

I looked back into the hall, but there was Roman at my table. It was too stuffy there. «Just a mirage…»

«Nothing,» I exhaled, «why?»

The Guardian silently stepped away behind the curtains that separated us from the rest of the Mansion. I announced the break and moved to my table. However, as luck would have it, the Impurities flocked to me with questions!

I dreamed of being alone with Roman, but the Impurities’ flow never stopped, and the Guardian loomed behind the guests in the distance. He was watching me. Silently. Intently. As if the flow between us was something unreal and phantom, and the real ones were the Guardian himself, me and…

I looked at Roman. He was sitting next to me, very close, patiently waiting for…

«I wanted to tell you,» I said mentally, struggling in vain to get away from the Impurities,