style="font-size:15px;"> – Half past midnight. May be I can help you with something?
– No, thank you, I better go.
With the lump in the throat, Svetlana rushed to the stairs of the high porch realizing that her nerves were on the stretch. She cried out loud at the same time as the school door slammed with crash. Sveta covered face with hands, dropped her bag and could not stop until she was taken by hand. She stopped crying, but was not moving hands away from the face, sighting deeply to calm herself.
– Don’t be scared, this is me. May be you want to come in and calm down?
– No, I will go home. Unless it is too difficult, could you please help me to get downstairs, I don’t see anything.
– Sure, sure of course it is not, – the guard lifted the dropped bag and helped her to get down the stairs.
– Excuse me, should I walk you home? I am not aloud to leave the building, but I can call someone for help.
But Svetlana already did not hear him, hardly perceiving the reality. It seemed that she is in a different world and carried away on the powerful wings of the giant bird, descending suddenly and soaring rapidly. Every moment of the received impressions absolutely could not be compared to that world that remained below and appeared so insignificant. All of the sudden she felt eerie. She fathomed that she represented a small particle of this world and required to return to it. Falling down accelerating speed Sveta thought: «I will be back»! It was not frightening at all, but she still decided not to look at the face of death. At the sight of the approaching earth it was getting more and more dolorous and heavy at heart. And nothing – not the expected paid, not the coldness, not the fear – nothing was there. After waiting for a little while, she opened eyes and saw the entrance door of her apartment, keys in the right hand and bag in the left. Striving hard not to think of anything, Sveta said to herself: «Enough, Svetonka, stop, calm down! Enough for today. Let’s go home and go to bed».
Falling asleep instantaneously, Svetlana saw herself in the unfamiliar commodious building. Something wicked was chasing her, something she was desperately scared of, and she was running away from it not knowing where and what for. All at once she entered an empty room which had no exit and hid in the corner. And the creature, overstepping the doorstep of the room spreading something that reminded hands, slowly approached Svetlana who was paralyzed from head to toes by horror. Sveta was shaking…Then she screamed from terror, opened her eyes and looked out of the blanket all wet, flushing, with disheveled hair and slowly started to gain consciousness.
– Darling, have you seen a nightmare?
Husband sat on the bed, hugged her and continued:
– It is three pm now. This morning I called school, informed of your illness and cancelled your classes. Should I heat something to eat love?
– Just tea dear.
– Ok.
Vadim left, and his voice pealed from the corridor:
– Allo! Who is on the phone? Oh hello dear…
Sveta realized that husband is talking to his sister. Oh yes, she has birthday today and they need to visit – have not seen each other for ages.
– Vadim, tell that we are leaving right after I finish tea.
Husband left to start a car. Sveta lifted a tea cup and her hand started to shake slightly as she remembered last night. "All right, – she thought, – it is all past. It is better to go ahead and solve my problem".
Closing the front door of the «Audi», Svetlana immediately gathered herself together and said:
– Vadim, you know how much I love you. I wanted to tell you for a long time that I want another child. We have a son already – that is great! Let’s have a daughter too, you know how I love children! I wanted to discuss this for a very long time, but could not find determination, more then likely because of the fear of refusal…
She could not contain herself again, and everything that tortured and excruciated her for years broke through…
– Calm down dear, what is wrong?
Sveta did not reply. They were passing the city for a long time and she could not abate even though she heard and was able to understand everything that her husband was saying – a very attractive man: tall, fit, green eyed blond with absolutely accurate facial features, confident voice and sight.
– I also want a child from you dear! I was only waiting for you to start the conversation!
Vadim took a hand off from his wife knee, hugged her and kissed on the lips, as he thought very fast. Before the kiss Svetlana acknowledged Vadim’s words and realized that she was torturing herself for years for no reason. And the burden – absolutely not necessary one – left all at once! Sveta felt as the happiest woman on earth. How good she felt and that very short moment!
After a kiss, Vadim took a glance at the road again while Sveta dropped the jaw and her eyes opened wide. Jeep was heading right into their direction. Collision was unavoidable – it became obvious right away. Everything that followed appeared in the slow motion. With every moment as the Jeep approached, Svetlana was loosing hope. She and Vadim clearly realized that there is nothing more to long for. It can’t be true! For everything to get ruined like that! In one moment, not having a time to start… In this situation Sveta absolutely was not thinking weather they would stay alive, she was totally consumed by her dream which seemed imaginary for years. At that specific moment, when she sensed it so close… So realistic!
It was indispensable not to let the collision happen. Vadim turned right on his side of the road, but the Jeep driver turned left on his. Why?! No more space on the roadside! Jeep was moving «head to head». The fact that the transmission was off and the speed was suppressed by breaks did not help much. Both drivers understood the essence of the occasion. Vadim was mostly concerned for Sveta. He could not concentrate on anything other then the happening situation but at the same time was so overwhelmed with emotions, that while turning the wheel and pressing the breaks was blaming everything on himself: «What was the point of hiding from the wife that I want to have a child too? For a result like this…» That was the last thought on Vadim’s mind, because at the very next moment his Audi and Jeep crashed and became a subject not liable to reconstruction…
II
Ascending to the school porch, Maxim walked slowly enjoying crunch of the clean snow. Then he stopped and took a look on the school yard that was still covered with the virginal white snow. “Strange, that has never happened before that I was the first one to come to school. Wow…” He stood still for some time, watching flying snow flakes, delighted by the windless and coolness of the frosty morning. Suddenly, Max noticed his footsteps and thought: "Can it be that I am such an insecure person? Footsteps are uneven, as thought I was staggering. When walking, seems even!" Getting ready to enter the school, Maxim noticed another oddity: on the turns he walked steadily and securely, without rush, however steps were located on the various length from each other and with the same number of steps to the left and right the distance significantly differed.
"What does it mean? – thought Max and after turning left walked eight steps. Then he turned around to the starting point and repeated his action. Then walked to the right. The result was the same. «Why is it happening this way? It can be like that in life: when a person thinks about something and trying to do it, something will be on the way not wanting for the event to occur exactly to the plan. Everything will be like it should be!" –
