It is hard for me to see and understand it all right away.
– At first you need to concentrate on yourself and become a better person! You have told me yourself that we need to strive for perfection! When you reach the perfection, you will be able to see and understand things. If you look for the answers now, you will waste time. Work on yourself, Roman! And you will win!
– Do you mean to grow spiritually and take control over the flesh?
– Right. Take a control over all human sins and desires. Get rid of all the dirt!
– Thank you, Max, I understand now. Do you mind if I go home? Will you take an offence?
– Please go, that is so silly…
– Sorry. Bye.
XIX
Svetlana left school exhausted and drained out. She was not ready for changes yet. At first it seemed that all her love and warmth towards work and students broke to shivers because of misunderstanding and fear. Svetlana even got scared, thinking that may be it was better to give up. However, she decided not to pull back and try to get herself together. Before she reached the bus stop, she spotted Andrew.
– Andrew, have you seen Max yet?
– I saw him a minute ago.
– How is he doing? Is he all right?
– He is doing well. He asked me about you, so I forwarded your task to him.
– Good job!
– Svetlana Victorovna, Maxim wanted to let you know that he had finished reading Gorky’s novel “Mother” and needs to clarify the theme of the paper…
Svetlana couldn’t hear again because she felt Max’s love again. He asked about her! She gave him a task to read a book recently, and he already finished such a complex and voluminous book. Very hard to believe! Andrew was still talking when Svetlana, getting away from her thoughts, interrupted him:
– Thank you so much, Andrew, I will give him a call myself. Good bye.
She turned away and left. He could not believe his eyes. She loves him so much! It is strange that she said exactly the same thing as Max did. Could Max be in love with her that much to be able to predict her words? It is amazing, he has never heard of anything like that! It was getting dark, and Andrew went home, still feel surprised. Sinking into reverie, Svetlana crossed the road, passed the bus stop and decided to walk home. Her thoughts were mixed together: "I need to make dinner and call Max. Also, I need to get ready for a class tomorrow and be a good mother and a wife!" At first these thoughts irritated Svetlana, because they kept her away from something very important. However, she started noticing, that she was able to think of a couple of things at the same time and take right decisions. This new opportunity was scary and confusing. It did not make sense to Svetlana why she was so indifferent towards the subject. She was not nervous or concerned, and her emotions were stable. Svetlana was very proud of herself and thought: «Of course, it is Max’s love that helps me! That means, that everything I believed in is actually real»! Entering the apartment, still in her thoughts, she said out loud:
– Finally!
– What do you mean?! – asked the husband.
Svetlana did not know what to say at first, but then she found the right words:
– I am finally home!
– Is everything ok, Svetlana?
– Yes, everything is great, Vadim!
Under the influence of feelings, she hugged him and kissed on the lips. Vadim lost his bearings, responding to his wife desire. He felt like he was covered by the grand wave, which is absolutely impossible to resist. Not being able to control himself, he became dissolved in the loving alliance with Svetlana. Every time when they were together, they realized that they were having totally new feelings for each other. It felt inexperienced; everything from kisses to sensations, as though they were in the different dimension. They were very close to each other, but at the same time somewhere very far away. Enormous distances and time frames did not let them to dissolve in each other completely and perceive the strength of the feelings which invaded them. Being under the power of unforgettable senses, they thought that it would last forever: endless pleasure and unending happiness. However, those moments did not bring a lot of good emotions because of their endurance.
– I love you, – intoned Vadim in the unusual way.
– Me too, – whispered back Svetlana, thinking: "Am I being truthful at these moments? Or not saying what I need to say?" She decided not to finish the phrase because she felt not ready.
– What do you want for dinner, Vadim?
– Oh, I already made stew-fry. I came from work early…
– You are so precious!
– Do you feel like going out tonight?
– I would like to take a walk outside. Don’t feel like going anywhere.
– I agree totally. Let’s have dinner before we leave, ok?
They lay next to each other and did not want to eat or go anywhere…
When Svetlana opened her eyes, she realized that she had slept for the past two hours. Vadim was still sleeping. She stood up quietly not to wake him up and went to the living room. Some force was pushing her to the phone to call Maxim. "Why do I worry so much? I do have a reason to call him…" – thought Svetlana and dialed the number.
– Hello, can I talk to Maxim?
– Yes, this is me, Svetlana Victorovna!
She did not expect that. Not noticing that he did not greet her, Svetlana could not understand how he managed to recognize her on the phone; it was only the second time she called him. Max was waiting patiently for her answer. Suddenly Svetlana wanted to give him at least a little hint about her feelings! Something stopped her from it, and she forced herself say with the teacher’s voice:
– How are you? Feeling better?
– I am not wearing gypsum any more, and started walking with crutches.
– Does the leg give you pain?
– Not really.
Svetlana hesitated to give him homework. She did not want to explain real reasons of her denial to give him classes at home, and did not want to be dishonest.
– Maxim, are you upset with me for not giving you classes at home?
– Oh, no! You gave me a task to do independently.
– I would be interesting in reading your paper about the Gorky’s novel “Mother”.
– I have read the novel; I just don’t know what topic to choose for the paper.
– Write an overview paper, concentrating on the relations between the mother and the son.
– Do you mean psychological analysis of the relationship of the close people, right?
Svetlana was shocked; she did
