answered Granny.
– Then she is bad, – strongly said Solnishko by putting aside the doll.
– Are all bad if they don’t speak Russian? – Granny was greatly surprised.
– You know, the people are bad when they speak some languages, – explained the girl without any doubt in her voice.
– And what languages are those? – Granny tried to ask more calmly.
– Abrakalpmol… dyu.
– Who told you about it? – Granny tried to find out.
– I heard in the park, when Katya’s and Natasha’s grannies said the explosion was caused by the people who speak such languages, – the girl retold what she had heard.
– Probably yes, darling, or probably not. Nobody knows it yet. Even assuming that it’s true, you should know that there are good and bad people, regardless of what language they speak, – answered Granny.
– Does it mean Katya’s and Natasha’s grannies tell lies? – Solnishko asked with some doubt in her voice.
– No, Solnishko. They simply delude themselves, – answered Granny.
– What does it mean “they delude themselves”? – Solnishko continued her questions.
– It means that they are wrong, – explained Granny.
– But why are they wrong and not you? – disputed Solnishko.
– Judge for yourself. I, your Granny, also speak in no Russian. Does it mean I’m bad? – continued Granny.
– No, you aren’t, – the girl answered with confusion, but then she found what to say, – but you can speak Russian, don’t you?
– It means, you think I’m not bad only because I can speak Russian. But would I be bad if I couldn’t speak Russian? – said Granny.
– Granny, you are confusing me, – said Solnishko, barely holding back her tears. – And besides, grannies are kind, but you are a bit strict, – the girl resented, – well, let’s play now.
– My miracle! – exclaimed Granny, hugging the girl. – Kind and strict aren’t opposites. Besides, you should try to come out in all things by yourself or ask your relatives to answer, before coming to some conclusion and not to appear in a bad situation. And now, of course, let’s play, – Granny told her peacefully.
So, they went to the playroom together.
– What shall we play? – wondered Granny.
– This time you think up, – Solnishko got excited.
– I offer to act the story of the Trojan War, – Granny thought up.
– Let’s do it, – answered the girl with happy voice.
– Let’s divide the roles. You’ll act the Beautiful Helen, I guess so, – continued Granny.
– Of course. Larisa will act Paris, and you, Granny, will be Menelaus, Agamemnon, Achilles, Hector and all the others, – Solnishko decided seriously.
– We should think about decorations, – Larisa continued.
They began working actively. The ironing board covered by a rug was immediately turned into a horse, and the room – to the battlefield. Shields, swords appeared, as well as all the other war attributes of that time. The gym mat became the ship, in which the warlike Greek Achaean tribes led by Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae, passed across the Aegean Sea and reached Troy. The Greeks had arrived for the Beautiful Helen and the treasures stolen by Paris, the youngest son of Priam, the king of Troy. The two sides began to war. The walls of Troy were impregnable and the city itself was an impregnable fortress. In the result of military action many brave warriors were killed on the battlefield. After some years the Greek managed to posses the city by cunning and destroyed it.
The roles were learnt well but sometimes Solnishko used to change the events and she thought out or changed the plot herself, depending on her mood. At that time, during the game process, the scenario was rewritten and Solnishko redistributed the roles herself and directed the events.
It turned out to be a real performance, which captured all the participants so much that they lost the sense of time and in fact got into the characters of their heroes. It was very interesting and exciting. Everybody enjoyed it very much.
Suddenly Solnishko asked.
– Granny, did the people die so during the terrorist attack?
At first moment both Granny and Larisa were shocked, the result of which was the oppressive silence. First was Granny who came to herself:
– No, darling. There is a big difference between the war and the terrorist attack.
– What kind of? – the girl continued.
– Solnishko, thousands of years have passed since the times of the Trojan War. Regardless the fact on which side the readers’ sympathy is, we remember the participants as well as we respect their courage and bravery. Legends were composed about them. Their memory lives through the ages. While the terrorists don’t have a name. They are peoples without identity and belonging. Everybody curses them, because their actions are directed against the defenseless and peaceful people, – Granny tried to explain.
– Are they cursed? But how? May I whisper in your ear? Do they say: “Hell with you”? Do you know, Granny, I still also can’t forget those words. I want, but I can’t.
You should say: “God be with you”. And it’ll be forgotten, my dear, – said Granny by hugging and caressing the child. – Now let’s better have a supper. – I’ll warm up the food while you and Larisa gather the decorations and remove the traces of war. Soon parents will return home from work but we have a real disaster.
Solnishko couldn’t forget the game for a long time and used to tell about the Beautiful Helen before going to bed. Solnishko admired Paris, the Beautiful Helen in spite of the ambiguity of their characters. And in a dream there was a smile on her face.
Since then the girl didn’t remember about the terrorists any more.
CHAPTER 3. PROBLEM OF CHOICE
Since the early childhood Mom was the most important person in Solnishko’s life. In the presence of Mom other people were unimportant. Every time, when Mom had to go for her business, bilateral talks used to begin concerning cancellation of her jobs and reduction of terms of her absence. All the arguments were used: requests, persuasions, tears.
– Please, don’t leave, Mom! I feel so bad without you, – begged the girl, following around Mom, who was going to work.
– Solnishko, I have a lot of work to do. I’ll return to you when I finish, – Mom answered in a gentle voice by patting her on the head and kissing. – For now until then you should stay with Granny.
– Let
