– Is anyone able to withstand everything that has fallen on me? – she said.
– I’m going on a very important matter, and life or death may depend on any delay, even for an hour. My son will not be able to recover from the accident for God knows how long and continue our trip. I have to leave him; I swear, business does not allow me to stay. Man, tell me, is it far to the nearest village or town, or what do you have here? I will have to leave my son there; I will not see him for another three months, until my return. Oh, well, what to do?
I pulled my father’s hand and whispered in his ear:
– Dad, please invite her son to us, it would be so great. Invite me, please.
– Madam, you can, if you trust us, leave your son with us. Let him stay in our house until you return. We are only glad to have such a guest!
“ – I can’t abuse your kindness,” the woman said.
– On the contrary, you will do us a great honor. My daughter and I have just received the news that the visit we were waiting for has been canceled, and we are very upset. If you entrust your son to us and leave him, you will please my daughter with this. There are no injuries, he is conscious, let him stay with us and then I will go for a doctor who will examine him. If you are really in a hurry, leave it, and I assure you, your son will not meet such a kind attitude anywhere.
2
Chapter 3. Our guest
We followed the car with our eyes. She disappeared over the horizon, soon everything became quiet again around.
Nothing else reminded of the incident, except for the jeep left behind, near the tree and the young man, the son of this strange woman, who at that moment opened his eyes. I noticed that he raised his head and looked around in confusion, and quietly asked:
– Where’s my mom?”
My father told him what had happened and hastened to assure him that everything would be fine.
– Where am I? What is this place? – What is it?” he asked, confused. Then she added – “And where’s the minibus?” Where is everyone?
How could my father answer all these questions. Gradually, the young man came to his senses and finally remembered everything about the accident and was very glad that no one was injured; after learning that his mother had left him here for three months, he became very sad.
I wanted to come over, but my father waved me to stay where I was.:
– Wait, my daughter, he’s not up to talking right now; even a slight excitement is stressful for him. Let him calm down.
As soon as he gets into bed, I thought, I’ll go up to him and meet him.
The father decided not to delay the examination and therefore went for a familiar doctor. By that time, Mom had prepared a bedroom for the young man.
My mother brought the stranger into the house, supporting him by the hand. Then she escorted him to the bedroom.
The room that served as our living room overlooked our garden. A lake could be seen in the distance.
The living room was furnished with carved oak wooden furniture, with large cupboards and armchairs upholstered in beige velvet. The walls were covered with wallpaper that looked very much like tapestries. The figures on the tapestries were depicted as heroes in ancient costumes, ladies and gentlemen were relaxing in nature. But at the same time, our living room did not look too solemn and was very cozy; here we usually received guests, celebrated holidays and just drank tea.
That night we sat in the living room for a long time and discussed what had happened. And the young stranger was already fast asleep.
– Mom, do you like our guest? I asked as soon as Mom entered the living room. “Tell me about him.”
“A very nice young man,” Mom replied. A very charming creature. He’s about your age, very nice.
– He’s just handsome! And he has a nice voice! Mom added.
“Did you notice there was another woman in the car?” my father asked me. – But she never got out of the car, even when the wheels were changed. I just glanced out of the window.
“No, Dad, I didn’t notice anyone,” I replied.
My father described a black woman of terrible appearance; she looked out of the car window, grinning and nodding her head, crowned with a colorful turban. She sparkled with the whites of her huge eyes, and bared her teeth, as if gloating over everything that was happening.
– And what, these guards! I said.
“That’s right,” my father said, leaning back in his chair. – A bunch of criminals. I hope they don’t kill anyone on the way. Notorious gangsters, but they know their business: they quickly put the cars in order.
“Maybe they’re just tired after a long journey,” Mom said.
– It should be noted that they look terrifying; their faces are somehow huge and dark, they look sullen. “I don’t like all this; I hope when this young man comes to his senses tomorrow we will find out everything,” mom said.
“I don’t think he wants to talk about it,” my father said.
His mysterious face intrigued me, and now it was even more interesting to me what that woman whispered to him before leaving.
And as soon as we were alone, I immediately asked my father about that conversation. I didn’t have to persuade him.
– I see no reason to hide it from you. The woman said that she did not want to inconvenience us by taking care of her son, and then added that her son was a nervous creature, in poor health, but did not suffer from seizures and was in his right mind. She told me about it herself, I didn’t even ask about anything.
– Very strange! I said. – Why did she need to tell us about it at all?
“Well, anyway, what’s said is said,” the father laughed. – I have to say, there’s still something left for you to hear. The woman said: “I’m going on matters of vital importance – » she stressed, “on very secret and urgent matters. I’ll be back for my son in three months. Until then, he won’t tell you who we are, where we come from, and everything about our family.” That’s it, period. Then she was silent for a few seconds and looked at me very sternly. It must be very important to her. You saw how quickly they left. I hope I did the right thing and didn’t do anything stupid by leaving this young man with us.
I was thrilled. I couldn’t wait to see our guest and talk to him. I waited for the doctor to examine him and let me go up to his bedroom. You can’t imagine how shocked I was by such an event in my life, this strange appearance of a new friend.
The doctor, who was brought by his father at night, had already finished examining the young man by that time. It was the middle of the night, but to go to bed when this happens, and also a mysterious guest! Well, no way!!!!
The doctor came into the living room, he said that the young man was in perfect health. His pulse is steady and even. He received no injuries, only a slight nervous shock, which will soon pass without a trace. So it won’t hurt him, my visit, of course, with his consent. After receiving the doctor’s approval, I asked my mother to ask if I could stop by for a few minutes.
Mom immediately returned with an answer. The stranger really wanted to meet me. And I rushed to him like a bullet.
Our guest was laid in one of the most beautiful rooms of our dacha. But, perhaps, a little heavy. The wallpaper on the walls was dark gray, almost black,