Вадим Иванович Кучеренко - Life is Boundless

me. And one day no one will be there for you.

Her eyes dimmed with tears again. The boy hugged her and patted her head like soothing a baby, and whispered:

– Don’t cry. Please.

– No, no, don’t believe me! – She suddenly exclaimed almost subvocally, as if it was not her, but her soul. – I will wait for you forever, won’t I? Just tell me that it is so, and I will laugh my fear away.

– Indeed you will. We love each other, and estrangement will not fear us, – he ensured her.

– Just don’t, – she nestled against him as she was trying to get warm, – don’t ever leave me. Neither for the sky, nor for the ocean or the underground. Deal?

– Deal, – taking a deep breath, as if he was punching above weight, he answered with resignation. She was about to sacrifice anything for her happiness. He looked at the sky and said dreary: – Look. We need to go back. They might look for us if we don’t. The stars have already become dim.

Sure enough, the sky got white before the dawn has hidden all the stars.

Several years passed. That year’s May was amazingly warm and sunny, despite all weather forecasts, – its dawns were beautified with cheerful aubades, saluting from the kitchen window. A man and a woman of middle age were sitting at a table and having breakfast. He was on a heavy site a bit, with a light dusting of grey in his thinned hair, but his eyes looked pluckily through thick lenses. She was gracious and pretty with a specific femininity that a woman is able to reach in case she takes care of her appearance.

–And where is Gleb? – Asked the man, spreading bread with butter,– he is still sleeping, isn’t he?

–This mischievous kid spent a half of the night at his telescope once again, – trying to be as much grumpy as she could, said the woman, gazing into the starry sky. You have to chew him out!

– Anastasia, may I ask you, why do I have to do it, not you? – asked the man with actorish astonishment. – You know that I…

– You have to do it, Dmitry Ivanovich, at least because you did gift him the telescope on his birthday, –the woman interrupted, passing him a cup of tea, – so stew in your own juice!

– It would be better if I had gifted him ballet slippers…

– What have you just said? – Asked the woman strictly, but her eyes smiled, – I’m sorry, cannot hear you because of this annoying bird yelling. Why do they need to scream blue murder such early?

– I said, of course I will do it, honey! – The man gave a hasty answer, hearing a hint of anger in woman’s voice, and decided not to be the next after the innocent birds, – I am certainly going to talk with our son about this night watches at the telescope.

– I’m happy that common sense has prevailed in our family, – the woman noticed drily, and suddenly she smiled like a playful girl. – By the way, ballet slippers are called pointe-shoes.

– That’s good to know, – the man sighed with relief, being grateful that the storm has passed at a distance, – and birds are singing remarkably this morning!

– I agree on this, my dear husband.

– And on what don’t you agree with me? – Feeling the hint of understatement in his wife’s voice, asked the man. He was curious, as all the scientists are, sometimes he was his own enemy.

– On how you look on our son’s future, – she answered amazingly looking at her husband, as if she was baffled with his incomprehension. – He shouldn’t stuff his head with that space. And you should not help him doing so.

– Don’t you think it’s up to him to decide? – He asked trying to be as soft as possible.

– Certainly, but…

She didn’t finish her speech. A tall black-haired boy entered the kitchen. He resembled his mother surprisingly, but something elusive in his appearance was akin to his father – maybe eyes, to be precise, his way of looking on things, sagely and with curiosity. He looked at his parents with a mocking reproach, as if he understood that their morning talk was related to him, and sat at the table. The boy anticipated that their yet another controversy was impossible to become a quarrel, because father always yields to mother on such occasions as he loved her so much, and he wasn’t anxious.

–What do we have for breakfast? – He asked, knowing for sure how to improve mother’s mood, – Caution: I’m as hungry as a hunter! I could eat an elephant, if you, my dear mother, would slice it.

– Oh, but your mother has just told me that you are sleeping like a log, – they exchanged expressive glances like two coup-plotters, father and son had a tacit understanding with each other. – As far as I know, hunters don’t eat logs.

– You are mistaking, my dear parents, – the boy smiled, wolfing a huge sandwich that his mom gave him. The bread was heavily smeared over with butter, not to mention slabs of cheese and luch meat. – I have already done my morning exercises and taken a shower.

– Haven’t you forgotten to make your bed? – Father asked strictly as soon as he exchanged puzzled glances with his wife

– Have done it in the first place.

– That’s my boy! – He couldn’t help but complimented him, having forgotten that parenting should be as strict as possible. His wife once told him so, referring to either the great teacher Makarenko or some biblical antediluvian. He himself had a different opinion, but he wasn’t really of a willful kind, so he gave up on that. He was rigid only when it came to science.

–Dmitry! – The woman accented, looking reproachfully at her husband.

–Yes, honey?

–I guess there was something you wanted to tell our son, – she said pointedly.

– Sure thing… – he was about to say something, but checked himself under his wife’s indignant and ominous gaze. –Not like this… I was about to ask him about his plan… – stammering over a word, he started to turn over related questions in his mind. Finally, he picked the needed one. – Let’s say, a plan for this summer. Your school year is about to end, am I right?

–Yes, you are, – the boy looked cautiously at him. He noticed the displeasing glances of his parents. – Guess even in that prehistoric times of yours and mother’s schooling, classes ended in May.

–Prehistoric! – Impatiently exclaimed the woman. – Am I a dinosaur to you? You little ingrate!

Her husband gave a sign of silence. She obeyed that time, as the started conversation was more interesting and important to her, than her bruised ego.

–What are you going to do during your summer vacation, son?

–Got loads to do, father, – the boy answered with a bit of a condescension.

–Than tell us, sonnie, – she couldn’t resist but asked, despite the upbraiding gaze of her husband who preferred outflanking maneuver instead of frontal assault. Such method guaranteed peace and tranquility in their family life. – Me and your dad are all ears.

–To start with, mom and dad, I would like to win a city school astronomy competition,– answered the boy after a while, as if he assessed his future plans, putting them in order of importance. – It will be held next week.

–A decent ambition, son, – smiled the man, – so you are drilling for that very competition during nighttime, aren’t you? Mom was worrying that you just idly look onto the starry sky, dreaming in vain about the distant worlds… – He sighed unintentionally – as I did in your age.

–Well, I never thought like that! – Exclaimed the woman indignantly.

– Of course, you didn’t, mom, and rightly so, – conciliatory said the boy. – For I am not just looking through my telescope…

– But I indeed never said it! – She protested, looking guilty.

The boy gave --">