She believed in love at first sight. She read a lot about her and understood that smart people would not lie in such an important issue, over which so many centuries have been beating hearts in vain. And smart (and talented) people, as you know, not only recognize such a feeling, but also (the most intelligent and talented) recognize the only possible one. Therefore, she was not surprised when one day, jumping out after the mountain exam, first named in the dubious honor of a small bird, and then in the dubious honor of Bolshelobiy, she saw eyes in the perfect shell of a young, athletic body. Those eyes burned her like acid, leaving a trail of steaming admiration. The eyes, I must say, helped the City a lot, spread out in the background, with a view of the former dustbin, turned into a temple for the same sports and clear-eyed gods as He. He looked at her affably, without a hint of embarrassment, as if they had set up a meeting here, and she was late for no more than nineteen years. And this is not fifteen minutes after which an angry fold appears on the forehead and a bouquet with flowers flies under the slope. These are just nineteen years of patient waiting, a good third of which hides the veil of happy childless oblivion. Such a delay does not have time to acquire an angry crease between the eyebrows. And the young man had no bouquet. She approached him with a light, quick walk, pondering the first phrase as she went. The phrase did not come up, so she turned to the side and, leaning on the railing, began to look towards the monastery, next to which many clever and talented hearts rest. He approached her himself and ... Then, at night, lying in the grass on the same mountain, in the coal flickering of the dying City, they both laughed, because they could not remember either his first phrase or her answer to her. and what happened next on this sunny, shrill day. She remembered only one thing. Her stuffy train from a tunnel lit with rare full-moon bulbs brought to the glittering, brilliant surface of life, where all the elements came together for the right to feed and drink her fill - icy brilliance of water, starched sunshine in the chest, calm and faithful waiting the softest land. And also - an orchestra of smells from wild flowers, smiles of oncoming and transverse, distant laughter of children, their own greedy heartbeat, funny, like toy, cars. And he immediately got a lot. The train, which jumped out of the tunnel, pushed the whole world out in front of him, which exploded a firework that was long before the torturous chill. Anyway, they didn’t remember how they met, and I, lurking next to one of my witches, didn’t hear them. Oh, but I remember well how they, the children, fondled in the thick grass, meeting and seeing off their first night. At first they began to kiss on the bench, but she, like a quick Mustang, threw them into the grass, leaving them to lie in helpless tenderness towards each other. People passed by. Sober (less often) or drunk (more often) they were shuffling along the asphalt paths, walking their dogs, talking about tomorrow's trip to the market, quarreling with restraint, finding out the relationship. She, not letting the flute out of her mouth, was kindly given by his highness, now and then she jested amusedly, risking inflicting involuntary pain on her darling. He, with a happy understanding of what was happening, was only trying to see the stars in the poor sky of the ever-burning City and, if he succeeded, sighed with enthusiasm, causing her a new reciprocal burst of tenderness. You see, he knew how to sigh very well, combining a gentle sigh with a restrained growl. In between her tireless caresses, he himself servilely served her, fulfilling all the whims of his greedy and shameless girl. They amused each other, combining innocent caresses with outrages, which only can give free rein on the First, Sweetest Day.They drank beer, and the next morning the old woman collecting the bottles showed me as many as twelve vessels of sin lying in the grass, still holding the silhouettes of the two bodies. At the same time, they did not part, and if it had occurred to some of them to ease, the second was right there, taking with all his body, mouth, eyes all the ugliness resulting from secret places. Yes, poor reader, this is exactly what happened, and not otherwise. Sometimes they jumped at each other, dirty and wet, tired of kisses, and, wriggling in one audible draft, they aired their souls and bodies. They rubbed against each other, like a bear waking from hibernation, tormenting a wordless pine. They tortured each other, weaving sweet materok into confessions on duty, and sometimes a sharp slap in the face caused a new surge of repentance and understanding. And Loneliness writhed two steps away from them with a half-crushed worm, grabbing the feet of bystanders. In the morning, dirty and smelling god-knows-what, they could not catch the car, and left on foot. They each went their separate ways, and all the sun jellyfish strove to swim from the side to sting them in shameless eyes. The mountains conducted them with a bird chorus, behind the former dustbin they smiled wisely at the domes of churches. Dusty, noisy City woke up and chased away obsession as best he could. And he was able to do well. Arriving home, she went to the bathroom and cleaned herself up. After all, she had an exam again today. I personally brought her a bouquet of roses when she passed it to “excellent” and again went out to the mountains, named after the most remarkable sparrow in the world. Smiling at me, she went to the railing, staring intently into the eyes of a beautiful athletic guy. It differed from yesterday's only growth (taller), shoulders (already) and hair color (lighter). They stood, speaking about something in a low voice, then, embracing, left to eat ice cream. She believed in love at first sight. and the other she just did not have enough patience. © Mr. Kiss, One Hundred Splinters of One Sense, 1998–1999