Waking up in the morning, the children rushed to the Christmas tree. There were a lot of gift boxes. Five-year-old Abel eagerly went through box after box in search of finding a note in his own name. The notes alternated - “For Vali”, “For Marie”. Abel rather grabbed the next box and thought, the sooner he would sort out the gifts for other names, the sooner he would get to his. Soon there were two boxes. Abel was sure:

“In one of them, just a gift for me. After all, a new year without gifts is not possible. ”

He slowly extended his hand and took the first box ... Inscription "To Vali". Abel, defiantly expressing imperturbability on his face, moved the box to the sisters, who were still sitting at the first gifts and compared whose doll is more beautiful. Abel thought about the weirdness of women's interests, then returned his attention to the remaining box.

“The last is mine. Similarly, my! I can not remain without a gift, - he thought and stretched his hand forward. “What if they forgot about me?”

Fingers pulled over the blue ribbon, and the box crumbled.

The girls froze.

“Abel, this is not a box,” said Marie. - This is a packaging made of candy. Square candy tied with one long thread. If you pull it, candies are scattered.

- Abel, we were preparing a gift for mom. You ruined everything! - Valya got a red plastic candlestick out of a mountain of chocolates, which she and Marie made as a gift to her mother.

Abel ran away.

The girls collected candy in a bag, and a candlestick was also placed there. Hearing the noise, Mom came into the living room, wiping her hands on a towel. The girls jumped up and hurried to congratulate her.

- Mom, I'm sorry! We were preparing for you a beautiful gift in candy packaging, but Abel pulled the ribbon and it crumbled, ”Marie said in a slightly crying voice.

“She would have crumbled anyway,” Mom soothed.

The sisters hugged mom and ran to look for gifts. Every now and then they would adorn their mothers with new clothes and toys donated by their only relative, Aunt Vera.

Soon all the boxes were opened. The girls noticed that among them there is not a single gift for the younger brother. There was silence in the room. Girls gnawed at the whole space, as if they were looking for something or trying to remember. Valya said in a barely audible voice:

- Mom ... Abel will not be a gift?

Mom put the bag aside and went out. Abel, anticipating something important, quietly went into the living room and sat on the floor by the tree. Mom returned with a big white box and set it in front of her son.

Abel began to carefully remove the tape, fearing that this box might fall apart. Under the tape was a note:

“My little Abel, this year the winter was very cold. Heavenly angels did not have time to spread gifts to all homes. Therefore, I made a gift to you, your aunt. Do not be angry if this gift is not what you wanted. Heavenly angels asked you to convey that in the future they will fulfill your most fantastic desire. ”

Abel removed the ribbon and lifted the lid. In the box lay a fluffy fox tail. The sisters came closer to see the gift, and immediately poured over the room with a loud laugh. A tear flowed from Abel's left eye. Everything was spinning around him, it seemed to him that everyone was laughing at that moment! ... The sisters laughed loudly, holding their bellies. Marie, with smiles, sang a little song:

- Brother Abel is cold in winter! From the forest of Abel, we took home! Tail attach - will be with us a cat! Have fun, celebrate the new year!

And then Valya said the phrase that remained to live forever in Abel’s soul:

- Abel, this night you will be a cat!

***

Abel sat in the evenings by the big burning candle, closing in the room. He looked at the bushy tail and introduced him to his friend. Abel had no real friends. He was a melancholic boy, easily offended, but he never cried. At his young age, he thought a lot about life and injustice. He believed in angels, believed in fairy tales and mentally became close to their heroes. They were close to him.Abel in each found something close to the state of his soul. He believed that somewhere there was a world of book heroes. And that the angels will fulfill his fabulous desire. Abel was afraid to make this wish ahead of time, and was careful in his fantasies. He was afraid to make a wrong choice, so he postponed the fulfillment of desire for the future.

Unlike many children, Abel was not afraid of the dark. And he was sure that it was in the dark that the human soul was moving closer to the angels and the world of book heroes. A candlelight served as a road from the world of reality to a world where dreams come true. He watched the fire turn into smoke and the smoke dissolved in space. Thus, the smoke symbolized the possibilities of people in a huge space.

Abel believed that the world of mankind could be built on a different model. But, both in the surrounding world and in the world of book heroes, he saw a lot of pain. He saw pain in everything. Realizing that pain is an integral element, little Abel began to wonder - are there people who love pain? ..

Abel fell asleep ... His arm was upturned on a bedside table near the bed. Hot wax slid down the candle ... Abel jerked. And the little fingers of his hand touched the candle. The candle shifted, and drops of wax slid onto the young boy's fingers. But Abel did not wake up ... He had a dream, as if a beautiful fiery woman kissed his fingers with fiery lips. Drops of wax continued to slide down the stem of the candle, going down to the boy's fingers.

Close to midnight, the fingers were densely covered with hardened wax. The candle went out. The room became dark. The dim light of the street, making its way out of the window, lit up the last light of the extinguished candle.

Abel turned to the other side. A hand stuck to the candle pulled the candle behind her, and she rolled down onto the bed. The boy did not wake up. The fiery woman from sleep has disappeared. Abel found himself in an unusual round room, around the perimeter of which was furnished with gifts in candy packages. Abel ran up to each of them, pulling at the string, and the candy fell to pieces. But instead of gifts in them turned out to be small porcelain angels. Abel flew up and could not descend. He tried to reach the floor and take the little angels, but he could not. His body was held in the air and did not obey the wishes of the mind ...

Splashes of cold water woke Abel. The sisters laughed. Marie was holding a blue globular clock:

- Happy birthday, Abel!

Marie pressed a button and a fountain of water from a new watch splashed toward her brother. Abel wiped his face in his pajamas and sat down to make out the present.

“This is a clock with a fountain,” said Marie. - They need to be filled with water, and in due time, when the alarm goes off, water splashes out of them.

Abel saw such a fun watch for the first time, and he liked it. Marie put the clock on the bedside table, and the girls left.

Abel was about to take the gift in hand, but he felt that the fingers of his right hand were shackled with something. It was wax from the candle burned at night. Abel concentrated on the sensations of the fingers, trying to push them apart. He made no effort to stretch the pleasure of the stiffened wax that held down the movement. Abel found it very beautiful and enjoyable. But time went to breakfast, and the wax had to be torn off. What gave Abel no less pleasant pleasure. He put the pieces of wax into a deep porcelain bowl and went into the bath.

Every morning, personal hygiene time was dragged down with water games. Abel filled two glasses with water: one hot and the other cold. Then he alternately lowered his fingers into them. He received considerable pleasure from observing the sensations of his own body. He especially liked to alternate sensations from completely opposite conditions. The boy paid special attention to the sensations of slowly sinking his fingers into the water. She gradually enveloped the skin and rose higher - from the phalanx to the phalanx, reaching especially ...