LITMIR.BIZ

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will be forever… – complained the woman, calming down her breath.

      – I am sorry, Alice! – my eyes were burning. Of course, I was ashamed that I had frightened my aunt so much, but the sparkle of the wrench fascinated me.

      The governess smiled contentedly and held out something she was holding tightly in her hands. And then she picked up the torn package, from which, apparently, the tool fell out.

      – Happy Birthday, babe! But, please, don’t tell your dad where you’ve got your tool from! Otherwise he will scold me… – Alice asked sadly and, sighing, smoothed my scraggly hair.

      I wiped my hands on my shirt out of habit, as if they could be dirty in the morning. When you are long about the mountain of details, mending somethings, hands get dirty. My apron, sewn by Alice, was so smeared that the tar soap would not wash of the ingrained fuel oil.

      Holding my breath, I accepted the gift and opened it gently. The bundle had a leather roll. Spreading it out on the table, I rubbed my nose with excitement.

      – Tools! – I whispered; I couldn’t believe my eyes. – The real tools!

      There was a gouge, chisels, and some pliers – I didn’t know all their names. But, apparently, they will definitely come in handy.

      – Yeah – the nanny chuckled contentedly, looking over my thin shoulder. Indeed, in the world of magic, such a tool is not easy to get.

      – Now I can do this! And that!

      Ideas were coming around one after another.

      «With these tools, I’ll create more complex and more interesting things. My father will surely be proud of me! I’ll prove it to him. You don’t have to be a magician to be respected!» – smiling at my thoughts, I noticed Alice’s strange look.»

      – Did I say that out loud? I swallowed and cleared my throat. And then I beamed from ear to ear and hugged my aunt. – Thank you! You’re the best!

      – My boy… – she pressed me to her full breasts. She smelled like baking, flower soap and steamed milk. My belly roared menacingly. Birthday, gifts – everything is great, but breakfast is sacred. Alice pulled back abruptly and cackled about the food.

      – Oh, Niko, I baked your favorite cinnamon rolls! – the woman jumped out of the room, as if she was being whipped.

      She is so kind. And he knows more about me than my dad and mom. I pulled on wide green trousers. Oh dear! I completely forgot that my pocket tore off yesterday. There was a hole in the thigh. I grabbed a hefter, bought from a local hoarder. He vouched that this hickey is used in the office to fasten the papers together. And he sold it at half price, but not because I had already become his permanent buyer, but because he didn’t have paper clips for this marvelous device. Only a couple, and those were screwed in the past. But okay.

      «You’re a smart guy, you’ll find something to replace them» – the salesman said then. He seems to be a good old man. Although I am completely green and I don’t see things in people. Alice says I trust too much. And that not all the people are honest, and their intentions differ.

      The hefter proved to be an irreplaceable device. I made paper clips from the remains of metal pieces of armor. I had to cut them with a special device. I hope my father won’t notice that I’ve used his grindstone. He doesn’t even know that this stone can not only sharpen a weapon, but also cut a soft metal, like butter. Magic, it’s so. I could only dream that one day it would wake up in me too. That it is just sleeping, damn, deep sleeping. Well, let’s wait. Until then, I have some stuff to do.

      I pieced up a hole in my trouser leg with a hefter, carefully hung the tool on the board, and only then jumped off my seat and ran headlong into the kitchen. Just like this: in a T-shirt, darned trousers and barefoot. Today is my birthday. I ran the stairs, jumping several steps at a time. My aunt said that I’ve grown a lot over the past year. Now the steps seemed small, and there was no need to walk with short steps. I crossed the hall with the statue of Sherida like a hurricane. Such pedestals were compulsory to have in every home, as far as I know. But our Sherida seemed too imperious to me, even the flowers in her hair didn’t smoothen her features. And I think the Goddess is not at all like that statue. She is kind, she gave to my mother and father a child, even a defective one.

      Alice and two other cooks were talking vividly about something. The gardener Marash entered the kitchen. When he saw me, he wiped his hands on his coat and took out a green package from his pocket.

      – Young master, happy birthday to you! Sixteen – is a serious date!

      I hope you will enjoy my modest gift? – Marash gave a gap-toothed smile, and I couldn’t wait to see what he gave me this year.

      His gifts are modest, but they come from a pure heart. He could get some seeds of bizarre plants, or holly honey, or miraculous ointment from fern flowers. The old man looked slyly, with curiosity. I hurried to unpack the wrapper. The gift was wrapped in a burdock leaf. It’s also a necessary thing. The cook Varya will make a wonderful soup from it. A small oval wine-colored stone fell in my hand. I put aside the burdock and looked up at the gardener.

      – Grandpa Marash, what’s this?

      – This is a ruby, master. It is a stone. People say it protects from evil spells. Although you are not a magician, but my gift will probably protect you from their attacks. Kid, make a setting for it and keep it with you at all times – said Marash seriously.

      – Really? Where did you find it? Did you go to the town to get it?

      The stone was neat and smooth. In the sunlight you could see all the beauty of this gem from the inside. It looked like a frozen blood. Dark red, almost black. The gardener laughed hoarsely.

      – No. I found it in the garden, in pink roots. The Goddess herself has presented this gift to you! – Marash kissed his fingers and touched his wrinkled forehead reverently. All the housekeepers repeated after him. Out of respect for the Goddess, I also made this gesture.

      – Thank you! – I sincerely thanked the old gardener.

      He worked in the homestead all his life, previously he had served to my grandfather. My father has grown up on his eyes, and now it’s my turn. I was lucky to be surrounded by faithful, kind and loving people. They were my family. The real family. I shared my joy and sorrow with them. They were the first people who appreciated my inventions and carried everything to mend.

      Grandpa Marash carried even the pitchfork to me, although he could sharpen it himself. But he knew that it would make me feel needed.

      Dinara looked out from Alice’s back. I called her simply Dinah. Aunt brought a seven-year-old girl to our house when my mother suggested Alice to be a housemaid. She explained that she had found the baby on the street. She ran away from the shelter. And to return the child there – is a fate, that you wouldn’t wish even to your enemy. Lodesco agreed to take the girl as a maid.

      Over these eleven years, Dinah has become my best friend, she is practically my sister. We were somewhat similar with this red-haired beast. Maybe because of freckles and stubborn nature. She is only two years older than me and, by the way, she has possessed the magic of fire. However, not very strong one. You should train and develop your gift. But she knew all the books in our library. And she helped me keenly with the mechanisms, using spells she breathed life into them. And if we did some mischief, we were punished equally, despite the fact that I am Lodesco. But it wasn’t offensive to me. Because if we have done a mischief, it means we deserve the punishment. You need to be responsible for your actions.

      Every birthday friend gave me something unusual: she conjured a flint, a useful thing for someone who doesn’t have magic; then a self-igniting candle, although it was fat, it burned out even before the New Year; then firecrackers that scatter like sparks when you throw them up (I heard they call them fireworks

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