The Before Short Story Series. Part 1 - Иван Перепелятник

Closing the door to her room, Robin stared at her father’s lean figure near her mother’s home office.

Friends

The drone with passengers was descending smoothly on a small airport site near the Sagarmatha National Park. Igor was sitting in the car in a parking lot, waiting for the dust and sand, which was lifted into the sky by the flying taxi electric motors, to settle.

‘Hello! Hi Edik, Rusya! Welcome to the holy land of Nepal!,’ hugging old friends, Igor greeted the guests and pointed the way to the car.

‘We are very glad to finally get out to you, dear! Let me look at you, old boy!’ Edward was carefully examining Igor from head to toe. ‘Robin’s not feeding you well enough, I see. You’re kind of skinny. Well, let’s hug again! I’ve missed you so much, Igor! Rusya, come to us. Come here! Don’t be shy!’ Edward was gesturing to his wife inviting her to join the ritual of friendly hugs. ‘Well, never mind, Professor, we’ll get you on track in a couple of days! I promise!’

‘Guys, I am very glad to see you! Let’s go to the car,’ Igor picked up the bag from Ruslana.

‘And you call this ancient piece a vehicle, Igor? I see you’ve completely lost yourselves in your prayers here.’

‘There you go! Your husband, as always… He’s not off his track. This isn’t Moscow, my dear. Your Mercedes, even if we were to deliver it here, still won’t move. There are no highways here.’

‘It’s obvious that everything is fine with the infrastructure in this place—we have already realized this flying in. Don’t you even doubt it. But I have to say, Igor, we didn’t come here to visit local so to say beauty shops’.

‘That’s it! Enough! I do object! Just arrived and start this measure for measure approach’.

Igor put his hand on his friend’s shoulder.

‘Well, of course! You and I are going to have a great weekend, my dear!’

‘What an amazing air is here after all! Ruslana took a deep breath, closing her eyes.

‘Rusya, take care. This ground is shaky! Amazing air is the area of Mr Professor’s competence.’

‘My feelings in any case do not let me down, Ed. And if we compare it with the Moscow air… we are in the Garden of Eden.’

Having settled in the car, Igor instructed the digital assistant:

‘Soba, we’re going home.’

‘All right, Igor. Is there anything else I can do?’

‘Set the temperature to twenty two and … Perhaps turn on Wagner’s The Ride of the Valkyries.’ Music started playing softly on the background.

‘The passenger in the back row has not fastened his seat belt. Please fasten your seat belt,’ the car’s digital voice requested. Ruslana obediently buckled herself in.

‘I assume that your musical preferences have not changed?’ Igor asked his friend.

‘Marvelous! I couldn’t have counted on a warmer welcome,’ with a smile Edward rolled up his eyes blissfully.

‘You’d better get ready, Ed. Robin listens to pieces that earplugs won’t help. This morning it just happened that I had to come back home unscheduled so to say…’

‘What do you expect of a girl, Igor? How is she? How is she doing?’

‘Well, everything is fine. She’s already getting up for the institute.’

‘Where does she want to study?’

‘I am very pleased with her choice—the Institute of Ecology in Odessa, oceanography specialty.

‘Following in your footsteps, it turns out?’

‘To some extent. Nearby, I would say.’

‘Great! But the enrolment slot has closed already. Isn’t it too late?’

‘We are planning for the next year’s admission.’

‘Oh, you guys… Everything is according to plan and in advance. Well done.’

‘Well, what about leaving your staff and going out for dinner? How’s the plan for you, guys?’ checking on the trip itinerary on a large information screen in the car, Igor tried to set the evening program.

‘I’m in. Ruslana, are you? Edward turned to his wife.

‘Of course. I need five minutes and I’ll be ready. Is Robin coming with us, Igor? It would be great to meet her.’

‘I’m afraid not. Our girl has new priorities now. Some guy showed up recently. An American, I think. What do you reckon she would prefer?’

‘Still, I hope we will definitely get to know her,’ Ruslana replied.

‘You think?! You say that your daughter is dating some new guy, and you don’t even know who he is, where he comes from and what his name is!’ Edward was confused.

‘You’re right, as always. I should have lunch with them or something,’ Igor agreed.

‘Of course you should, Igor. And the sooner the better. You’d wonder how we monitor our Alyona.’

‘Ed, it’s wishful thinking. We’re both here. Alyona is on her own in Moscow. What d’you think she is doing?’ Ruslana remarked reasonably.

‘I do not doubt a minute that my daughter went to the Central Library,’ the friends smiled.

A grey roadster pulled up to a residential village, stopping at Igor’s two-storey house, passengers left the car.

‘Now I understand why you decided to settle down here,’ Edward said, looking around.

The peaks of the snow-capped mountains, bathed in the pink sunset light, framed the perimeter behind the houses, safeguarding the homefront. The villagers could feel safe. It would not be easy to conquer the highest ridge on Earth unnoticed. The clouds, as if stuck on the rocky peaks, were hiding the exact indicator of the inaccessible height, leaving the brave souls who miscalculated their strength, face-to-face with their fate.

Following the setting sun, the temperature was going down as well. Puddles on the road confirmed the coming cold spell with a thin film of ice covering them. Descending the slope by the stairs of the giants, with the houses of the Bholi complex huddled, two more houses, also recently