Angel on earth

"You see, I said he would be unlucky." Mikhail said happily to Nancy, "However, in order not to be involved in his unlucky, let's go to Emerald Park quickly."

"Huh? Ah, but—well, thank you..."

Nancy was wary at first, but after thinking about it, she smiled self-deprecatingly and walked away with him.She was old and ugly and sick, and made money in the woods for a penny at a time.But recently the money has become more and more difficult to earn. She exchanged lunch with this young man for pies with sugar and meat to feed her daughters, and she has not eaten anything all day.What good plots does a person like her have?

Mikhail learned to walk slowly and lightly, but he still walked forward with his back straight and his shoulders steady, because Aaron liked it.Of course Aaron didn't dislike the poor, the old, the handicapped, he himself was two of the three, and sometimes all of them; but Mikhail had to be clean and good-looking.

Nancy followed Mikhail through the park late at night, and the latter put his coat on her, almost dragging it on the ground.The bench she had set her sights on before had been occupied by two homeless men, probably because the night police had just left. They were sitting on the chair, dozing off bit by bit.

She walked slowly because she was too hungry to feel hungry.Mikhail picked so many flowers that he often stopped to ask her to follow her, and she didn't even have the strength to dissuade him by telling him that they were the property of the city and the people.He looked like a king or an angel, Robbery was so graceful and natural, but she probably wasn't "the people" anyway.

Autumn has just entered, and there are not many fallen leaves in the park, but Wakefield is located northeast of Nolen, and the nights are already very cold.Mikhail lit a candle for her, and she felt warm and comfortable, not even noticing the barely flickering candlelight.

She hadn't been this happy for a long time.

Stopping and stopping, when Mikhail asked her to sit down by the fountain, he already had a large bouquet of various flowers and plants in his arms, all of which he thought Aaron would like.While preparing, he also put the bouquet of flowers by the pool.

Nancy climbed onto the cold bronze platform drowsily, looked up and asked, "Is this for me?"

Mikhail froze for a moment, then smiled and said, "Yes. It's for treatment. I hope you can recover."

He blushed after he finished speaking. Fortunately, Nancy is a bit night blind, and the street lights in the park have not been repaired for the time being.He picked the flowers for Aaron, but he really didn't want to hurt the young woman's heart.She was very young, only 25 years old, he thought, 20-year-old he wanted a bouquet, and [-]-year-old Aaron liked it too, so of course someone should send flowers to Nancy.

Nancy carefully took a wilting daisy, showing a dreamy happy smile.She could not hear her stomach growling, but Mikhail patted her gray head and said:

"I'm sorry to make you hungry, my sister. However, this is also the arrangement of God the Father. The ceremony requires a day and night of fasting. —— Well, although it is very rude, but no one will come over for the time being, I also I can't see it, please slow down and get into the water."

Nancy obediently folded her coat and put it by the pool, took off her shoes and walked into the water.She was about to ask "Can I bring my shoes to Nicole? She will be able to wear them in a few years", Mikhail picked up the bouquet and sprinkled it into the water, and at the same time threw in an afternoon cut with a knife. wooden sun cross.

Nancy opened her eyes and found that the water in the fountain pool was hot.She looked up at Mikhail, and suddenly found that his face became much clearer in her vision.Her eyesight has deteriorated badly due to childbirth and mending work. Since Monica was born, she has not seen such a clear autumn night for a long time. The bronze statues of goddesses are clearly visible.

Mikhail approached and said, "Sink down, Nancy, and let this water cover you. Have you heard the story of the warrior Achilles? His ankle was not baptized, and he became a heretical god who murdered him." the opening of the water.—Sink down, Nancy, and let the water cover you!"

Nancy looked into his face and took a deep breath.The young man closed his eyes, and the face between the young man and the young man had an expression of meekness or arrogance, like a king who felt that he was not governing well enough when he was patrolling the territory, and he naturally asked his people to call him father.

She let the water go over her head.

Safer than the back of a distressed father, more comfortable than the arms of a busy mother, the coins shimmered at the bottom of the pool, like a narrow door to heaven opened a crack, the amniotic fluid contained her, and she heard the silence of the universe and roar.Like an indescribable death, all the joys and sorrows of the world left her.For a moment, she even had to close her eyes forever at this moment and enjoy a peaceful sleep.

The woman floated up to gasp, patted her chest and coughed, her face flushed red.But soon, she almost forgot to breathe, because she saw her white and delicate palms, unbelievably pushed aside the petals on the water surface, and saw her young face in the hot pool water reflecting the moonlight.

She looks better in the wrinkled water than she did in her hardworking girlhood, not very beautiful, but it seems that there is still a chance for change.She stared blankly at the water for a long time, held her breath and clenched her fists, and then she found that all the fresh flowers had withered.

Mikhail stretched out his hands to hold the pool water, slowly poured it on her head, and said:

"Daughter, your letter has saved you, go back safely! Your plague is healed![1]"

The boy's voice is full of majesty and solemnity, echoing in the park at midnight, drifting, and disappearing into the distance.

Nancy stood up, and the water gurgled down her hair and clothes, taking away the last despair in her body.She has never been so healthy, life bursts from every blood vessel and every bone, even her breathing becomes light and free, her missing or loose teeth grow back and become firm, all her gray hair falls out, her long hair looks like autumn Golden and beautiful as straw.

Mikhail reached out to help her, but she climbed up to the bronze sculpture by the fountain in a daze, jumped down briskly, looked up at Mikhail, and couldn't say a word.

Mikhail put on his coat and bowed to her: "It's late, Nancy. I'm sorry, I have to leave too, I can't help you more, I can only wish you good luck. God bless you!"

Nancy watched the tall and straight figure of the boy disappear behind the rows of tulip trees, and suddenly found that the water on her body had dried up, and the white candle on the bronze seat was still burning, but it hadn't shortened at all.In her baggy shoe she found twelve twopence pieces.

Early the next morning, Victor sneezed in the morning mist that filled the forest. When he was tying a scarf for his sister, he was stopped by Mikhail.

The scarf was found in the trash can on the street where the Viscountess lived yesterday when he went on a business trip. It was torn, but it was very clean.They had just finished their bread and hot tea and went out to look for work.

Mikhail greeted him, and he had already forgotten his subtle resentment, and joked with a smile: "Good morning, Misha. How were you and Nancy last night?"

"I can't see it," said Mikhail with a smile, "but I think she must be a beautiful lady."

Victor's freckled face wrinkled into a ball: "You are really kind-hearted. Forget it, what do you want from me? I still have to make money—"

His last syllable suddenly elongated, and the whole person craned his neck to look across the street like a ghost.

Nancy just ran over there, wearing yesterday's clothes and shoes, her plump and rosy cheeks are much better than five years ago.She wears a wooden sun cross around her neck, presumably in a hurry to find work.For a healthy and young girl like her, as long as she can endure hardship, she can have food.

When she was gone, Victor couldn't call her name.After a while, he turned his head stiffly and met Mikhail's face.The latter was bending over slightly so that it would take less effort for him to speak.Sensing his turning back, Mikhail smiled slightly, his gentle voice and smile gave him a subtle sense of oppression.

"I didn't lie to you, Victor, my master is the best doctor in the world."

Victor thought he meant "my lord" and muttered "really".Of course, in a sense, it is considered correct. After all, only God can make such a change in Nancy overnight.

The younger sister who was holding his hand suddenly raised her head and asked Mikhail: "He cured Nancy, so can you save Potato?"

Mikhail froze for a moment, Victor reprimanded him, but the girl looked at him seriously: "The grown-ups say that we are hungry because the potatoes are sick."

"We ain't hungry!" Victor said. "Nobody's going to be hungry if they work hard. Go and help Mama with the laundry, Christine."

"I heard, some adults often say that, what 'germs'." Christine said in a soft voice, because speaking also takes energy, "Mom is always hungry, you give your bread to Me, I'll give it to mom, and mom will give it to you if she finds out too much. Stupid Victor, you and dad have to work, so you have to eat more."

Victor blushed a little: "I didn't give you my share, it was my mother who divided the bread all the time. Well, isn't our family able to eat meat once a week? How can we starve to death? When you were not born That's terrible, we and Nancy's family squeezed into a room, the bed was full of people sleeping at night, there was no place to turn over, and we had to rent out the bed during the day. When you were born, we at least had our own gas stove Already!"

"But why didn't His Royal Highness Mikhail come?" The girl stubbornly grabbed the potatoes, "The Harvest Priest never came to Noren, but the plague came. Potatoes and bread have become more expensive, I know !"

"This is war," Victor said. "This is the price of freedom, Christine. This is the decision of Her Majesty and every lord. Everyone in Noren must live with dignity. Fight and win." After the war, the church will no longer be able to steal Noren’s money, and it is said that to celebrate, there will be a tax exemption for two years!”

The author says:

[1] Mark 5:34