Angel on earth

Mikhail assured Arnold that no harm would come to Telekin until the end of the month.As the chief saint, he has the right to negotiate with Rollins; as the head of the exorcist, he has the right to ask Priest Grey to suspend the investigation and accept his review first.

The most pure and good saint used all his privileges at once, so that Arnold looked at him and laughed.The face with a bit of baby fat was flushed, and Mikhail said eagerly:

"No, I'm not... I'm not trying to... I'm just, for the right thing, it should be..."

Arnold bent over laughing, his glasses-wearing hands were shaking.Mikhail thought of his blind left eye and said sadly:

"Anyway, I will try my best. Arnold, please wait a little longer and give me a week." Mikhail stepped forward, stretched out his hand, and finally hugged him willfully, "Before August Festival , if I can't solve it, I'll think of another way."

Arnold was silent for a while, as if he was frightened by Mikhail's rude behavior.The latter took a deep breath in the doctor's shirt and vest, and suddenly felt that the cool air in the clinic and the smell of herbs on the doctor's body could not calm him down.He wanted to kiss the doctor's eyes, the crystal lenses he hadn't had time to polish were shattered, but now he just had to turn his face slightly to-

Arnold quickly reacted, pushed him away, complained "it's too hot", turned his back, and bent down to pour tea unhappily.Mikhail stood stiffly for a long time, and he didn't turn back. He just rolled up his cuffs twice, and straightened his cuffs twice to button the buttons.

"I won't break my word."

"Then August Festival, exactly NO.15."

Both of them spoke at the same time and closed their mouths at the same time.With a wave of Mikhail's hand, the curtains were blown shut by the wind. He took two small steps forward, then hurriedly backed away, pacing at a loss as if dancing with bare feet on coals.Arnold also began to feel ashamed of his overreaction just now, squeezed his cuffs, and said reluctantly:

"There's a festive party on the eve of August. You..."

"I want to come!" Mikhail's eyes were shining, he put his feet together, raised his hands joyfully, made a gesture of praising the sun god, and straightened his clothes again, "I know this, the Federation and Potosi The brothers in the monastery are preparing for the traditional festival. When will I come to you?"

"...Wait, I forgot." Arnold muttered, "The nuns will also go down the mountain to celebrate the festival at Chalek Church in front of the city hall. You have to go there."

"I'm not a local, so it's okay to come here."

Mikhail leaned over quickly, stopped firmly when the tip of his nose was about to touch him, didn't speak, and looked at him with blinking eyes.Arnold sighed, smiled helplessly, looked up and said:

"Ok."

The boy touched his lips contentedly, and then again.

"Even if there is no news about NO.15, don't think about taking the blame." Mikhail knew the meaning of Arnold's invitation to the NO.14 party, and said seriously, "I believe in you, and please believe me."

Arnold froze for a moment, touched his lips, feeling cheated.

In the following week, the whole of Potosí was immersed in the festive atmosphere of the upcoming festival, and even the scorching heat of the day was a little more popular.Chalek City Hall elected a new mayor during the week Arnold was away at the beginning of the month, none other than Skurtu.The new mayor gave generously and hired a group of workers to clean the streets and sewers of Chalek at his own expense; the roads in the city had been renovated before to welcome His Royal Highness Kupala, and this time there was no extra cost.

Although it was only August Day, the employees were very happy. When the officials with round bellies walked out of the gate of the city hall, they would laugh and ask the servants to give some money to the homeless.People seem to be more energetic, and they will spend a few copper coins to bring two flowers home after get off work.The scent of flowers and green grass is bubbling in the heat, and anti-epidemic herbs are also ignited on both sides of the road. You can still smell the burning aloe vera and wormwood several miles out of the city.

The banks of the two tributaries of the Ross River in Chalek, the Ince and the Ognessica, have wooden shelves waiting for the Mayor of Skultu to clear the water on the latter River on the eve of August Festival. Bian personally lit the first bonfire.Before that, there will be thirteen "Flowers of Chalek" under the age of 16 selected by the city hall to present him with wreaths and ribbons. Erga Chicherin.

Unfortunately, on the morning of NO.14, the menstruation came early, causing her to roll on the bed in pain.Mrs. Chicherin was so anxious that she couldn't wait to send someone to find a doctor. She called the strongest maid in the house to pick up Olga, jumped into the carriage and went straight to the Miracle Clinic.

During the week, Arnold Edwards saw patients as honestly as usual, occasionally complaining to Carter, or haggling for a copper piece of consultation fee in a shed in the lower district.He didn't do much bargaining, after all, no one likes to stay outside when it's hot.The clinic is cool and ventilated, perfect for sleeping all day and going out for a walk at night.In short, Mikhail did not come, nor did he visit the monastery. He went to the Chalek Church for the last service, and he seemed very relieved of Terekin's safety.

Arnold quickly cooked a dose of medicine, and within a quarter of an hour after drinking it, Olga felt less uncomfortable.Mrs. Chicherin asked Arnold not to tell the story. After all, women during this period were not even allowed to enter the church, let alone give flowers on festivals.Arnold complied, wiped off his sweat, poured the medicine dregs into the lilac bushes under the oak tree, and sat by the well to clean the crock.

When Mikhail walked around the clinic lightly, the area around the clinic was flooded with daylight, and there was no one passing by. Even Katerina was sent to the city to buy, and there was only the smell of rotting herbs and flowers. Literally rippling in the frozen heat.Arnold probably thought that there was no one around, and he was slightly raising his chin, singing a piece of Siegfried Federation in a slightly hoarse voice:

"Hometown, hometown! The place where heaven and earth will never betray me!"

Mikhail had seen this performance in the Commonwealth. With his hands behind his back, he jumped from the indistinct fence to the gate of the courtyard, and continued:

"Homeland, hometown! There, this terrible dream will disappear, and there will be no more troubles!"

Arnold was taken aback by him, and he didn't come up in one breath. His arms, which were about to be stretched, were naturally raised high in a standard church meeting ceremony, but he didn't stand up: "Everything is over."[1]

Mikhail pursed his lips and stopped singing.He stretched out his hand and passed a bouquet of flowers, and instead of the official gentle smile that was always considerate and understanding, he had a look of anger, which is what a boy of his age should do when he quarrels with someone:

"Good afternoon, Arnold."

"Good afternoon, Mikhail."

Arnold turned the crock upside down on the stone by the well, wiped his hands on his shirt, buttoned his cuffs, and took the exaggeratedly large bouquet.Probably to cater to the atmosphere of the August Festival, today the bouquet is more colorful than the decorations on the river bank.Bright red begonias and roses, pink hibiscus and hyacinths long out of season, as well as small cosmoses and white orchids, etc. Arnold glanced at them and recognized at least thirteen flowers that were out of season.

Raising his eyebrows, Arnold said, "This is the best version I've ever heard. The voices of choir children are nothing compared to real angels."

Mikhail blushed deeply.Arnold patted the well that was not much higher than the ground. He walked over and sat down. His long legs had nowhere to rest. Finally, he curled up obediently and looked at Arnold with his hands on his cheeks, trying to cover the blush on his face.Arnold looked up at him, forgetting what he was going to say.

16 years old is originally the most beautiful age for human beings.The boy's voice was clear and tender, his cheekbones did not protrude, and he stayed obediently under his fair cheeks; his short light-blond hair fluttered gently in the hot wind, and a few strands stuck to his neck, and his eyelashes cast morning light in his eyes without pupils Like a shadow, the light red lips are softer than the hibiscus he handed over.

Arnold watched him in the shade, and involuntarily moved closer.Before he could pull himself back, Mikhail closed his eyes and pressed his soft lips together.

This time, Arnold was taken aback by himself, lowered his head, and managed to change the subject with a steady voice: "...Let me weave a wreath for you."

"Does Augusta celebrations include this?"

Arnold twitched his fingers, weaving together various flowers, large or small, and replied: "It has something to do with the Federation. They are still celebrating the Kupala Festival. I don't know what that Kupala has to do with you...Elena I put The date was changed from July to Augustus, on the same day as the birthday of St. John. But in fact, before I left the Commonwealth, it was completely assimilated to Augustus, and became a memorial day in praise of Mithra, my lord, And Potosi started doing it too. On the eve of the Kupala festival, there is a bonfire by the river and people dance by the river wearing garlands. There is also this in the Lower District, we have to bring some gifts.”

Mikhail stared at his pale and slender fingers with some small wounds and calluses. Hearing this, he raised his head and said with a smile: "That is to say, you invited me, Mikhail Kupala, to pass Kupala Raj?"

Arnold froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.

He put the wreath weaved on top of Mikhail's head, and looked at him easily, "You are so beautiful. It's a pity that you grow too fast, and the federal people's cheekbones are not... If there is a chance to meet you in the future, you Maybe taller than this tree. At least as tall as the cherry tree."

Mikhail quickly assured: "I won't!" He patted his cheek guiltyly, and argued: "Arnold is older than me, but he still looks good."

Arnold groaned in embarrassment, but Mikhail said seriously: "And your soul is very beautiful, prettier than all my brothers and sisters."

Arnold immediately became alert: "Can you still see this?"

Mikhail hurriedly explained: "It takes a little effort to see it, and there are only spiritual types. I don't usually read it, it's too offensive... I didn't mean it! I didn't read it again after that, because You didn't agree."

Arnold was so aggressive that he almost hit his face: "After that? When?"

Mikhail rubbed the tip of his nose in embarrassment: "When we first met, we were in Ognessica Forest. Rollins suspected you, so I just..."

Arnold narrowed his eyes, but he didn't hold on to Rollins, and asked curiously, "What does my soul look like?"

"It's like a passive flame, the stars in the morning, and the riverbank in early spring." Mikhail blinked and recalled dreamily, "Although it's a little cold, it's full of hope."

"Aren't those all broken ice?" Arnold heaved a sigh of relief, bowed his head and weaved a second garland.Mikhail was still teetering by the well:

"Lighter than the lines of the Radiant Maiden. The stars are shining, some are green, the green of your eyes. There is still some gray mist in it, the beginning of the First Holy War, the morning when St. John and the First Coming Son met. , perhaps just before the sun rises."

Arnold sighed, threw away the half-woven garland, and covered his face: "Misha, normal people wouldn't talk like that."

The author says:

[1] In the Russian version of the musical Anna Karenina, the line that Misha should answer is "There are only lies left in your world, only lies, words and sighs are worthless".Of course, the timeline is wrong in reality, but it’s a fiction... Most of the poems and essays quoted in the whole article are after the Industrial Revolution.