Svetlana Mirrai "The Ghosts of Mandrake. Fantasy"

– This is a knight who has only positive qualities in his character.

– You know, they called me Quasimodo from Notre Dame.

InВ response, she said kind words toВ Philip, and she felt unpleasant for theВ guy.

When they came to Natasha’s house, she examined him, dark and purple bruises, they lay scattered all over the young man’s body, his ribs also hurt.

The trip toВ the doctor was decided toВ postpone for now, there were no serious injuries. Immediately after the inspection, Philip went toВ the kitchen toВ have lunch, and then went home.

Silence reigned in Grandma’s room, he went into the room where she was lying on the sofa, on her favorite left side. Grandma was asleep.

Philip did not wake him up and quietly sat down toВ his lessons.

– Philip,» Grandma’s voice came from the room.

– Yes, Grandma.

– My boy, come to me now.

The guy got up from his chair and went toВ his grandmother.

– My dear, – Nina Alekseevna said softly, – I just dreamed of a fallen angel with black wings and a frightening abyss covered with darkness, and you are my angel standing next to this abyss, – and then grandma began to cry, tears rolled down both cheeks like hail.

«Don’t cry, Grandma, why are you worrying about some dream,» Philip said softly, taking out a handkerchief and gently wiping Grandma’s tears.

– After all, I have no one else in the world besides you, and I need you healthy.

– I’m so worried about you, you have no idea. It was not good that I had this dream.

– Forget it, Grandma. I’m doing fine. And you will live for a very long time.

– Yes, my son, yes, my darling.

Philip eventually became more and more withdrawn, because every day he spent at school was filled with ridicule and bullying and it really tormentedВ him.

When he came home after school, he tried toВ forget about all the bad things, he took care ofВ his grandmother, and his only outlet were paints and canvas. He loved toВ draw since he was three years old and was aВ genius atВ it.

And when Grandma fell asleep, he immediately sat down at the canvas and began toВ work miracles.

Philip’s paintings came to life under his brush as if they had not been painted.

He liked toВ experiment and draw different characters unknown toВ the world, it turned out that he was not only an artist, but also aВ writer ofВ different stories.

And then one day he created an extraordinarily beautiful painting that was different from all his works. It differed not only inВ its plot, but also inВ its decorative and detailed design.

Grandmother and neighbor Natasha saw this work and were simply surprised by Philip’s high artistic skill and talent.

The painting depicted aВ very beautiful girl inВ aВ long, antique dress, and inВ her hand she held aВ candelabra with burning candles that illuminated her way through the thickening darkness toВ aВ huge, gloomy castle.

The girl was very graceful and had beautiful Slavic facial features. Philip has been working on her image for aВ long time, he lived inВ his heart. And after finishing work on the painting, Philip looked at the girl for aВ long time, without taking his sad, loving eyes away.

– Well, hello, my dear,» said Philip.

InВ response, the girl stared at the painting with her piercing gaze, continuing toВ hold aВ candelabra with burning candles inВ her hands.

– And what did you want, ugly Quasimodo, so that she would come to life now and rush to hug you? the young man said softly aloud and even laughed at this strange thought.

Now, day after day, when Philip came home from school, he sat down next toВ the painting like aВ motionless and silent shadow and looked at it for aВ long time. He felt comfortable and good next toВ her.

But one day, when he came home from school, he saw that a lot of people had gathered in his grandmother’s room, there were doctors and a neighbor Natasha. They were all fussing around Grandma, and two young guys were standing next to the bed holding a stretcher ready.

– Wait, – the boy shouted in fright, – Wait. Where are you going to take my grandmother? Don’t you have the right? I’m her grandson!

– Philip, my knight Ivanhoe, Nina Alekseevna has become ill. She called me through the wall, and I decided not to pull, and called an ambulance.

– No, I won’t give my grandmother away. I’ll take care of her myself.

The grandmother looked at her grandson and said softly.

– I’ll stay at home. I’m not going anywhere.

The doctors looked at each other inВ confusion, and the most important ofВ them said.

– Well, if it gets worse, call us right away. And now here’s a list of medications and rest. Well, you young man keep your word!

Philip cried out joyfully and ran around the room.

– Grandma. I’ll be a better doctor for you than all of them!

When the ambulance crew left the apartment, Natasha sat down next toВ Nina Alekseevna and almost whispered:

– Philip and I will put you on your feet. You’ll see, but you’re still sleeping.

Then she went up toВ the boy and took his hand.

– Come on, I’m going to write you the phone number of a famous sorcerer in the city, I’m sure he will bring your beloved grandmother to her senses.

– Come on,» Philip whispered.

He went into the next apartment, and there aВ twelve-year-old girl greeted him with aВ kind smile.

– Mommy, where have you been? – she asked Natasha.

– She helped our neighbor. Wait, Philip, I’ll get you the phone now.

The girl at first stood aside, looking carefully, but then she came closer and stretched out her childish, elegant hand, chirped.

– I don’t see you on the street, Philip. Don’t you go for a walk?

«I don’t have time, – Philip replied.

– And let’s be friends with you? You don’t mind?

– I don’t mind. Only I don’t have time to be friends either,» he said even more gloomily.

– Well, we’ll somehow find time for friendship with you. My name is Alla. Well, even if you’re older than me, but I’m also an adult and very smart.

«All right, I’ll try to find time for a walk with you a little later,» Philip replied.

Then Natasha came up and handed me aВ piece ofВ paper.

– Take this, and be sure to call tomorrow, but do not delay.

Philip thanked Natasha, then put the piece ofВ paper with the phone away inВ his pocket and went home.

The grandmother, without waiting for her grandson, quietly fell asleep inВ herВ bed.

MEETING WITH AВ SORCERER

The next day, Philip came home from school sullen and tortured. Today the math teacher called him toВ the blackboard. Since Philip was well versed inВ this science, he knew how toВ solve all these examples that the teacher wrote with chalk on the blackboard.

But he was unlucky, the teacher was called byВ the head teacher and he immediately disappeared, leaving the guy standing alone inВ the middle ofВ the class.

Egor, the main enemy ofВ Philip, saw aВ good situation and did not waste time toВ show his superiority again and was the first toВ start aВ war. He took aВ dirty rag from the board and threw it at Philip, who managed toВ dodge, but got aВ dirty rag again. When the teacher came in, the whole class was already laughing at the chalk-whiteВ boy.

The teacher was aВ young guy after the institute, he thought that Philip really had dirty himself and wanted toВ dirty all his classmates and decided not toВ sort it out, put two for his behavior.

– Quasimodo, and you know, the white uniform suits you, you don’t erase it, – Egor mocked.

Philip went into the room trying toВ forget about all the bad things, because now he had toВ turn all his attention toВ his sick grandmother.

– Filippok, my boy, how are you doing at school? «What is it?» she asked gently and quietly.

«I’m fine, Grandma,» he said, turning away to wipe away a few tears.

Grandma croaked something else and closed her eyes.

– I feel bad for my granddaughters. I probably won’t keep my promise to live long Filippok. I’m sorry, bunny.

– Grandma hold on, I’ll put you on your feet, you’ll see, – the boy said firmly and left the room.

Philip took out ofВ his briefcase aВ piece ofВ paper with aВ phone number that Natasha had written toВ him yesterday.

«It’s time to call everything,» he thought decisively and took the home phone in the hallway, then went to his room and closed the door so that grandma wouldn’t hear anything.

Philip dialed the number.

No one answered the phone for aВ long time, but they still picked up the phone.

«Hello,» a man’s voice said into the phone and fell silent.

– Hello, are you a sorcerer?

There was aВ slight silence on that wire, then it was interrupted byВ aВ deep sigh and the voice continued.

– I have a name, young man, just like you.

– I’m sorry, I was probably tactless just now. My name is Philip, my grandmother is seriously ill. They called an ambulance yesterday, but I didn’t give my grandmother to them. And your neighbor Natasha gave me your phone number last night.

«My name is Celestine. I’m a witcher, I did the right thing by calling me. Describe everything in detail now?

Philip, inВ aВ low voice, sometimes even turning toВ aВ whisper, began toВ describe the condition ofВ his grandmother.

Soon Celestine interruptedВ him:

– I’ll make a decoction for Grandma now and I’ll be there in three hours.

Exactly three hours later, the doorbell rang.

On the threshold, as it seemed toВ Philip, there was aВ beautiful woman with long hair.

The boy froze inВ surprise, silently examining his guest. But the witcher broke the silence first.

– So I came, Philip, in three hours as promised.

The witcher’s voice was male, exactly the same as on the phone.

– Come in, – said Philip and let the guest into the apartment.

The boy looked at Celestin in surprise and somehow incredulously, so the witcher understood the situation, and in order to destroy the young man’s doubts, he said:

– There is one rule that will definitely be useful to you and not once. Looks are very deceptive. And as for me, my appearance is always different. Sometimes I’m even… um… an insect.

– Are you kidding? Philip asked incredulously.

– I’m not a simple person, I have huge magical abilities, you can’t even imagine how strong a sorcerer I am, – answered mysteriously Celestine.

В«IВ wish IВ had that kind ofВ strength,В» the boy said dreamily.

Celestin’s smile appeared briefly on his face and soon disappeared.

– Well, my friend, shall we proceed to the magic ritual? «What’s the matter?» the witcher asked.

Philip wanted to answer that he should start, but a quiet grandmother’s voice was heard from the room.