happier and kinder.”
Though they spoke highly of him, Vlad was sitting with his head low, as if they were chastising him.
“Not to mention this clear head full of knowledge. Father Konstantin, do you know many teachers who could teach reading and writing, the Bible, mathematics and other sciences at a parish school at this age?” Mark kept harping on the same old theme.
Vlad shrugged his shoulders in embarrassment. He genuinely struggled to understand what he had done to deserve such praise. He had been doing all of this without effort; moreover, he felt he was wasting time.
From his first day in the house of Father Konstantin, he was very passionate about every book he got hold of. Within a short time, he learnt the art of reading and writing, and read all the books in the local library. He read everything and anything, ecclesiastical writing, theology and philosophy books, geographic atlases, and periodicals. He had an amazing memory and could remember the texts by heart almost word for word. But when he was retelling these books to his peers, he didn’t do it parrot-fashion; he was able to explain the main idea, conveying it in simple words, which could be understood even by a bell-ringer or a cook. No one asked him to do anything, but very soon he was the center of attention of village boys and girls. They did not come to him for fun and play. They came to listen to his never-ending stories. That is how he became their teacher. Father Konstantin was happy to entrust him with the keys from the classroom.
“Talking about the studies! What classes do you have today?” Anna looked at the boy with respect.
“Hmm…” Vlad hurried to swallow a bite. “Astronomy. We are going to learn more about the solar system.”
“I’d be glad to join,” the cook said and dabbed away tears with a handkerchief, “but I will make a sight of myself, uneducated old woman!”
They finished their meal. Father Konstantin addressed his children with words of encouragement:
“You both have things to do. Go in peace. And you, Vlad, should go to your pupils. I want to have a serious talk with you after that.”
Vlad’s heart gave a leap at these words, but he didn’t give himself away.
The small church school was attached to the church building. Vlad told the other children about the composition of the solar system in plain language he got used to. He told them about the huge and hot Sun, explained why it was shining, and what planets revolved around it. He chalked the planets as circles of different sizes and their orbits, and told a fascinating story.
“And where do we live?” the children asked him.
“It’s the third planet from the Sun,” Vlad showed them.
“Why are you saying that Jupiter is the biggest planet which is three hundred times as massive as Earth, if we can’t even see it? The Moon is small, but we can see it.”
Vlad brought the children to a hill behind the church fence.
“Can you see the hen?” he pointed at a crested hen shuffling its legs back and forth in the dust on the road.
“Yes, we can,” the children nodded.
“And can you see the cow there, on the grass beyond the river?” he looked into the distance.
“Where? Where?”
“I can see! It’s like a tiny dot!”
“What is bigger, a cow or a hen?” Vlad asked.
“Of course, a cow!”
“But you see it as a tiny dot. Do you know why?”
“Because it is far away!”
“That’s right! The same goes for Jupiter and the Moon. The Moon is right there, close to us, it goes around the Earth. And as for Jupiter, a lifetime won’t be enough to reach it, even if you go there by car.”
“And we will run out of gasoline,” the children laughed.
They were standing in circle a while longer and talking of this and that. Their classes always ended this way.
Vlad saw the children off and got back to the church. Father Konstantin walked out from the refectory to meet him and greeted him with a smile.
“Are you done?”
“Yes, father.”
“Very well,” Father Konstantin said approvingly. He drew Vlad to him and held him tight.
“There is something you want to talk about, isn’t there?” Vlad looked up.
“I have a task for you, son,” Father Konstantin was hiding his face. “We’ve got a batch of church candles, and I need you to take them to the old Fedotya. I can never understand why she needs so many.”
“She probably prays a lot,” the boy suggested.
“I wish it was true,” the priest smiled. “Vlad…” he brushed the boy aside and looked into his fair face. “When you come back from her, I won’t be here,” there was a touch of sadness in his voice.
“Are you going to the city?”
“No… it’s just something that I need to do for the church… here, in the village,” the Father assured Vlad. “The candles are on the table in the refectory.”
“I got it, father!”
“When you come back from Fedotya…”
“You won’t be here,” Vlad repeated.
“No, it’s not that… there will be a present waiting for you in the refectory.”
“A present?”
Father Konstantin gave him a warm smile.
“Happy birthday, son!”
Vlad couldn’t even say anything in reply. He just gave the priest a hug.
“There, there,” the priest pushed the boy aside somewhat nervously and hid his face again, “hurry up.”
“Alright, father. It won’t take long.”
Father Konstantin left the church without a backward glance. Vlad went to the refectory. There was a bunch of church candles on the table, just like the priest had told him.
Chapter Two. A hard choice
Vlad knew the village well, so he chose the shortest way to the house of old Fedotya. On his way, he turned off into a few alleys and streets, scared off a gaggle of geese that burst out squawking and cackling in indignation. Vlad jumped over a low fence, leaving an old mongrel bewildered with his agility, and knocked on the hand-carved door.
The old lady answered the door almost immediately: She had seen the boy in the window. The boy smelled fresh baked pastries through the open door.
“Come in, honey!” old Fedotya greeted him warmly. “You are just in time, I have just milked the cow and now I am baking griddle cakes.”
The thought of cakes made Vlad’s mouth water (Fedotya’s treats were hard to resist), but he replied in a voice, crisp after the recent running:
“Thank you, but I won’t stay long.”
“Of course, you won’t,” the old lady nodded and let the boy in.
The door closed by itself.
As soon as Vlad stepped over the threshold, he got a feeling he had hopped into another dimension. The air was thick and redolent. He felt like being immersed in warm water; the warmth soaked in, relaxing his body and mind. His train of thoughts slowed down, and his brisk movements acquired smoothness. The need for haste had gone away. With the old woman, Vlad always felt like her well-behaved grandson, mesmerized by her deep throaty voice and loving kindness.
A wide reader, he always