Tales of Ghosts. Playing Another Reality. Edgar Allan Poe award

“Yes, you will, surely, but you’ll become a star in your lifetime! Why… don’t you ask me how I ended up here?”

“And why should I know about that?”

…Sergey opened the door lock with the help of some iron they had found on the road and … returned to his home, without even drinking a cup of the kindly offered tea.

“See you tomorrow!” with bated breath he whispered to Natasha at the door.

…And all week they returned from the theatre together, talking about everything and nothing at the same time. They seemed to be on the same wavelength, to communicate ‘the same language’ and to understand each other perfectly. However, as usual, all of a sudden, something that would have made Sergey glad just a little while ago, happened, and…

He entered Natasha’s flat for the first time.

“I’m sorry to be uninvited,” Sergey said with a heavy exhale.

She didn’t seem surprised at all by his appearance and with a gesture invited him into the kitchen. He sat down on a stool and didn’t know where to start.

“Today I dreamed of my mother,” Natasha turned to him first and, as always, in a completely calm voice. “She told me to live ‘here and now’.”

“Today, the doctor told me… it’s cancer.”

“Tea or coffee?” Natasha asked still calmly.

“Coffee.”

She was standing by the stove with her back to him. Sergey came over and put his arm around her.

“We all will fly to the stars one day, darling,” Natasha said quietly, addressing him as ‘darling’ for the first time, and added, “There’s a great mystery in it, that you’ll discover soon.”

“It’s funny! My wife started screaming, my friends began to feel pity. You are the only one… If you only knew…”

“I know…”

“I would like… the rest of my time… Well,” it was hard for Sergey to speak, and he thought, “God, how much of the precious time we waste in life on all sorts of nonsense!”

Natasha held out a cup of coffee.

“I promise you that since tomorrow,” she said slowly and clearly, as an oath, “all the following days will be the best of your life!”

Sergey took a sip of coffee and smiled. It was a childish smile. Open. Kind-hearted. Happy…

At that moment Natasha’s phone rang. A friend was leaving for a business trip and asked to shelter her black cat for a couple of days.

“Cats are great! Especially black ones! As long as they don’t cross your path! Okay, honey, I have to go,” Sergey winked at Natasha, putting the cup on the table. And already at the door he stopped and asked again with hope in his voice, “So, see you tomorrow?”

“See you tomorrow!” she nodded and smiled.

Sergey left, singing some children’s song. He suddenly felt completely happy for the first time.

They never saw each other again.

That night he was hit to death by a car while crossing the road on his way home…

    February 11, 1994

2. A white dance “Ladies’ Choice”

Ivan invited Inessa to a cafe. He was the CEO of a famous company, and she was just a fifth-year student, though, of one of the best universities in their country.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t believe you!” Ivan ended their conversation categorically. “Maybe in five or ten years…”

“And what then, in five or ten years?”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, okay!” she grinned. “I’ll become CEO as well, to prove to you that I’m not about your money. And then, if you want to, you will find me yourself…”

And in a bright red dress, so beautiful, daring, young, Inessa left him.

***

There were the same snow and a grey, hopeless sky outside the window. It was very cold, although on TV they had promised a sharp warming. Ivan was out of any mood. That happened when the Sun wasn’t visible at all, and life had made no pleasant surprise for a long time.

As usual, being late for work, Ivan started the car, drove through the archway to the exit to the embankment and turned on the signals, waiting for an opportunity to squeeze into the continuous flow. Yawning, he habitually glanced at the billboard and… couldn’t believe his eyes!

Ivan got out of the car, forgetting to turn off the signals, took out cigarettes and lit up one, staring at the poster “I LOVE YOU!” on the billboard. Just that inscription and the familiar face of the girl in a bright red dress! He looked at her, and five years flashed before him in the blink of an eye. Ivan had turned gray and was no longer the CEO of either that famous or any other company, meanwhile Inessa had blossomed…

He found her without any difficulty.

Inessa invited Ivan to a restaurant.

“That’s how I became the CEO,” she summed up, not without a sense of pride. “Now I have everything. Except for the man I love…”

Ivan couldn’t believe her incredible success story.

“Let’s get married!” Inessa said finally.

“And where are we going to live?” for some reason he asked, being dumbfounded.

“I was thinking of buying a flat with a veranda on the roof. Do you remember tales about Carlson?”

“The haunted roof?” Ivan smiled.

“Surely, why not!” Inessa laughed. “Where do you want it, here or in Europe? Or… would you prefer a cottage?”

“An uninhabited island,” he smiled again. “And a private jet as a bonus!”

“Not bad for a start!” Inessa was full of enthusiasm and energy.

“Well done,” Ivan summed up and sighed heavily. “However, I’m no longer the boss, and I don’t have the funds to make your life beautiful. In a couple of years you’ll think, ‘Why do I need him?’ You’ll be still a young, successful, prosperous lady, and I…”