Wind in the Hands (13 page)

“Their instructions changed,” the Stranger scratched his forehead.

“When you don’t know your adversaries’ plan, be ready to see events develop in any way. I think this time they treat it much more seriously.”

“You are right, but their readiness to act will not mar my dinner,” the Stranger grumbled and headed for the cafeteria.

The comrades ordered cheese buns and tea.

“I’ve bought tickets, and agents know our seats. Spray gas in the compartment and we won’t get to the City, but first bug us to gather intelligence. Most likely they will catch us on the train or when we get out in the City,” the Soldier was thoughtful and then asked, “do we have time?”

“I don’t know. You propose to detour? We are not lonely. We have help.”

“Do you mean heavenly protectors? And so we need to go as an icebreaker?”

“No. This is always a bad idea. Icebreaker breaks, and I do not want to break.”

“There are sideways leading to the City and I can guide you. We will change routes, hitchhike, go across the desert, and mountain paths. I warn you, the way to the City will be difficult, but we will reach the goal. And if we go now in this comfortable train, going the direct way, we’ll land directly in a trap.”

“You couldn’t be more right,” the Stranger smiled.

The Soldier stood up and said loudly,

“Wait here I need to pee.”

“Spare me the details, especially during lunch,” the Stranger grumbled and resumed eating.

In the men’s room, the Soldier asked a cultured-looking but down-dressed man to buy him two tickets to the train from the station called the Oblivion Hill to a small settlement of Victory, the last station before their destination point, the City. The Soldier made up a story fast telling the man about a jealous wife who hired private detectives to follow him, persuaded the man to take a modest payment for his service, and asked him to place the tickets in the toilet booth rather than give them to him directly. The Soldier came up to the Stranger and almost inaudibly told him:

“When I scratch my nose, you will go to the men’s room, the left booth, take out tickets from the toilet paper roll and go back at once.”

Sometime later, the Stranger recollected, “I’ll go pee.”

The Soldier only sighed.

They came into the railcar and closed the compartment door. The Soldier put his finger to his lips, carefully inspected the walls, shelves, and a small table, but found nothing, sat down, and shook his head. The Stranger pointed out with his finger at the ceiling. The Soldier blinked: his eyes ached; the light did not allow seeing properly. He stood up on the table, discovered a small hump on the ceiling near the lamp, nodded to the Stranger and raised his thumb in approval.

“Make yourself comfortable, relax. We’ll be in the city in about eight hours, and I’ll look for our guys,” the Soldier decided to set the agents on the wrong track. If they work on a false version, they will lose time and will hardly enforce actions, if they believe that there are support fighters nearby.

The Soldier left the compartment to watch movements. In case of an attack in confined space, there was a chance to straggle. A young pretty girl was standing in the corridor, looking in the window and rhythmically wagging her head: she was probably listening to music in her headphones.

He came up to her to a disrespectful distance and immediately felt her fear.

“It’s a long way, would you like to chat? Make the way shorter?” he proposed to the girl smiling good-heartedly. The girl went pale, pursed her mouth but turning towards him answered calmly:

“I’m tired of conversations. Leave me alone.”

And without saying anything else, she returned to the nearest compartment where the Soldier noticed a young woman and a guy.

The girl closed the door behind her.

“What has happened? Why have you left your post?” the man from the compartment was indignant.

“The object tried to speak with me. I don’t have instructions what to do in this case,” she answered falteringly.

“You can speak with him, but I warn you again, this man is extremely dangerous. Do not betray yourself and us. Now go back. No, you go,” the agent nodded at the other employee.

The Soldier dropped by for a minute to warn the Stranger.

“We get out in half an hour. Three agents are in the compartment nearby, one of them is in front of the door,” he explained in gestures and mimicry. The Stranger shook his head showing that he is categorically against violence and left for the corridor. He stopped near the girl and scrutinized her.

“I can tell you fortune by your hand,” the Stranger almost whispered to the girl and added, “absolutely free of charge.”

The girl looked at him surprised, smiled, and hiding her palms behind her back asked him:

“Which hand, left or right?”

“Doesn’t matter,” the Stranger answered indifferently. “Let’s just step aside.”

She stretched her right hand. The Stranger was not a chiromancer, he was not even sure that the palm showed fate. But he gently took her hand and concentrated. He thought he could see something hidden, information came to his head in fragments, and he was to put into words his visions and feelings.

The most important thing is not to think too much and say whatever comes to your mind first and needs to be expressed.

“You are from a family with strong family traditions, a well-to-do family,” he started. “You have two sisters and a younger brother. Your father is a military, retired, but he seems to be working somewhere, but it is not written on your hand. Your mother is an excellent woman; she suffered much at your father’s hands but never stopped loving him or caring for him. By the way, tell her that she requires cardiologic screening, she has high blood pressure. She worries about you and doesn’t want you to work in this organization,” the Stranger looked in her eyes.

“What organization?” the girl said in a trembling voice.

“Your mother’s right, nothing good awaits you here,” the Stranger ignored her question. “You have a choice: stay or leave. Possibly, you can work on there but you’ll see so much dirt that you will drown in it and lose your soul. Go study to be a medical doctor. You have dreamed about that since you were small. That’s your mission.”

The girl’s lips trembled.

“How do you know all this? Do you know me? Most unlikely,” she was peering in his face as if he were a ghost.

“I know that, and that’s enough. The God opens this to me,” the Stranger assured her. “We have to get off soon, please do not turn around. They will necessarily ask you, you won’t lie if you don’t turn around. Service to the God is more important than government service.”

The Stranger returned to the compartment and made a gesture with his hand, “We get off now, you do nothing.”

The Soldier nodded and asked out loudly:

“Do you have a lighter? I’m going out to smoke.”

“Take it.”

The Soldier opened the door and went directly to the girl. The Stranger took him by the collar of the coat and pulled to the exit as he would pull a disobedient dog. The Soldier did not resist.

“She won’t turn around, I’ve spoken to her.”

“I need to tell her something.”

The Soldier came up to the girl and whispered: “You’ll tell them you saw me leave the compartment with a pack of cigarettes, look at the pack and remember. Good luck. Thank you.”

The agent briefly glanced at him and pressed her lips to keep from crying. She was very much frightened.

They silently left, slowly got off the train at the station, sat down onto an empty bench, and waited for the next train, which arrived soon.

“What do you think will happen with the girl?” the Stranger asked.

“I don’t know, they may fire her,” the Soldier showed indifference on his face. “I’ve advised her something. Let them think hard. If they run the girl through the detector, which scans brains and identifies areas responsible for lies, even then everything will look true and they won’t give her truth drugs, she is not a traitor. The girl really did not see you leave the compartment and go to the entrance. She noticed only me: that is why she will surely pass the inspection. How have you managed to persuade her to let us go?”

“The same I did to make you follow me.”

“Well, Ok,” the Soldier agreed. “I can smell great deeds awaiting us. You are the massager of the God and fulfill His assignment. I am ready to leave everything and help such a man. I owe much to the God. Without belief, working in my job, you can become a psychopath, go on drugs or alcohol. The God has always helped me. I escaped in absolutely mortal situations: was under shelling, caught in traps, surrounded by the enemy was pursued, and several days wandered in the desert without water. Just imagine, it was ten years ago. I left the army car to pee a bit. And hear a car driving fast in my direction, I turn around and it is in front of me. And suddenly time changes, I can clearly see how two muzzles slowly go out of open windows and start firing at me. They are at close range, two meters, but since time moved slowly, I understood where to move and did not get a scratch. It seemed I even saw bullets.”

“An interesting story,” the Stranger said. “Only the time did not change, your perception of the time changed. Probably, this is how birds or flies perceive time. They fly at a high speed without any accidents.”

“So, it means I turned into a fly?” the Soldier guffawed. “But, if the God wishes to turn me into a man-fly to save me, I have nothing against it.”

“Maybe, that’s so. But the body of some people in mortal danger or stress is capable of something you could never guess,” the Stranger was looking through the window all the time.

“You don’t think it was a miracle, do you?” the Soldier was somewhat perplexed.

“Of course, it is a miracle, if you use this word to describe something unusual which still remains unexplained.”

“And is there explanation to everything?”

“I’m sure, there is. I think that secrets and miracles are shown to us so that we could try to solve them… The cognition process develops us. With time, humankind can find answers to many questions. Someone wants us to develop.”

“Who? God?”

“If it serves the purpose of the good, then it is surely God. But the knowledge of the matter without the knowledge of spiritual rules is a way to a great disaster. People use knowledge for mass massacres and destructions. They have neared a very dangerous edge which when crossed, can bring total destruction.”

“What do you think, why has God created humankind at all and provided it with the right of choice?” the Soldier was in the mood to continue a philosophical conversation.

“And why does a poet write poems, a painter paints, and a builder builds?” the Stranger asked.

“It’s a kind of means to express their abilities.”

“If we assume God has abilities, for example to create, then creation of the world is a kind of expression of His abilities. However, I don’t think this is the only correct interpretation. Possibly, we are part of a global process where humankind must play a certain role.”

“And why does a person need the right of choice? Maybe, it doesn’t have it at all. All of us have a role and we play it regardless of our will. If the future is known, it means it is defined.”

“There is a difference between something known and something defined,” the Stranger did not agree and tried to explain:

“Suppose, the Seer can foretell someone’s actions or can mentally make someone take actions. Can you see the difference?”

“Looks like that,” the Soldier hesitated. “For example, God knew I would be a warrior but he was not pulling me by the hand to enroll in the army and did not force me to sign a contract.”

The Stranger made an indefinite gesture.

“Although, I assume that sometimes a man is really pulled by the hand. The Creator made the most complex creature provided with an autonomous program, the right of choice. But He wants to help His creatures, bring them to senses, protect from incorrect actions without disturbing independent development of the man.”

“And haven’t you lost your independence? Do you act guided by your own principles or not?” the Soldier was looking at him attentively.

“I hope so,” the Stranger’s voice faltered. “So far my actions have not conflicted with my beliefs.”

“And what about mine?”

“Your actions do not conflict with your beliefs, but conflict with mine quite often,” the second part of the phrase was spoken by the Stranger sternly.

“Ah… You are against violence, aren’t you?” the Soldier drawled and skeptically nodded his head. “I see. I can’t imagine how you can protect yourself and your dear ones without violent actions or physical impact. You have seen the victims of terrorists, haven’t you? Those mutilated children whose only joy is pain killers? Mothers who have shed tears over the children they lost, handicapped fathers who can do nothing to earn bread for their families? Yes, you can stay aside, you can remain free from blood but that’s all until a disaster enters your home.”

“The actions you take will not bring consolation to the unhappy,” the Stranger answered. “There is another way; there is another solution, not blood for blood which results in eternal hatred and war. I believe in humankind`s change, in returning to spiritual laws, and this change will benefit people and stop wars and violence. This is the way shown by the Prince.”

“Well. Suppose, you are a highly spiritual person, but your neighbor is a scoundrel. And he builds on your decency for his corrupt purposes. And if you have a wife, children, property, and you are not ready to protect them, this neighbor will take everything from you. And outrage over your wife and children to please his vile heart. And you think that the right way is not to wipe him up the floor but forgive him and allow further brutalization? And he always hunts for the kind and meek ones. He is not strong enough to handle the strong. You can’t be a sheep in this world!”

The Stranger was silent for some time and then spoke:

“There are different types of protection. Fists are not the only means. If your neighbors are armed with rifles, and you have a stick, then only your desire to protect your dear ones is not enough. Understand, that God is a reality and no one will be able to resists Him and His power, and no guns will help. Your belief is stronger than all guns, but if it is time, you need to leave as the Prince did feeling pity to his murderers as his way is to eternal glory and they will go to oblivion and darkness. If we could see the entire picture of the creation and not only a minor portion of it, we would change our priorities, but as is, we only have to believe. But belief is one of the conditions to enter the country of justice. It’s a pity that I don’t have enough words or arguments,” the Stranger was visibly upset. He turned away from the Soldier and watched landscapes passing by in the window.