“The first thrill of love does not bind you to her heart, friend. Keep dreaming!”
“Are you leaving?” Stan asked Beth, who was standing in front of him, watching the ground, as if she was afraid to look into his eyes.
“I’m leaving,” simply answered the girl and looking at him, she smiled, but her smile was sad because she learned to appreciate this little man and she knows that if she leaves, maybe she won’t see him again and that she will miss their friendship a lot.
Not the same feelings had instead Stan for her. In the beginning, he saw in her persona a dumb girl that left her comfortable and warm house to find her Miss, who abandoned her, but after finding out a part of the story, the boy was convinced that Beth deserves more than she had from life, and step by step he started to adore her.
It was so sweet and so foolish at the same time, but he liked that feeling because it was filling him and it also gave him a reason to keep breathing.
The harsh winter passed quickly because he could spend his time with her during the day and dream about her in the cold nights when the harsh winter wind was blowing like mad through the broken roof, making his little and uncomfortable corner seems more unfriendly than usual, but being aware that he will see her next morning, he fell asleep with a sweet smile on his face and when the aurora was starting to show up first in the morning sky, Stan was standing already in front of the “Red Pony.”
“I’m going with you,” Stan said in the end, looking past the girl.
“Where?” and Beth’s eyes stared at Stan as if she saw a river-horse for the first time.
“Wherever you go! I’m tired already of this city,” the boy decided to lie to her. “I was thinking of moving from here for a long time already, but always something new was showing up and … how to say … it wasn’t the right moment. When do you leave?”
“Tomorrow morning. Miss Almont says that it will be better to leave in the morning when there are still free carriages to rent and I think she’s right.”
“Carriage? But it will take you all the money you have.”
“I know, but to London is a long way. I can’t walk on foot till there. It will take me an eternity and I’ll never find Miss Eva this way.”
“But why London? She can be here or somewhere in a neighboring village.”
“No. Miss Almont knows more about this. She said that if a young Miss, like Miss Stonebridge, went somewhere it would be for sure London because all the good people are gathering there. Wealthy people I mean and I think that it will be more probable to find her there than here.”
“All right then. You know better than me, but I have a better idea than to rent a carriage.”
“Which one?”
“I’ll show you tomorrow. Today I have plans, so I won’t come to the “Red Pony” tonight, so tell Miss Almont that … just tell her that I quit. And … don’t dare to leave without me tomorrow. Ok?”
“Ok. I’ll be here tomorrow at 7. Don’t be late.”
Stan continued in place and long after Beth entered “Red Pony”. He was astonished and confused. For the first time the beggar Stan didn’t know what to do. He hadn’t any idea about what was next and his mind wasn’t working at all.
Seeing the approaching dusk, Stan started to crawl down the street, with one single thought spinning in his mind: “she’s leaving!” and deep inside he felt pressure as if a pair of pliers was clenching his heart and it hurt so much.
First, he said goodbye to the corner musician who was still there, despite the cold night of April, and when Stan told him “Goodbye, my friend! I’ll miss you,” the poor musician stared bug-eyed at him, wondering if this guy is out of his mind, because they had never exchanged a single word, but now, from nowhere, he is calling him “friend”.
The musician just nodded and took the penny from the boy’s hand. “It’s my payment for listening to your music for free, all these years,” but that penny definitely wasn’t enough, but Stan hasn’t more than this and it was already an expensive gift he could afford for a stranger.
Later, the boy went to see the under bridge that served as his home for three long years. Nobody was living there now, a sign that the place was more dangerous than ever and even a beggar knew the price of his life, but even so, when Stan heard the pitiful meow of a little cat, coming from under the bridge, the boy armed himself with courage and crawling his legs toward there, he found the cat under small cardboard, shaking like hell and more dead than alive.
Stan took the cat and put it under the clothes and after being sure that the cat was a she, he gave her the name “Moon”. Why Moon, he doesn’t know, but it sounds nice and he decided that it was a good name for a beggar cat.
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Feeling the warmth of the boy’s body, the cat first calmed down and soon fell asleep and she continued silent all the way till the park, where Stan brought Beth when they first met.
The Park was sunk in silence and even if it was a cold night, the spring nature was beautiful. “I’ll miss all this,” mumbled the boy and sat down on the same bench, which looks now more deplorable than ever, a sign that the hooligans took it out on it and broke everything that could be broken on that bench.
“What about spending the night here, Moon? Aaa? What do you think? It will be nice to take with us the scent of this park,” but instead of an answer, the cat meowed hungrily and crawling on the boy’s chest, on his little, fluffy paws, Moon soon took her head out from under the boy’s clothes and looked into his eyes.
“Why not feed me instead of dreaming about the impossible?” was read into the little animal’s eyes and understanding the message, Stan smiled. He took the cat in his hands and taking a piece of dried bread out of his pocket, that he left for black days, he gave it to the cat.
Moon first approached the bread and smelled it. Seeing that it is dried, she’s a bit of a nose, but because nothing else was there for her, Moon started to chew it and after finishing it looked for another.
“What?” Stan asked, looking into the wondering cat’s eyes. “It was all for today. For both of us,” mumbled he and putting the cat back under his clothes, he lay on his back, with closed eyes and let the spring scent enter deep in his mouth.
***
The next morning, a boy, a girl, and a little cat set off for the long trip. First, they passed by the carriages rental office, but because it was still closed, they decided to move forward and to listen to Stan’s idea, and an hour later they were at the train station.
It was the first time Beth saw a railway station. For her everything was amazing and something from another world. Before, she only heard about the huge, iron monsters, which emit steam on the nose, while moving away, but now she also could hear their breath, and soon after she tried to imitate it.
“Puff, puff. Puff, puff,” whispered the girl, looking around, with amazing eyes, at all that amount of moving iron that was surrounding them and passing them, they were going to meet new horizons.
“Where are they going, Stan?”
“For a ride only,” simply answered the boy, because he definitely didn’t know the answer to such questions. Even if he saw a train before and he knew that you need money to enter one, he had never thought about where all those trains were going. It was the first time for him too when he was watching them from close and even if he tried to seem calm, inside him everything was boiling of happiness.
“But” Beth insisted. “If we don’t know where they are going, how will we choose the right one for London?”
Stan scratched his head: he was in trouble because her question makes sense. “Should we ask them?”
“Whom? The trains? I doubt they can talk.”
“I’m speaking about the conductors, idiot. They should know, but what do you understand?! Wait for me here and don’t take a step without me! I’ll be back soon. I … just go and ask and I’m back here and … keep her. She’s too nervous and she can get me involved in trouble.”
Taking the shaking cat into her hands, Beth wrapped her into the thick shawl Miss Almont gave to the girl for the trip, and soon after the cat stuck from the girl and stopped meowing. “He’s such a dumb,” Beth whispered in the cat’s ear and her hand caressed slowly the cat’s fur, making the little animal be happier than ever.
Stan sneaked inside the building and looked around, to see from where he could buy a ticket, but it was so crowded that the boy wondered if today would be enough for all of them to get to their destinations. Looking around he saw only busy people and none of them was able to help the boy.
“Where to take the train for London?” he asked the first passer-by, but the man just stared at the boy, mumbling an unpleasant “he stinks” and moved away in a hurry.
“Your … stinks,” grinned the boy behind the man, and then he decided that it’s time to be bold, so knowing that his appearance isn’t a pleasant one, Stan started to push himself through the crowded line of people waiting in front of the ticket office and how he supposed, he got in front quicker than he thought, because everybody was moving aside seeing the beggar and being afraid to not take from him … God knows what the boy could have with him.
“Two tickets to London,” Stand asked from the office worker, who was staring at him.
“And you couldn’t wait for your turn?” growled at him, the old lady, looking as if she was a Pitbull.
“No time for this,” simply answered the boy and he put in front of her the few pennies he had.
“It’s not enough for two,” mumbled the woman. “Move away if you can’t pay! Do you hear me?”
Stan was now confused. He gave her 5 pennies. “Wasn't that really enough?” and the boy looked around, but only unhappy faces he saw and eyes staring at him because he was delaying things and this is not good for a busy person. “What about one? Will it be enough for one?”
“Two pennies are missing! If you don’t have…”
“I’ll pay for two more,” Stan heard behind him and when he turned his head, he saw a man about 40 approaching the office and paying for Stan’s tickets.
A few minutes later, when they were already moving away from the waiting line, Stan stared at the man, but he didn't know what to say other than “I won’t be able to pay it soon.”
“Don’t worry! Just go where you need to go!” and, after giving a smile to the boy, the stranger moved away, and soon he was lost in the crowd.
“There are still nice people in this world!” Stan happily mumbled and ran all the way to the place where Beth and Moon were waiting for him.
***
The wagon where Beth and Stan are sitting is clean and warm. Because it was Monday and only a few were going to London, they had a wagon only for the two. Well, if to count Moon too, they were three who were staring through the window at the running nature behind the train.
“Do you think Nature will catch up with us?” Beth asked at the end and her nose stuck on the window, was already red from pushing it.
“Who knows?! Only if it has business to do in London, but I doubt it is in a hurry,” but Stan smiled of his stupid thought. How could nature follow them? Especially trees that are always standing in place and feeding themselves from the deep underground with their thick, entangled roots. He knew it, but he preferred to say something nice to the girl, to allow her dreaming because only men are those who should think about the harshness of life.