..//..

The bus stopped. I looked out the window. Indeed, it was Sheitok. I quickly made my way to the door and got off at the station. It was just as I remembered it - crowded, people everywhere. The streets were "flooded" with cars and horse-drawn carts full of sacks of wheat, corn, potatoes, or anything else that could be grown in the fields. After all, Sheitok was a vast plain surrounded by the neighboring Fiv Mountains. You could rarely come across an orchard or a solitary meadow.

I headed towards my uncle's shop, constantly thinking about her. The closer I got to that magical place where shoes were "crafted," the harder my heart pounded, and I felt very strange as if a glowing bubble was growing inside me, about to burst and let all the heat out of my body, through my skin. At that moment, all my thoughts were focused on her, and I thought if someone asked me my name - I wouldn't know the answer.

I soon snapped out of it when I realized the shop was just around the corner, a few meters away, and that she had been waiting for me there for a long time since, looking at my wristwatch, a gift from my late grandfather, I saw that I was already 20 minutes late, which was not like me. After a few steps, I was taken aback and suddenly relieved. I saw that there was still no one in front of the shop. Just to be sure, I looked around once more.

When I saw that there was no one else except for an elderly man in the shop, I sat on the bench opposite. I sat there for a while and noticed that the old man in the shop was constantly talking to Jova, my uncle's apprentice. After just a few minutes, the old man with white hair took his black, round hat and slowly walked towards the door.

As he walked out, he looked at me for a moment with his big, black eyes, and in departure, threw something into the trashcan next to the shop. The old man left, and after a few minutes, I noticed something very eerie. The trashcan where the old man had thrown some "garbage" began to shake as if an earthquake were beginning.

I stood in place and watched an extraordinary sight. Out of the trashcan, like lava from a volcano eruption, rats began to emerge the size of a squash. They poured out of the trashcan at great speed, so I couldn't count them, but I think there were about thirty of them, and they all ran into the forest next to the old village cemetery. That's when I realized that this was the most bizarre sight of my life.

A few minutes later, I felt a chill running down my spine. I noticed that Jova hadn't seen anything because he hadn't even turned towards the door, and since "it" didn't make any noise except for a slight creaking of the bin that couldn't be heard from the inside, he couldn't hear anything.

I mustered up the courage for a moment and approached the bin that had suddenly fallen in front of me. In it was some blue substance resembling liquid, enclosed in a plastic capsule. I didn't want to touch it and just returned to sit on the bench.

After a few minutes, Victoria arrived, more beautiful than ever, in a short black skirt with white polka dots and a cream-colored tank top with spaghetti straps. Her white teeth shone like pearls as she approached me.

“Hello!“ I said and kissed her on the cheek. “This is for you,“ I handed her a blue decorative bag with purple handles adorned with musical notes and various colors resembling those lines obtained with fine brush strokes.

“Thank you so much!”

Surprised and blushing, I looked to see what was in the bag, and I had quite the sight – a plastic transparent packet containing 2 pink sachets and a crystal bottle of perfume with the inscription "Odore celeste di lavanda."

I was very happy when I saw him, but seeing him alone on the bench, I regretted not arriving earlier. Stupid makeup! He really surprised me with the gift. I opened the packet and took out the perfume.

“Mmm it smells so good of lavender...” I said in delight at the pleasant freshness and scent brought by this small bottle. “What does this "Odore celeste…" mean...?”

“It means ‘Divine scent of lavender.’ I thought you would like it, so I bought it for you because it's your happiest day, isn't it?”

“Yes, exactly, you didn't go wrong with the perfume, I really like it, thank you hihihi.”

“You're welcome! Where to now,” I asked curiously.

“Follow me,” I said with dignity.

As we walked, I thought about how she invited me to her birthday even though we just met yesterday.

Oh, how beautiful he is in that red checkered shirt!

As we approached my house, I became sadder because I enjoyed our walk together.

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“By the way, I forgot to ask how old you are, hah,” I said these words with a laugh, trying to bite my tongue.

“Nineteen.”

After 15 minutes, I announced:

“We've arrived!”

“Aah, a beautiful little house indeed,” I said seeing the white cottage with a huge yard.

“Haha yes,” pride was all over my face.

This white "little house" was a 300-square-meter castle with a garden of the same size, adorned with ivy that completely covered one side of the house, with large leaves and occasional white flowers.

In the yard, there was a large oak tree under which stood a wooden swing and a white willow that cast shade in the afternoon on a red metal table standing next to it, along with 6 chairs that accompanied the lonely table.

In one corner of the yard, there was an apricot tree next to which stood a wooden bench with cracked brown paint, and behind it was a large bush of dried red roses. In front of the aluminum entrance door stood a large wooden table where Vic and her family dined together, which could accommodate 14 people. We were approaching the door, and at one point, I stopped for a moment.

“What's wrong?”

“Nothing, just... who will be in the house?” - I asked suspiciously.

“Oh, no one special: Mom, me, and maybe Dad if he's not at work.”

“Isn't today Saturday, though? He works Saturdays too, or what?”

“Oh yeah, silly me. Then mom, dad, and me, and... of course, you hahah.”

“Hahaha okay then, let's go.”

She opened the gray aluminum door with bright blue glass, which gave the door some width, and we entered a short hallway with a white Spanish wall adorned with pictures hanging on it, staring at us as we took off our shoes.

“I see you have a whole collection of sneakers – from red, green, blue to white with pink flowers, from low to high...”

“Oh yeah, I love sneakers. On the one hand, they are so unique and different from other shoes, and on the other hand, they are simple, and I can wear them with anything.”

Ahh... the same old hallway I see every day whether I enter or leave the house. There on the shelf is an old metal plaque that welcomes me every time, wishing me welcome, health, happiness, and blessing me upon entering through the door guarding me from any evil, and wishing me a safe return when leaving.

On the white wall hang pictures of my family, a picture of me from my younger days next to a rose in the yard, my father, who is overjoyed taking the veil off my mother's wedding dress, there is also a picture of my late grandmother and grandfather sitting on stumps in front of the old clay house in the village that I heard so much about from my father, and I didn't have the opportunity to meet them because they both passed away shortly before I was born.

Next to them is a picture of two little boys playing in the sand on the beach, my father and uncle, who are my greatest support in life, besides my mother, of course. They raised me and made me the person I am today. I am very proud to be a member of this family and to bear the surname Weinstein.

“Feel free to go ahead,” as I said this, I felt like a real hostess of this house.

“Which door now?” I encountered a labyrinth of doors, one straight ahead, two doors on the right, and one on the left.

“Go left.”

I grabbed the round brass knob and opened the door.

“I guess this is the living room, right?”

“Yes, you guessed it.”

It's really big and has nice lighting thanks to the large windows.

“Cool curtains,” I said seeing the sheer silky curtains with dragon symbols in a shield.

“Oh, thank you, I chose them together with my mom. Please sit, make yourself comfortable, and feel at home!”

I've always wanted to say this, but so far, I haven't had the opportunity because I don't even remember the last time I brought a friend home. Hmm, maybe it's because I don't have real friends.

“Thank you, thank you, I will.” I browsed the interior a bit.

In the middle of the room was a polished oak table carved on the edges in the shape of a rose, on the right side was a large black leather sofa whose cover began to peel off, and behind the table towards the wall were two armchairs with white covers, and on the left side was a larger black sofa with smaller white cushions on its ends.

I was particularly drawn to the large brown ceiling fan with lights hanging from it in the shape of inverted tulips. From the living room, on the right, there was an entrance to the dining room where there was a larger wooden table with 6 chairs, and next to the dividing wall that separated the living room from the dining room was a smaller black wood-burning stove with a chimney from which a smoke pipe came out, its final part being in the wall. I headed towards the sofa and at that moment heard rustling.

“SURPRISE!” people exclaimed as they jumped out from all sides. Some burst out of the dining room hidden in the corner behind the wall, others were behind the sofa, and some were behind the armchairs.

“Ohhh!” I was scared in an instant, trying to calm my racing heart, but I was thrilled because my family had prepared a surprise for me.

“Happy birthday!!!” they shouted.

People at the table barely joked, the birthday girl constantly smiled and blushed with embarrassment (I assume because of my presence), and my attention was constantly drawn to the little old lady in the corner of the room slowly rocking in a wooden chair. Her rocking was almost imperceptible, soothing, and in regular rhythms, so it had a hypnotic effect on the small, black, clearly defined dots in my eyes.

The chair was made of wood, chestnut-colored with shades of dark, outdated brown, with prominent curls and carved roses. The grandma wore oval-shaped silver earrings with a green lumpy ball in the middle. That ball had mixed colors in it resembling waves with purple and green characters.

At first glance, it seemed that her earrings represented small planets filled with gas and dust from a distant cosmos. My entire attention focused on the grandma prevented me from listening to the conversation of the others at the table rationally and actively participating in it. Awareness returned when they brought the cake.

Can it be that the evening is already coming to an end?

A chocolate cake covered with a sugar layer of pink color, with three winding black lines on the side intertwining into a bun and seventeen glowing yellow candles with red bows, was the only thing that captivated everyone's attention for a few minutes.

She blew out the candles, extinguished their lives, and made a wish. I hope it comes true. <3