The Magic Fish

The story of a boy who went to war

The Magic Fish, or the Story of the War
by Natalya Zagrebina-Wirtz

- Hey! - He called me.
I really felt my back that he was waving to me. I quickened pace - I didn’t want to talk to anyone.
- Hold on! he shouted even louder, and from the sounds that came to me, I realized that he was running.
Then I harshly turned to him. It was the weirdest guy named Max, who came with us to the lake today.
Approaching me, he stopped. And, having taken a breath, said:
- You go to a stop, but the last bus is already gone.
I said nothing, walking slowly along the road.
He grabbed my sleeve and pulled me to him.
- Yes, wait! We have to go other way! Come along, I will show you the way. Then, looking around, he added:
- If you got here, it will be very difficult to get out!
And I succumbed, turned, and we walked together along a dusty, sun-scorched road, framed around the edges with pebbles and thorny bushes.

***
I came here a couple of days ago. It was very hot, as always here at this time. From the sun

Page 1 Page 2

scorching from the sky the grass withered and turned yellow. The trees still held, lowering their crowns below. Their sweaty leaves became thinner and sluggish like rags dangling. I wanted to go to the very lake that I used to go with the old man when I was a child. Even then, before the war. I was irresistibly drawn there. Probably, I once again wanted to remember everything. But maybe I was waiting for some kind of miracle?
Local village’s boys, like in the past, went to this lake to swim.
This place has always been enmeshed with legends that could not destroy either war or time. It seems they will never disappear. According to legend, there was a big magic fish in this lake, and if lucky enough to see her, will fulfill your cherished desire. A lot of people just pursued their mercantile goals …
I did not remember the way to the lake, which was going through the forest and could get lost. So, I joined the boys, and we went together. There were seven or eight of us. Dima and Max were older.

Page 1 Page 2

They were about seventeen years old, almost like me. And the rest of the kids were younger.
We covered a larger section of the road by bus. It was a large, painted yellow and already peeling paint, tipped on one side due to improperly working springs. If I'm not mistaken, they are no longer released. Inside the bus, the walls and in some places the ceiling was dotted with inscriptions of different colors and contents.
Plastic seat handles were cut with a knife, and their rubbed coating in places strongly departed from the metal frame.
It was the notable fact that almost more than half of the upper glass was not in place. And the boys now and then laughed out through the windows to the street. This caused terrible hails of the driver. But the boys just had more fun from it. Finally, the bus pulled over to the side of the road and the guys poured into the street into the hot summer air.
Then you had to go on foot. On the sunburned land to the forest, which was visible at the horizon.
There

Page 3 Page 4

was not a single building around which the eye could catch, in order to return consciousness to the reality that began to slip away from it.
Only in the distance was the tower of a long-abandoned mine with a pyramid of waste rock nearby. However, she only aggravated the picture that appeared before her, making her even more fantastic. The hot air lay above the red soil with quivering transparent layers, distorting the reflections passing through it and making the horizon even more subtle. After a short period of time it began to seem that you are somewhere in the middle of the prairie of North America and that incomprehensible point on the horizon is just a cowboy riding a purebred stallion. He may be jumping to a meeting with his friend to show off the newly acquired red Quarter Horse instead of the previously rented slow black Morgan. In less than a minute, as he approaches and the details of the harness of his horse become visible. And next to it will be a saloon from

Page 3 Page 4

Genres:

Fantasy

There is no next chapter available.
Login to bookmark this book for later.