"So, you're a Philosophy professor, and what's it like to be so smart?" Leon's grandfather asked, looking thoughtfully at a houseplant that looked more like a small tree.
His question sounded a little rude, but in reality, he was just worried about his grandson.
"Professor Skye is very clever. You should read his books," Leon said lightly hugging his grandfather by the shoulders.
But what surprised me more was the way Leon behaved. If before he was a slightly frighteningly mysterious young man, now he was an ordinary guy who is interested in music and parties.
Nico raised his green eyes at me and pointed to the chair opposite. "You're an adult, don't make such a scared face."
Looking at me from head to toe, he added, "Well, so you're a writer too."
"Yes," I said.
And again, a slightly dissatisfied look.
Honestly, I was very nervous.
And noticing it, Leon said, "Let's eat something. Grandpa, what do you have tasteful?"
"Go and look," Nico said softly, continuing to water his plant. "So, Skye, how long have you known my grandson? How did you find him? And why did you make friends with him?"
Perhaps his questions seemed a little strange to me. Although it was obvious that he was just worried about Leon.
And I said, "Rather, your grandson found me. We met by chance."
"Leon has a friend, a human, " Nico muttered as if to himself.
Human? The fact that he called me the human and with such an unfriendly tone, seemed very strange to me.
I just sat silently waiting for Leon to arrive. But he's been gone for five minutes, which seemed like five hours.
The living room was pretty cool and soon I started to freeze.
While I was looking at the books and paintings that were hanging on the dark brown walls, Nico stared at me all the time, and when I turned, I met his gaze.
"But I see that you're not an ordinary human," he said leaning against the back of the sofa. "Leon wouldn't make friends with the common man."
"By the ordinary human, what do you mean?"
To which Nico laughed and at the very moment when his mustache trembled, Leon returned carrying a silver tray in his arms.
"I found a lot of things. So, Skye, eat whatever you want."
"Tell us something about your work."
"Grandpa, you don't see you're scaring him!" cried Leon, and sat down next to him.
"What do you want to know about this?"
"Well, for example, do you like your job and if so why."
"I like teaching very much. Why do I like it? The answer is simple, I just like to talk about difficult, confusing things and try to understand how this world works, these people."
"And how do you think this world and people work?"
"If you believe my guesses, the person is arranged so that he always acts against himself. Well, the world is arranged so that it always expects a person that he or she will begin to live in harmony with himself, herself."
"Your answer is too simple. Or are you afraid to start talking?"
The green eyes looked at me over the glasses and I felt my palms sweat.
"You're right, if I start talking about it, I think this conversation will turn into a lecture."
Nico didn't say anything.
"Well, I've worked as a psychologist all my life. And still I am," he suddenly said, and now his voice sounded calm and kind.
"It means you've seen a lot of broken souls and hearts."
"Very much. And in my entire life, I've realized that human is a very fragile creature. A human breaks if he is loved, he breaks if he is not loved. A human is lost if he is not noticed, and does not withstand too much attention. Human cannot endure poverty, and wealth too. In short, the human is very fragile."
Nico took off his glasses and threw them on the table. Looking forward, his face expressed sadness.
"What I have learned is that man cannot cope with either evil or good," he added, and fell silent.
Leon was looking at me.
There was silence around. Time seems to have come to a stand.
In response to Leon's gaze, I nodded my head, but he only smiled a little and moved a plate full of peanuts towards me.
As if waking up, Nico looked around and said, "I am sorry, I just was thinking."
"I like your thoughts about the person said early," I said. "Would you mind if I added this to my book?"
"Of course not. Professor, you're very smart. And I can see that. And I also see that you're not an ordinary man. You are a man who is beyond good and evil."
"Grandpa, do you have a session today?" Leon asked.
"Yes. And it'll start in ten minutes. Perhaps it's time for me to get ready," Nico said. "Professor, feel at home."
"Thank you."
"Grandpa who came this time?"
"One gentleman from a very distant country," Nico said in a whisper, and slowly strode toward the front door.
Now, it's just the two of us.
"People from all over the world still come to my grandfather. Have you seen those houses around? It's all his houses. When people come for treatment, they rent a house here."
"Your grandfather is a very unusual person."
"I look like him. Completely," Leon said and quickly jumped out of the chair. "Come on, Professor Skye, let's go for a walk."
Once again under the sun, I felt the smell of the approaching rain.
There was a small forest around us and we were heading straight there.
Leon was walking beside me. I suddenly broke away from my reality and stepped into Leon's reality. I liked the unexploredness.
Probably to be close to a person, means to be constantly in the unknown. But what happens when this unexploredness disappears?
The fresh air and scent of the trees tended me to sleep. A light wind enveloped my skin through the thin fabric of the T-shirt.
My steps were light, as if I had no weight.
And when we reached the little lake, Leon stopped and took off his T-shirt.
His pale skin just shone brighter than the sun's rays.
The next thing he did was dip into the water.
Brushing his hair back, he looked at me and said, "Skye, don't stand there."
I went up to the lake and touched the water with my hand.
The clouds reflected on the surface of the water. I thought I was touching the sky.
"Here, I grew up," he said softly, and dipped both hands in the water. "I spent most of my time at this lake. I could sit here for hours on end. I liked being here. I felt like I was on some island that is far from everyone else."
I listened to him as bewitched.
I wanted to ask him a lot, but the questions would have ruined everything. And I was silent. I kept quiet until he looked at me.
"Professor, what is your dream?" he suddenly asked.
"What is my dream?" But I was in no hurry to answer, and soon, he answered for me, "Don't say. I want to guess your dream myself."
When it started to get dark, we went back to the house.
Nico was still busy in his office, which became known after Leon looked out the window on the first floor and saw his grandfather sitting in a chair with a notebook, and in front of him sat a very tired man.
After Leon ordered me to sit in his room, I began to slowly fall asleep. But when I started dreaming, he woke me up with the words, "It's time to have dinner."
"I could go down to the living room to have dinner. You shouldn't have brought food right here," I said when he started laying out plates of food in front of me.
"It's all right. When I was a kid, I used to have dinner in bed. If you want, we can watch a movie."
Leon's behavior still surprised me. He was simple and happy. But seeing him like this, it became warm and easy on my soul.
"If you want to see a movie, I don't mind."
"No, I want to know if you want that."
"Let's eat and go to bed. I'm tired today."
"Always say what you want, never lose yourself for someone," Leon said, and smiling began to eat beans with tomato cane.
After I finished dinner, I just fell on the bed and closed my eyes. The fresh air must have affected me so much that I wanted to sleep so badly.
Feeling that Leon lay down next to me, I opened my eyes and saw his look in front of my face.
"Are you going to sleep here?"
"Well, this is my room."
"Exactly, I'm sorry. I forgot," I said and wanted to leave and find an empty room but Leon stopped me.
"Other rooms are locked. Only my grandfather lives here, so he closed the other rooms. You're going to have to sleep here."
"Do you mind?"
He rolled his eyes and said, "Don't be like all people. Don't create embarrassment or hidden meaning in such a simple phenomenon as sleep."
"You're right. And what I was just thinking," I said, as if jokingly, and he threw a pillow in my direction.
Covered with a blanket, I quickly fell asleep.
I only woke up once at night. And when I woke up, I noticed Leon was lying there clutching the blanket. His face was tense as if he were having a nightmare. I slightly touched his forehead to wake him up, and he turned in my direction and grabbed my hand.
That night, I only had one dream.
I saw myself sitting by that lake, and on the other side of the lake was Leon.
This picture flashed before my consciousness until the sun's rays began to wake me up in the morning.