The doors of my grandfather's spacious house were now open to new guests.
I, waiting for the guests, sat in a gazebo in the garden.
You might be surprised at what I need from these people. And the answer is, I just want to understand what I've done to this world and why my book has had such an impact on everyone.
Wearing my best dark green suit with a white shirt inside, I lazily read the book, while Joseph went to meet the first guest.
A few minutes later, when I heard the steps, I lifted my head and through the roses, and I saw the outlines of Eva's face.
I wasn't surprised by her coming here. But still, I was interested to know what she was dreaming about and where was the baby she gladly accepted as her own.
When she took a few more steps forward, I could now clearly see her.
Today, she wore a bright red dress and she had a small suitcase.
I liked the grace that was in her every movement. And even the way she held the handle of the suitcase was so graceful that if I were an artist, I would have painted her portrait right here.
"Professor, I knew this house belonged to you," she said smiling.
"I can't hide anything from you. Welcome to my grandfather's house."
"It's very unexpected that you suddenly want to rent out empty rooms."
"It's also a surprise to me."
"You're going to live here, too?"
"Yes," I said.
"So, you've decided to change your life," she said.
"I wonder what you're doing here and what your goal is."
She laughed, but then became very serious.
And she said, "I just want to be with you. That's probably my main goal."
No sooner had I said anything, as Joseph said, "Madam, let me show you your room."
"Professor, hopefully we'll talk again today," she said and went after Joseph, who was pleasantly surprised by her beauty.
On the same day, right after Eva, Joseph met another guest named David.
And at first sight I realized that this man is very confident, because when this very tall man with round glasses entered the territory of my house, I immediately saw in him a certain arrogance.
He had short brown hair and a face that expressed nothing but arrogance and confidence.
I was interested to look at him and see how his emotions changed one by one in just a few minutes.
Also, I noticed that all his clothes, from the briefcase to the shoes, were very expensive.
And those black leather shoes must have cost a fortune.
When he finally noticed me, he slightly bowed his head and said, "Professor, I didn't expect to see you here."
"This house, for your information, belongs to the professor," Joseph said, clearly feeling dislike for the man.
David looked around and said, "I thought that a great man like you had a real palace. And I see that you like to be modest."
"This is my grandfather's house."
"Well, yes, sentimentality is above all."
"You can go to your room, and by the evening I'm waiting for you in the living room."
He smiled a little and glanced at Joseph.
"So, will you take my luggage or why are you here?" he asked, which made Joseph blush with indignation.
A few minutes later, Joseph came back to me and clutched his cap, saying, "Skye, I don't know why you need these people, but I'm not going to let any strangers treat me like that. Have you seen how brazen he is? And besides, when he saw his room, he made a disgruntled sound. What kind of man is he? If it wasn't for your book, he'd probably still be working on a construction site or somewhere else."
"Joseph, don't worry, I'm not going to let you do that either."
"I'm certainly grateful for everything your grandfather did, but I don't want to be a servant for strangers."
"I understand. Joseph, sit down, rest. I'll meet the next guests myself," I said and immediately heard a noise outside the gate. "Sit here."
When I opened the gate, I saw three more people. As I expected, there were two women and one man with an incredibly beautiful tan.
"Professor!" suddenly exclaimed one of the women.
"You're here too! What a surprise! It wasn't for nothing that I felt like I needed to come here," said a woman in a denim jumpsuit.
"Please come in."
"So, this is your home?"
"Yes," I said.
"How lucky I am!" the man with the tan exclaimed.
"Let me guess, Professor, you probably want to write a new book and you need inspiration. And that's why you opened this house for those who want to relax? If so, I'd love to be your muse!" said a woman in a denim jumpsuit. It was only then that I noticed that she had bright shadows on her eyelids, as well as many earrings on each ear.
"So, you moved here. Of course, following what's being said about you everywhere, you're probably fed up with all this noise. If I were you, I'd run away and live in such a remote place. But I can argue that you will be found here," the man whose name was Claude said.
And if I'm not mistaken, that woman with a lot of earrings in her ears, called Camellia, well, and the other woman who was going far ahead, May.
"Professor, why did you open your home to guests? Do you dream to open your holiday home in the future? Or a hotel?" Camellia asked.
"Maybe it is. But the first reason is that I just wanted to spend time with people."
"How happy I am. We now have the opportunity to talk to Professor himself. You know, you're much more beautiful in life. That's probably why Adam doesn't love you. You saw his face, didn't you? He has a reason to be jealous."
"Be careful, he is a respected man. Talking about him, it's dangerous," Claude whispered.
When we entered the house and then to the second floor, I said, "These rooms are all yours. That's just the room that belongs to me."
"Is there a key to the room?"
"Now it's a new world. And there is no theft in this world. You've forgotten, because there's no poverty either. So why would anyone steal your things and money, which everyone now has," Claude said loudly and solemnly swung his hand, as if presenting something grandiose.
"I completely forgot!" Camelia exclaimed and laughed loudly.
"Get used to the house, and to dinner, I'm all waiting for you in the living room," I said.
"Thank you, Professor."
Now, in this house, for the first time ever, there were so many people.
I headed toward the kitchen, and through a small window, I saw Joseph, who had already started cooking dinner.
Previously, when my grandfather did not have time to cook, he often cooked himself, and I still remember the taste of each dish.
"Can I help you?"
"No. Go rest or read."
"You're not mad?"
He said, "I'm not angry. I just still can't believe you're here. And besides, I wanted to talk to you so much, ask you a lot, but now, with all these weird people, I don't have that opportunity."
I looked at him and said, "We can talk all day and night."
"Go to your guests, they're waiting for you."
"You know that you are very dear to me. Like a grandfather."
"I don't like when you act like this."
Taking an apple, for the first time feeling a certain lightness on the soul, I went towards the library.
But as I met Eva, I stopped.
"Professor, I love this house so much."
"I'm very happy about that."
"Where's that guy with golden hair?" she asked.
"I don't know."
"In that case, I can tell you something."
"What is it?"
"You know my dream is you."
I was surprised. Previously, people couldn't show their feelings.
"Don't worry. I won't bother you," she whispered and smiled.
"Professor! What a beautiful house it is! And the room is very comfortable! In Japanese style!" Camellia exclaimed.
"Yes, my grandfather used to like this country."
Grabbing my hand, she said, "Professor, tell me about yourself. We don't know much about you!"
"Alas, my life is not so interesting. That is why I started writing books."
"I don't believe it!"
"Professor, you don't mind If I bring a horse here tomorrow," Claude said, following us into the living room.
"Do you want to bring your horse here?"
"Yes. What's the big deal? It's my dream!"
Everyone started laughing out loud, and so did I have to smile a little.
In the living room, when I finally was free from Camellia's embrace, I sat down on a chair in the middle and everyone followed me.
Despite the summer, the house was slightly cool, and I threw a few firewood into the fireplace.
"So, professor, why did you decide to gather us here? Yes, to write a new book. But what is the other reason?"
Noticing that the others were also heading in our direction, I said, "I've already answered your question."
Everyone was looking at me. And I was a little confused. But still, I said, "Your arrival here may affect my new book."
"The truth? And how can I help you?" asked May, smiling.
"Maybe our respected professor is actually very strange. Who knows what secrets he's hiding and why he invited us here," David said.
"Well, anyway, let's begin. I want to get to know yours better."
"Is your name Camellia?"
"Yes. You're beautiful, but you should gain some weight."
"What's your name?"
"May."
"Well, yes, you said, I've completely forgotten. A simple name like yours is easily forgotten," Camellia said.
David, when he approached me, said, "I think if you want to get to know each other better, that's not the best way to start a conversation. Professor, I'll start."
Gathered in the living room, everyone began to listen to David, but Edelweiss was not with us.
"I'll start with the fact that I own a chain of restaurants, and also I am a landlord. Since my budget is not modest, I am currently working on opening my company."
"What company?"
"I can't say that."
"Why do you need a company, if you already have a whole chain of restaurants. And besides, why work at all now and do something, because you can just go to the Fund and you will be given a large sum of money. And for that, you just have to tell your dream," Claude said.
David, looking at me, said, "The professor made it clear that you always have to follow your dreams. And I think it would be weird just to use the money without doing anything. Do you think this fund will last forever? Soon the money will run out of this fund, and then what? Tell me, what will you do then?"
"Fortunately, for example, last week, I have already applied to this fund several times. And Luca generously gave me the right amount. So, I have enough money to make it to old age," May said, and wanted to stroke the cat, but Dreamer nervously ran away.
"Professor, people are so naive," David whispered, and I felt uncomfortable.
"Well, you are a very busy and important person. We've got it all figured out. Now let me tell you about myself. My name is Camellia. And I'm thirty years old. I used to work as an English teacher, but then when the professor's book came into my hands, I decided to give it up and leave."
"Why did you come here?"
"I decided to see the beautiful natural places. And of course, find love. But as everyone knows, even if there are many opportunities in the world, but love, it is rare. But then, after my travel, I returned to my home. But I have no regrets. I started doing what I'm good at. And soon, I became happy and realized that I needed no love. It is enough just to live in prosperity and in peace."
I listened carefully to each of them, and I was surprised that people still dreamed almost of the same things.
"Well, my name is May. I'm a mother of two children. And now that I'm free, I've finally been able to get out of the house, out of the kitchen, and just start living. I don't have to think about money. And don't worry about my children's future. Of course, you have changed the world and opened our eyes to the truth, but nevertheless, Mr. Luca is just a magician. He must have gone against everyone to open this fund."
"What is your dream? Run away from home and become free from your family?"
May laughed nervously and replied, "You just don't know what life I had."
"You all pretend. What if this book wasn't in this world at all? What if Professor hadn't written about dreams? What then? Don't pretend you've suffered so much," Claude said, and smiled slightly to keep his words from hurting anyone.
David laughed loudly.
"Professor, I think I understand why you decided to open a hotel," he said, and continued to laugh so loudly that Joseph looked at him from the kitchen.
"Aren't you overconfident? Stop acting like that. Now there are no poor and rich. So, if you have a company or something, it doesn't matter anymore. Now everyone has the same," May said.
I felt an unpleasant tension in the air.
But I was interested in listening to them.
And I kept listening until Eva showed up.
"Now it's my turn. Professor, I'll tell you right away, you're my hero and I admire you. And as you already know, my name is Claude. I worked as a waiter, and at the same time studied at the university. Since my parents forced me to study medicine, I had to go to tedious lectures. But really, I've always wanted to be an artist. And when I had the courage to tell my parents that no, I do not want to be a doctor, at that moment I realized that, I had to live my life long ago and not listen to anyone. But when I said I wanted to draw, my parents said that now I can do whatever I want, because now, me and they have enough money."
"You see, professor, people have only one dream. And that's money. There's money, there's dreams," David whispered.
"Well yes, money decides everything," Claude added.
And at that moment Eva appeared.
At some fraction of a second, everyone looked at her, but then continued to talk to each other.
"At this rate, I think, soon, the Fund will run out of money and what then? Your favorite Dreamer Foundation will have to close," David said and smiled.
"Let's not fight and argue, and most importantly think about the bad. We're here to rest, to be with the Professor. And anyway, we deserve all this! So, let's just be happy," Camellia said and walked up to the books shelf.
Eva, keeping her eyes on me, came closer, and with her hand on my shoulder, said softly, "Professor, I have an idea."
"Which one?"
"Let's have a feast tomorrow in honor of the guests' arrival. At the same time, I'd like to invite you to dance," she said, and when they heard it, they started making noise and supporting her.
"Good idea! I wouldn't mind dancing. Of course, there aren't many people here. But still, I think it will be fun," Camellia said and laughed gleefully.
I had no choice but to agree.