"So that's it, I must admit I expected the worst... I hope you don't spoil it with your peace-loving dementia." The interlocutor from the ball commented wryly on Hin's rather long story.
"Yes, yes, yes... you don't have to worry about that, better tell me, is everything ready?"
"Almost, the guests will be here in about a month. But I'll ask you again, are you sure the 'centre' won't support us?"
"Absolutely, to deal with all the problems will have to deal with their own forces, but nothing we can turn it in our favour." answered Hin thoughtfully puffed on his pipe.
"And what will you do with the guy?"
"He will stay with me for a week, I will observe him and explain what and how we will do, in general terms."
"I have no more questions, and this is the end of our conversation." Hin's interlocutor mumbled with a kind of relief, as it seemed that the long conversation was weighing on him no less than on his interlocutor's personality.
"I agree, you can go back to eating your four hoofed dinner, have a good appetite." Without holding back a smile said Hin.
"Fuck you..." The abbot lightly squeezed the orb, and it was instantly extinguished, as well as the voice of the interlocutor. Hin put the orb back in its rightful place in his hiding place and stretched tiredly.
"I should go to sleep, tomorrow would be a hard day."
...
Dima came out of Hin's office a little frustrated, the flow of the received information could put most people in a stupor, but the guy held on, the last hopes that it was all one big dream were shattered like a crystal vase hit by a house cat.
And the guy just walked, walked wherever he was going, Hin either forgot or didn't give him a chaperone on purpose, and Dima, busy with his thoughts a little more than completely, didn't even notice it, and walked through the monastery like in his native neighbourhood.
'Stop, where am I going?' Asked himself a question the guy, hitting a blank wall, at this point Dima got the information, he was lost.
'Cool.' The corridors of the monastery were extremely winding, and what was even more terrible, looked almost the same: stone walls, rare lanterns, and small windows, from which barely penetrated the sunset light.
"Going back was not an option, especially not the fact that I would find my way to his office." Dima had already gone far enough from the starting point, and considering that he didn't look at the road at all, his judgement could be considered correct. Though in fact Dima was justifying himself, the guy was ashamed to admit that he hadn't remembered the way back and had missed the right turn like a sheep.
"I'll go wherever I want.' - The idea came to the boy spontaneously, of course, at first glance it might seem more than idiotic, but on the other hand, what could possibly happen to him here?
If he met someone, he would at least ask for directions to the guest quarters, at worst he would simply be escorted back to Hin for proceedings. After running these thoughts through his head like a film on an old filmstrip, Dima nodded to himself and moved along the winding corridors of the monastery.
...
"Maybe they should put up signs, at least in intersections and stairwells, hah... how do they even navigate here?" He had been wandering for ten minutes and continued to walk forward, the light from the lights had finally faded and the situation was barely saved by the rare lamps, but only partially.
Dima's progress slowed down even more, the guy tried to follow the approximate way Min had led him, but as the sun went down this task became virtually impossible, and the guy only went deeper into the monastery.
'Where are the people?' - The lad asked this question very timely, according to his internal clock it was now about ten o'clock in the evening, and he had not met a soul during his journey.
"I think they're playing a joke on me, it's just nonsense," if in the beginning Dima was afraid to knock on doors, now he didn't hesitate and knocked on the rare ones that came his way. There was no answer, the whole monastery seemed to die out. Dima wandered around the territory of the monastery a little more, the guy was ready to shout, or in the worst case to fall asleep somewhere in the corridor.
But he was saved from this fate by two barely audible voices, they were barely distinguishable, but the excited guy strained his hearing to the maximum and hurried to find its source. The boy clung to the sound as a lifeline, he could have slept in the corridor, but he decided he'd rather sleep in a bed.
The sounds of conversation became more and more distinct, the guy clearly heard two voices, one louder male and the second barely audible female, it seemed remotely familiar.
Having passed another corridor, Dima looked out from behind the corner, his faint hopes were justified twice. Lia stood near the open door, the weak room light illuminated her face, which in the semi-dark corridor looked like a small angel standing in the middle of an endless dark ocean.
The girl was talking to a man, he did not show himself and stood in the room, Dima could not catch the essence of the conversation, and he did not want to interfere in the dialogue, Dima was looking forward to its end, the guy hoped to catch Lia and ask her to take him to his chambers, she knows exactly where they are in this architectural hell.
The right moment came quickly enough, Lia bowed to her interlocutor, and after waiting until he slammed the door she went to the opposite side of the corridor. Dima, afraid of losing the only guide in a tangible radius, rushed after her.
The guy tried to go as quietly as possible, he was simply afraid to scare the girl, the guy slowly approached her and quietly said.
"Hi Lia." The girl shrieked and froze on the spot like a halt, Dima feeling guilty for scaring the girl, shook her by the shoulder.
Lia turned around and met the eyes with the guy, on the girl's face read confusion. 'What a fool I am, I scared a man, if I had been called out at night in a dark corridor I wouldn't have been scared out of my wits, but I'm a healthy forehead and she's a girl.'
The flow of self-beating was broken by a girl, who, having orientated in space, bowed to the guy.
"Hi Dima, what are you doing here?" asked the girl, raising her eyes.
"Trying to get back to my room, can you walk me, because I got a little lost in your catacombs." The guy spoke with a certain amount of embarrassment in his voice, in his mind he usually walked girls home, not the other way round, the realisation of this fact made his face turn purple.
"Yes, of course, follow me," the girl said, smiling slightly, she had obviously noticed Dima's plight and his embarrassed manner of address caused her to smile.
Dima calmly exhaled and having equalled with Lia, together went forward.
"Listen, where is everybody? And don't say that they are sleeping, I won't believe it." Asked Dima, deciding to break the silence of the night.
"Most of them are sleeping, it's already ten o'clock, in the monastery they get up early and everyone wants to enter the new day properly rested." It was difficult for Dima, a modern man, to understand this, he was used to going to bed at midnight and getting up at seven o'clock.
"And then why nobody opened the door for me, I've been drumming for half an hour at every door, and nothing, at least somebody would answer." The girl stopped and put her fist to her mouth.
"Hee, hee, hee." With barely contained laughter she replied.
"So you knocked in the storage rooms, of course at this hour there will be no one there." At that moment Dima, who according to Chorus was a real messiah ready to save the world, felt his stupidity as if it were a physical object that he had been hit on the head with.
"What a fool!" The guy exclaimed, putting his hands to his face, Lia tried to keep up her decorum, but the guy's violent reaction left her no chance.
"Hee, hee, don't get upset, I wandered these corridors for quite a long time in the first one too." Having consoled the guy the girl moved forward, and Dima rushed after her.
"If it's no secret, what were you doing so late?" Dima was not offended at all at the girl's reaction, and decided to continue the conversation, for his own comfort.
"Nothing special, the cook asked me to come to him early tomorrow, that's all. And what were you and the abbot talking about, you were gone quite a while?" Lia knew perfectly well that the affairs of the abbot of Hin were none of her business, but curiosity eventually overcame caution. Dima thought for a while and gave the answer.
"To be honest, I don't want to talk about it, I'm sorry." Lia only nodded silently, continuing on her way.
"Are you sorry for me?" The boy said quietly.
"For what?" Lia asked in confusion.
"Um, well, for the fact that you were cleaning, and I was standing next to you and..." Lia did not let Dima finish the sentence and interrupted him.
"Don't, it's my job after all, and by the way we're almost there." Dima noticed it himself, his door was already visible.
"Give me your palm." Dima said, when they reached their destination.
"Why?" Lia asked.
"I have to," The girl cautiously held out her palm, in which Dima had put a couple of local copper coins that he had once pilfered from Min and his brigade.
"No, I don't need it," Lia simultaneously pulled away and pulled the money back, but Dima was adamant.
"You said you were doing your job, you saw me off and I want to thank you." Dima replied and squeezed her palm with two coins inside. Seeing that this guy just wouldn't let go Lia quietly said.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome, thank you for walking me out." Lia bowed goodbye and left. Dima slammed the door and bad thoughts popped into his head, and the worst one was related to Hina's recent proposal, remembering the warmth of her hand and the beauty of her face the guy thought. 'Hmmm maybe... No, definitely not,' the guy cut off his thoughts.
The guy walked to the bed and collapsed on it, sinking into the realm of morpheus.