Chapter 38 Section thirty-eight

Nikolay's little hand took mine, and I knew the answer immediately.She is not with him. I felt Nikolay shake his head, he moved restlessly, and he didn't know how to speak. "She's gone, Anka. No one knows where she went." I tried hard to hold back the tears, but couldn't.I had grown too weak to hold my emotions any longer and finally burst into tears until the tears soaked the bandages and rolled down my cheeks.The kind lady put her hand on my shoulder and spoke strange, comforting words. I tried to calm myself down and said with difficulty: "Little guy, do you know where we are? Who is this lady who is helping us?"

Nikolay lifted his head from my arms and said: "I don't know, Anka. She's a lady, and there's an uncle here, but I can't communicate with them, what they're talking about. I think Tell them about Yiluo, but they don't care." I stroked Nikolai's cheek lightly and said to him, "We are in a different country, Nikolai. It's not that they ignore you, it's that they don't understand. They speak a different language. I guess It's Polish." I paused and realized that what I was saying was something Nikolay couldn't understand. I asked again: "Nicholas, are we still in the forest? Are we in the little village we were looking for?"

"I think so, Anka." His fingers touched around my eyes. "Why are your eyes bandaged?" I took his little hand and pulled it away. "It's nothing, Nikolay, it's just that my eyes need a rest. How are you, little one? Any injuries?" "No, Anka. After the uncle and wife found me, they took care of me, let me take a bath, and ate a lot of food, while you were sleeping." "That's good. Did I sleep long, Nikolai?" "You slept for two days." "Two days?" Is this true, or has my younger brother made a mistake?I don't know.But if that's true, Ilo is still lost in the forest, and her chances of surviving are slim.

I held back the tears that were about to come out of my eyes again, grabbed my younger brother's arm and said, "Nicholas, are there only these two people who help us?" "Yes, Anka." "How did they find you?" "I found them, Anka." "You found them? Tell me what it is, little one." Nicholas paused for a while, as if thinking about how to say it, rehearsing it in his head. Then he began to tell: "That was after you told us to run, Anka. Do you remember? The big dog came, and then you told us to run, and Ilo and I ran as hard as we could. We ran and ran Ah, we stopped when we heard you screaming, we were so scared, and then we heard a 'pound', so loud. We don't know what it was, Anka, but Elo said she was going Look. She told me to stay where I was, and said she'd come back for me..."

His voice weakened.I took his hand and stroked his wrist, wishing I could see his face. "And then, little one?" "She didn't come back, Anka. I waited a long time, really, but she still didn't come back. I was too scared to be alone, so I decided to go find her." "But you can't find her?" "Yes, I couldn't find her anywhere, Anka. I kept walking, hoping to find you or her. Then I saw a house and went to the door. The lady opened the door and took me Come in, and there you are, lying on the floor in front of the hearth, covered in blood. I run to you, but the lady won't let me touch you, and she won't listen to anything I say, and won't tell us If not, nothing will work.”

"Don't worry about it, Nicholas. You can't blame them, they are good people. Is the lady still here?" "She's over here, Anka." He took my hand and told me to reach out to my rescuer, who was sitting next to me, perhaps trying to understand our conversation. I reached out, wrinkled fingers into my palm. I spoke slowly, as if this would make the other party understand better, "My name is Anka." I let go of her hand and pressed my chest: "Anka. Anka." I touched Niko He patted him on the head and said, "This is my brother, Nikolai. Nikolai. Nikolai."

"Nicolas," repeated the lady, "Nicolas, Anka." She took my hand and let my palm rest on her face: "Isabella," she said, "Isabella." Sabella." "Hi, Isabella. I am so glad to have met you. Nicola, this lady's name is Isabella." "How do you know, Anka? How do you know what she said?" "Don't worry, little guy, we will understand sooner or later." I turned to my savior again, stretched out my hand to her, then to Nikolai and myself, and said: "Isabella Nikolai Anka." I closed my hands, made a human figure, and moved The palms are raised flat, indicating the height of Nicholas.

"Where is Ilo? Isabella, please help us, there is another child. Ilo. Ilo. Nicola also said it. Ilo." "Ilo. Ilo." Nicholas also repeated. There was a moment of silence, as if digesting the information, and then Isabella spoke: "Ilo?" I nodded: "Yes, Yiluo. She is nine years old this year, but she is as thin as Nicholas. She is still in the forest with..." I stopped, thinking that she couldn't understand what I said, and only the simplest communication was useful. "Yi Luo," I said, using my hands to make a figure of a child in the air, "Yi Luo."

Suddenly, I felt Isabella stand up and put her hands on my cheeks.She said something softly, told me to lie down, and said a few more words.I guess she's telling us to be quiet while she's gone, and I just hope she's figured out that there's another child left somewhere in the woods. When the door closed behind her, Nikolay said: "Where is this lady going, Anka?" Without thinking, I replied confidently: "She's gone to find Yiluo, little one. Wait patiently. She will be back soon." I pray my instincts are right and my words don't turn into lies.

I felt Nikolay leave my side and run across the room. "I can see the lady, Anka," he said excitedly. "She's talking to the uncle." "Her name is Isabella, Nicola," I reminded gently, "and I think that uncle must be her husband. We shall find out what his name is. What is he doing?" "He was chopping wood, Anka, but he's coming towards the house now. But the lady, Isabella, she's still out." "Go on, Nikolay. For the next few days at least, you must see for me, be my eyes. You must tell me all the things I cannot see. Will you help me, little one?"

"I'll try, Anka." "And what can you see now, Nicholas? Tell me what you see." "Only the forest, Anka. There's a garden there, and the lady, oh, there's Isabella still standing there, and then there's the forest. Here comes the uncle. Anka, he's got a gun. A big gun ! Why should he—oh! Oh, Anka! Anka!" I sat up, noticed his excited tone, and asked, "Nicholas, what's the matter?" "It's the dog, Anka! The big dog! I see it!" My heart skipped a beat and I struggled to stand up. "Nicolas, call Isabella! It's a wolf! Remind her!" Nikolay responded with a burst of laughter that was both bemused and relieved.He said, "But Anka, it has no head!" "No head?" "Really, Anka! Its head was cut off whole! I saw it lying beside the body. And there's a lot of blood, a lot of blood!" Hearing the description of this bloody scene, I couldn't help but smile. The beast that almost killed me deserves no sympathy.While there's no proof, I have every reason to believe it's the same wolf. I'm starting to understand what Nikolai said earlier.Isabella's husband must have been in the forest when we were attacked by wolves, and may have even happened to run into the wolf that was charging at me.He might have carried the gun that Nikolai had just seen, and could have killed the beast on the spot and brought it home with the victim, the former to be beheaded and the latter to be cured.I could deduce that Nikolai must have found the door not long after that. But Yiluo, all I can do is pray that she is still safe and that she will be found as soon as possible.Right now, the wound is still tormenting me, and I am glad that at least Nikolay is still there, so I listen to the soft sound of the wind chimes and the rustle of the forest to calm myself for a while.