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The young man got dressed and went down to the dining hall. The hostess was so busy doing things that not noticed him.
– Hello, Mary.
– Hello, John. How did you sleep last night? – she talked with the guest calmly as there was nothing happened between yesterday.
– Thank you, very well. Do you need any help, before I leave?
– No, thanks, nothing is needed. Drink black coffee before leaving.
– With pleasure.
This time he had breakfast very quickly, without too much hesitation – like at home, when he was hurrying in the morning to the university. After finishing his coffee, he jumped up and went to the bar counter to thank the girl for the hospitality.
– Mary, thank you for everything. Unfortunately I must go. Farewell. Do not worry. And forgive me if something was wrong. I wish you great happiness. Pass my best wishes to your father.
– Thanks, John. And you will forgive us, if anything. Have a good trip. I have no mercy on you. I will never forget you.
– For your kindness, I would like to present you something for memory. Here are a notebook for record and a pen. They are now yours.
– John, I do not know how to read and write.
– Mary, promise me that you will learn. You are very smart and capable. Books will open the absolutely new world, exciting and mysterious. You will never be bored and lonely. Promise?
–
Yes, I will try.
He left, and she stood by the window and looked after him for a long time.
Ivan reached the lawn and did not realized how in a couple of seconds appeared in twenty-first century Moscow.
Cars resounded, gentlemen with portfolios and umbrellas scurried around. As always, high-rise buildings of concrete and glass rushed to the sky. Running hungry domestic dogs, thin homeless cats warmed themselves on the pipes. It seemed like a metropolis did not notice the Ivan’s disappearance. He felt somewhere deep inside that will never be the same again.
A few days after returning to Moscow Ivan walked like in a fog: he did not speak to anyone and smoked non-stop, probably hoping that the smoke will bring relief.
Gray ringlets slowly blurred and dissolved in the air as a lonely thought that he could not catch at all. In three days Ivan realized and formulated the plan, so persistently eluding from him: "I need to go to the library and to find out all about that town and that time. Maybe, there's a mention of Mary … ".
The young man left the house early in the morning and became one of the first visitors in the library. He got a lot of thick books in color bindings. Yellowed pages exuded that special smell of antiquity and dust, which is the case with the old folios, which for a long time no one took in hands. He spent the whole day here, reading each line carefully and not noticing anything around.
Ivan travelled in time again. Despite the fact that he sat with books until the evening with little breaks for the strong coffee, he finished only a small part of the planned.
Therefore, the next day Ivan returned to the library. Librarians recognized him and smiled as to a good acquaintance. Having exchanged with them a pair of polite phrases, the young man fought in reading again. It seemed to him that he would find something very important in these historical narratives and archival documents.
In general, there were retellings of already known facts. However, in a week Ivan was lucky: in one of the books he read about a woman called Mary. She founded the first school for children from poor families and taught them to read and write. But there were no other details in the text.
That day Ivan returned home going out of his mind. The mere mention of this wonderful girl caused in him so many feelings and memories!
Charming American girl dreamed to him every night. In a dream they laughed, walked, held hands, kissed, talked with each other about everything in the world. Ivan did not stop thinking about Mary during the day, rummaged all literature in the library in the hope of finding at least something, but indifferent pages were silent.
The young man decided that he must see the girl again, and began to study old books with spells, facilitating movement in time, albeit for a short time. Ivan became like a ghost: slept for two or three hours a day, did not even eat and spent many hours rummaging in ancient books in search of treasured words or magical ways that help to go back to Mary.
A month later he was lucky. On a worn scrap of paper he found the right spell. It was argued that with magical words on the lips and blue sapphire on the finger at midnight in full moon a person can make a temporary jump.
Ivan accurately copied a spell to a notebook – he always wore it with him to write the most important thoughts and observations.
That night was just the full moon. Throwing everything, the young man ran to the bank, withdrew from the account all available money and ran to the nearest jewelry store, hoping to be in time before shop’s closing. Ivan bought a gold ring with blue sapphire, the last from the window.
Literally flown into the apartment, opened a fresh entry in the notebook and learned magic phrases by heart. Then he walked around the room: checked if water and light were turned off, whether the doors are locked. Sat on the bed, breathed deeply and whispered the spell, as prayer, tightly holding a ring in his hand.
The next morning Ivan was visited by a friend: he was worried that his friend did not appear at the university. Exams were coming … The guy called at the door for a long time, but no one has opened it for him. Suddenly he recalled, that the neighbor who lived on the floor below, had keys to Ivan’s apartment: she watered the flowers when the student visited his parents in another city.
After standing for a couple of minutes in indecisiveness, a friend pressed the bell button. The neighbor opened it. Composing a story, that he wants to make Ivan an amazing surprise for his birthday, the guy asked a keys for fifteen minutes. The woman agreed with condition that she would accompany the unexpected guest.
They went upstairs and opened the door. The apartment was empty. There was a note on the kitchen table: "I flew for happiness. I love everyone! Maybe, I'll see you one day. Your Ivan."