Chapter 25

  When they returned, Leolik's first question to Milena was:
          – Mila, do we have any water or food left?
          – Yeah, a little. Just one amphora of water. A little ham and wine. What we gonna do?
– How many days will it take the cat to get to Mara's place? We've no one else to turn to. We need a rope.
– I don't know if he'll understand. And how are we gonna get the cat down? We'll need a rope anyway. Well, maybe he'll get there in a couple of days, but cats don't really enjoy running. Mara might get here quickly. She'll hire a horse. It'll take three days, definitely.
– Have any paper?
– No.
– Here's your task. Figure out how to make ink. There's soot in the stove. Mix up the soot, bacon fat and wine. Maybe you'll get something like ink? The question is, what to write on? Well, we'll definitely survive for three days. If no one helps us, we'll just die of hunger and thirst here.
– Leolik, it's my fault. I didn't think about how we would get down. I thought the staircase was fine. You can write onto a rag. But how can we get Murzik down without his getting hurt?
– The main thing isn't how to get him down, but how to explain to him what he needs to do. He won't have to swim like I did, will he? Is there a land road to the city?
– Yeah, there's a bridge; I hope no one catches him.
– All right, take care of the ink. I'll try to make a parachute for the cat.
– A parachute? What's that?
– Well, it's a device for a smooth descent.
– Can't we make such a device for ourselves?
– We're too heavy. You'll see that.
   Leolik climbed onto the roof. He approached the toilet. After examining it, he broke one board out of the door. He had to pry out the nails with a dagger. But the knife was well-made, and Leolik managed to get the board out after only an hour of work. Then he tried to split the board into splinters. It took a lot of efforts, but he succeeded. He placed the knife onto the edge of the board and began hitting the knife with a stone from one side and then from the other. As a result, he got two light splinters about a meter long. The knife was not damaged.
– Well, Senya, your knives are truly excellent. There aren't even any notches from the stone left.
   Then Leolik began weaving a basket, using the hay from the bed. He was twisting the hay into strands and braided it into pigtails. The result was a long pigtail made of hay. Next, Leolik tore from the toga a square piece of fabric about a meter in length and width. Leolik cut a small hole into the middle. He placed two splinters crosswise and tied them to the fabric with threads from the remaining piece of cloth, piercing holes with a knife. The result was something like a huge kite. Milena came up and showed what she had made.
           – Mila, sharpen the stick and try to write onto the fabric. Just don't write too much, the main thing is the rope.
              Meanwhile, Leolik began weaving a basket from hay braids. He used threads pulled from fabric. The work was progressing slowly, but in the end, he managed to make something resembling a basket. The cat immediately appreciated it and climbed into the basket. Then Leolik began weaving ropes from the threads. First, he made braids. Then he made a thicker pigtail from the braids. He ended up with four meter-long ropes. He tied these ropes to the basket and to the edges of his kite. He had to get the cat out of the basket, which made the cat very unhappy. The parachute seemed to be ready. All that remained was to test it. Lelik called Mila, put a few stones into the basket, stood onto the table, and released his creation. It seemed to work well, but the parachute was drifting to one side. There was no canopy. Leolik had to weave more ropes and pull the splinters so that they curved. The result was something like an umbrella. The second test was more successful. All that remained was to persuade the cat. Leolik pulled out some more threads and wove a long braid. Almost all the fabric was used for this rope, but it turned out to be very long and thin, yet strong enough.
           – Mila, how did it go with the letter?
           – Yeah, Leolik. I don't know, it doesn't seem to be spreading. If it doesn't get wet, then everything gonna be fine.
              Leolik tied a long string to the canopy of his parachute.
           – Well, Murzik, let's get ready for the flight.
              This time, he seated the cat into the basket. He placed the chair onto the table. He climbed onto the chair. And he lowered the structure. It worked out perfectly, but the cat was frightened. Milena was coaxing and calming the cat. It took a long time for training. After each lowering, they gave the cat a piece of meat. Finally, the cat began to take it calmly. Then Milena took the cat's collar off, pierced the cloth with the message with the collar, and put it back on the cat. All that remained was to drop the cat with the parachute.
           – Mila, how can I explain to him where to run?
           – Put your collar around his neck and imagine Mara.
              Leolik did just like that. He pulled on his bracelet, and it opened.
           – Look, Senya didn't lie.
              Leolik put the collar around the cat's neck and imagined Mara.
           – Murz, look for Mara!
              The cat had to be dropped outside the tower, not inside. They climbed down the stairs to the nearest window. Leolik tied a rope from the parachute to his hand. And let it go. Everything worked out perfectly. The parachute glided all the way to the ground. Leolik still had about two meters of rope left in his hand. The cat safely climbed out of the basket and scurried away from the tower.
           – Well, Mila, we've sent the courier, we only have to wait.
              There was nothing special to do in the tower. Leolik explored every nook and cranny, but apart from two rooms upstairs and a wooden staircase along the inner wall of the tower, there was nothing else. There was also a wooden toilet at the very top of the tower. He found a pretty rusty axe by the hearth. But he was very happy with this find. He broke off a few steps and chopped some wood. He lit a fire into the hearth. Milena had matches in her backpack. They were sitting with Mila, hugging each other and watching the fire.
           – Leolik, what do you think, are we gonna get out of here?
           – Mila, don't worry, we've got an axe. It's a tool. Although nothing comes to my mind. But I think the cat'll lead Mara here. He's very clever. I suppose, he understands everything, actually. Recall the first night at your house. I wanted to go into your bedroom, but the collar didn't let me. It seems, the cat deactivated the collar.
           – Leolik, why did you wanna come into my bedroom? Wanted to rape me?
           – Come on, Mila! You're so beautiful and cute. I don't even know what for I came into your room. But I wasn't gonna rape anyone. Well, at most, I would kiss your cheek.
           – Leolik, I really wanna you right now. I don't know what's going on with me, but I wanna you so badly after our yesterday sex when you took your collar off. Touch my breasts. See, my nipples are hard. I'm just horny, I wanna you at this very moment. Please, let's go onto the bed, or I'm afraid I'll lunge at you.
              Leolik picked Mila up in his arms and carried her to the next room. There he gathered the remains of hay into a pile, trying to fluff it up. They were loving and enjoying each other all night long. They fell asleep at dawn and slept until almost noon.

***

           – Good morning, my love! – Leolik had been awake for a long time already, and watched Milena sleeping. Thoughts about their further fate were worrying him. He was thinking over what happened if the cat wouldn't complete his journey.
 – Well, how was your sleep? – he gave a kiss to the girl.
 – Oh, Leolik. Is that morning really that good? But the night was just wonderful.
 – We've got a little wine and ham left. Let's have breakfast. Tomorrow we'll have to starve and drink only water. I think the cat'll have made it by tomorrow morning.
   They got up. While Leolik was busy in the kitchen, Milena went upstairs to the top of the tower. She came back already washed and combed. They were eating in silence.
 – Leolik, how do you know what a parachute is?
 – Mila, I don't know. I'm surprised myself. Where does all that knowledge come from? Maybe when we get out of here, we'll try together to find an alien? I think then all these mysteries about my knowledge and background can be solved. We need to find some occupation for now. I don't know where it comes from, but I know a simple game. It's called checkers. If you don't mind, I'll draw a board. Do you have any ink left?
 – Yeah, a little bit.
    Leolik scratched a game board right on the table. He blackened the squares. He used stones from the ruined wall as pawns. It took him a long time to find black stones, though. Then he explained the rules of the game to Milena. He won the first game, but Milena won all the subsequent games. She rejoiced like a child with each her victory. Leolik didn't mind. He was glad to see her smiling. He himself was thinking about how to get out. If there was no rope, he could dismantle all the wooden structures into planks, then pull all the nails out. He could nail all the planks together into one large plank and try to use it to climb down to the ground. The question was: would there be enough nails? He explained this plan to Milena.
 – Shall we start right now, maybe?
 – I'm afraid we'll only waste our time and energy. Let's wait until tomorrow morning. Better tell me some stories. Well, for example, does it rain in your location? There seem to be some clouds. Maybe we could try to weave a rope from the leftover hay? That seems like a good activity as well. I'm surprised that the grass hasn't rotted away after so many years. The blades of grass still seem to be intact.
 – Yeah, let's do that, something'll work out anyway, but will this rope be strong enough?
    They went into the bedroom. They started braiding straws into pigtails. It was a very exciting activity. Milena was talking about herself. About her childhood. About her studies at the university. About her friends. About what she knew about Geia. Leolik sometimes asked leading questions. He liked Mila more and more. Her voice particularly delighted him. He literally felt euphoric when he was listening to her voice. Leolik really enjoyed the way she was talking. He felt as if he had known Milena for a hundred years. It seemed as if he had always known her. For his entire life. But what life? He couldn't remember anything about the Earth. However, his brain was helpfully providing knowledge when he needed it. This was puzzling. How could he know about parachutes? But Leolik knew what parachutes and airplanes were. Where did he learn this? During the conversation, they braided three long pigtails. Then they began to weave a new, even thicker pigtail from these pigtails. And then they made another new pigtail from these ropes, but even thicker. They used almost all the hay. They ended up with about six metres of rope. It was nearly two centimeters thick. Leolik critically examined this work of rope art. Then they grabbed both ends of it. They pulled. Strangely, the rope turned out to be very strong. But it wasn't enough long.
    The sun was already setting. They had to sleep on bare boards, with their hands under their heads. They drank some water and tried to fall asleep. Leolik placed Milena's backpack with men's clothes under her head. He wished Milena good night. And after yesterday night of passion, Leolik fell asleep almost instantly. He woke up because Mila was nudging him in the side.
 – Leolik, my darling, wake up!
 – Mila, what's up?
 – Listen.
    Leolik took a listen. It sounded like someone was screaming.
 – Mila, let's go upstairs. We gotta take a look.
 – What if that's not Mara, on earth? The cat couldn't have got there so quickly. What if it's someone from the City of Men?
 – Well, they definitely can't get in here. And they probably wouldn't be screaming. Go upstairs.
    Leolik and Milena rushed to the top of the tower. It was very early morning and the sun had not risen yet. Leolik cautiously peered over the battlements. Mara was standing below. Two horses were shaking their heads nearby.
           – Mila, it's Mara! – Leolik shouted. – Mara, go around the tower and find the basket! Tie the rope to the string!
    Leolik rushed down the stairs to the window through which he had thrown the cat on a parachute. Mara unhooked the cat's parachute and tied the rope to the string. Leolik gave a sigh.
 – If only the string could hold the weight of the rope, – he was thinking.
    But everything was all-right. Leolik pulled one end of the rope up and tied it to the ladder. He looked out the window. Mara was still tying something to the rope. Leolik just couldn't figure out what she was tying there.
 – Leolik, pull! – she shouted.
    Leolik began to pull the rope. And at the end, a rope ladder appeared.
 – Well done, Mara! – Leolik thought. Well done, clever girl!
    He tied the rope ladder securely to the steps of the wooden tower ladder. He looked out the window.
 – Mara, come in!
    He felt the ropes tighten, and a few minutes later he pulled Mara inside the tower. Finally, he looked back. He had completely forgotten about Mila. Mila was not there.
 – Mila! – he rushed upstairs, with no idea what to think. He flew into the small room. Mila was sitting on the bed, crying.
 – Mila! What's the matter?!
    In response, she suddenly burst into loud sobs. Mara rushed over and threw her arms around Milena. Leolik rushed into the kitchenette. He poured the remains of water into a clay mug and returned to the room. He handed the mug to Milena.
 – Mila, drink that. Don't cry. We've won! Mara, calm her down, finally. Kiss her or something!
    Mara was hugging Milena tenderly.
 – Leolik, give me your hand, – Milena said, still crying. – I was so afraid that we're gonna stay here forever and die. And I think I'm pregnant...
 – Leolik! It seems you didn't waste your time, – Mara gave a smile.
 – Mila! Are you sure? I'm so happy about that.
 – Leolik, I studied medicine. There are specific indications. You took the collar off your neck. So it all seems to add up...
 – Mara, we've eaten everything, do you have anything to eat? And what's up in the palace?
    They've been looking for you. But all the searches are held on the East. The Queen questioned the girls. Nyusha got burned. She burned all her hair. Her face. She set that fire uncarefully. The Queen's treating her. I rode all night, my butt's sore. The girls don't know anything about me. So I think I'm above suspicion. How have you got up into this tower? The cat ran up barely alive. All his paws are bruised. I don't know how he got there so fast. I've brought him with me. He was showing me the way. He's sleeping in my bag.
 – Girls, let's get down from here, finally. I'm so fed up with this tower. And there's a river somewhere around here. I wanna wash up, drink, and eat properly. Mila'll explain you about the tower later. She's learned to levitate.
 – What has she learned to do?
 – Fly, fly. Well, she's learned to fly without wings. Levitate. Now let's get out of here.
   They climbed down the ladder. Leolik decided to take the rope with him. They descended to the ground quite comfortably using the rope ladder. The ladder remained tied to the tower. Milena showed them the way, and they rode their horses to the river. Mara had also taken a canvas tent with her. Leolik helped Mara unhitch the horses, and she led them to the river to drink. Leolik was pitching the tent. Mila was gathering brushwood for the fire. She found a small axe and a pot in her bag. When Mara brought the horses back from the drinking place, the fire was already burning and the tent was pitched. Mila was bustling around the fire. Something was cooking in the pot and smelled delicious. Leolik ran to the tower. He brought clay bowls and a grass basket from the parachute for the cat. Then all three sat down to eat. It was fish soup. True, it was made from smoked fish. But for Leolik, it seemed like he had never eaten anything tastier. They took the cat out of the bag. He was unhappy, and it was obvious how thin he had become. But after a piece of fish, he fell asleep on Milena's lap.