Andrey Titov - Seaside tales

He was tired too. Driving his car, he looked at the mountains on both sides of the road and whispered:

– Only courageous people can voluntarily leave their lives when they realize that they have failed.

He confidently drove the car through a narrow mountain pass to the seashore. He was thinking about Laura. Leo imagined her face when she knew what had happened. Of course, she realized her guilt, shuddered with bitter shame and, most likely, cried. She’d never been insensitive. Let her live with eternal guilt on her conscience, Leo thought, driving to a high rock at the edge of the sea.

It was a favorite place for climbers; one slope of the mountain was steep, almost vertical, while the other was a steep slope, capable of driving a car on.

At three hundred meters from the top there was a place for parking. Leo left his car there, and walked; the sun was setting, and at dusk it was difficult to climb a slippery path, but Leo fearlessly forged ahead.

– In five minutes it will end, dear Laura, – he muttered, grinning bitterly.

He climbed up the top and suddenly saw a human silhouette in the last rays of the sunset. Someone stood on the edge and leaned over, as if measuring the height of the cliff.

– Are you wondering how long it will take you to fall? – asked Leo, unexpectedly for himself.

The stranger quickly turned the face toward Leo. It was a young girl in a light raincoat and the mountain breeze ruffled her long, loose hair.

– Only 5 seconds, – Leo continued, – but, people say, during this time, your whole life passes before you.

He stepped toward the girl and saw that her eyes were filled with tears and her face was frightened. She extended her hand toward Leo as if forbidding Leo to come closer.

– Ok, I will not come closer, – he said calmly. – I just want to warn you. People do not care about your suffering. Do you think that you will force someone to suffer guilt because of your death? It’s pointless! You’ll smash your head and you’ll lie on the stones, crippled and bloodied. They will bury you and in three days they will forget you. What is the purpose to kill yourself?

Leo’s voice sounded loud and convincing and the girl quickly walked away from the cliff.

– Why did you want to do that? – Leo asked.

– Did you lose your favorite work as I did? Did you lose your life’s savings like me? Did a man close to you left you and you found yourself alone at the most difficult time of your life?

He held his hand out to the girl, wanting to take her by the elbow and taking them away from the abyss. She suddenly smiled and quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

– Don’t worry! I wasn’t going to jump! I just took pictures of the mountains and accidentally dropped my phone and my eyes became wet because of the wind… You know, you’re very nice, kind and intelligent. You just need someone who can support you when you are down. Do you want me to be that person?

With these words, the girl took Leo’s hand and led him away from the cliff.

Waking up at about 6 am, Mark habitually decided to take a morning run along the sea. For him, this ritual had recently become an obligatory part of his day. Enjoying the coolness of the sea, Mark once again was running past the familiar lanes, well-maintained houses, passed fig and apple orchards, so adored by a small resort town on the seacoast of Slovenia.

He liked to stop while jogging and gaze into the distance. It was a fascinating sight to see the sunrise, when the first rays began to make their way through the bluish-gray clouds that, like waves on the sea, compete with each other, ran into the embankment, spreading all over the seacoast.

“Your shoestring is untied, you could accidentally fall off” Mark heard a small, strange voice.

Mark shuddered and looked around; no one was there.

“Is it just my impression? “thought Mark, grinning at his own hallucinations.

“Yes, it has happened in reality,” Mark heard again. “Look down once again!” the voice repeated.

Mark made sweat from surprise, and saw that there was a golden Labrador standing next to him and looking into his eyes.

“You’re talking, aren’t you?” he said to himself, not believing that he was talking to the dog. Mark is an adult and normal, healthy and sensible and suddenly seriously is talking to a Labrador? Who would believe this? How could he believe that this meeting was actually taking place? Besides, as he started talking to the dog, it began to answer him.

“Of course, I am” it answered to Mark.

“Have I changed so much? And you have not changed very much! I recognized you immediately,” it continued happily.

It, of course, was really hard to believe, impossible to believe, but it was her! His dog, a Golden Labrador Almeka, who Mark had returned to the breeders ten years before with tears in his eyes and gripping emotional pain, which lingered for a long time.

“Almeka, my God, is that really you? Here, by the sea, thousands of miles from home, and you are even talking? “Mark began saying with a shudder in his voice,

“Or am I getting crazy?”

“No, nothing’s wrong with you! I was surprised when yesterday morning I saw you jogging. The whole day I was thinking, wondering whether to approach you and talk to you. I consulted with my friends and obtained the permission for the meeting and short conversation with you. You understand, the situation is not standard, but I really missed you, my master – and the dog quickly wagged its tail.

“Of course, I must explain everything to you”continued Almeka,

“Do you remember the terrible accident that we got into together? On that summer Saturday evening, when the group of drunk young people decided to turn around in the wrong place and you drove into them at full speed? “the dog reminded, continuing wagging her tail and looking straight into Mark’s eyes.

Mark remembered that evening in all details. Many times the accident had been replayed in his head and he always came to the conclusion that he could do nothing to prevent it. It was the most serious violation of traffic rules and only Mark’s reaction and luck helped avoid additional casualties. Almeka sat in the backseat and was not hurt at all. Mark was seriously injured in that accident; he was treated for a long time. Many months passed before he became healthy again and many fractures of the cervical vertebrae, scapula and clavicle were healed.

“So, when the accident happened, the time had stopped, and our Ruler “Almeka shook her head and pointed up with her face, “asked me if I want to go up there instead of you?”

The Labrador Almeka crouched, and continued “I, of course, did not hesitate and agreed on the condition that you would not feel guilty about my death. I supposedly had to spend just a couple of days alive. Then I thought just to run away, but you returned me to the breeders, because you were broken and could not take care of me.”

Mark listened attentively, remembering that terrible day.

– “I’m working as a canine angel, and to be honest, nobody can see me except in special cases and when I’m allowed to become visible, “continued Almeka, surprising Mark with her revelation.

“For appropriate behavior and good performance, I was sent on a business trip to the seaside, where you are living now” the dog yawned, and continued her unbelievable story. “Do you think only people have angels? Animals also have. I have to help go up there to many pets as hamsters, cows and sheep. And, of course, my fellow dogs, there are lots of them here and they are loved! Yes, and how I could forget about cats, whether they are not fine”, winced Almeka.