"So, you're telling me there's some sort of anomaly?" Suraya asked, as it seemed to Alisha, quite seriously. She even looked at him more closely, searching for any hint of a joke or sarcasm. But the girl, with a frown, looked serious and there didn't seem to be any hint of disbelief.
The boys were standing under the plane tree, watching the slow approach of dusk. Suraya caught the tail end of a conversation between the two friends. Alisha's headman persistence paid off, and Yusuf was the first to break down. Under pressure from the girl, Alish had to tell her everything.
"No, it's not an anomaly. It's something else. You're misunderstanding. There's a whole other world out there, with palaces, towers and dragons," Yusuf answered for his friend, puffing his chest out, as if defending Alish. But all Suraya had to do was give him a look, and Yusuf immediately cowered.
"Are you trying to make a fool out of me?" Suraye began to get angry, getting into her usual stance, hands on her hips. Alish was tired of making excuses and barely agreed to Yusuf's suggestion to tell the headman everything. The girl listened quietly as Alish started to explain the events of the day and his ride on the swing. As he reached the point where the board seemed to reach the horizon and enter another dimension, Suraye watched intently, waiting for anything, a sudden scream that this was all a joke, or laughter. Alish continued talking, focused on one point, and Suraye realized that the headman was staring at him as if he was crazy. Alish, not expecting any other reaction from the girl, looked up at the darkening sky and realized that, if not now, later, he would not have the courage to stand on the swing again.
— If you don't want to believe it, that's fine. It's your choice. But we have to move on. We've already spent a lot of time explaining it to you, and it's not productive.
After saying that, Alish nodded to Yusuf, and the two of them started walking towards the swing. Suraye was surprised by this reaction, as she is used to being in charge and getting her way. She was amazed at Alish's behavior, which was not typical of someone she thought was indifferent towards her. She knew Alish wasn't indifferent, but at that moment, she seemed to be betraying her feelings by not believing her. Suraye didn't want to confront Alish openly, so she decided to block their path and spread her arms out to emphasize her point.
"I won't let you in," Suraye said, blocking the way to the swing. "Do you hear me? I'm going to call Aunt Fazilat and Uncle Anwar, and you're going to tell them everything. Then we'll decide what to do."
Suraye's face was filled with concern as she stood in front of the swing, her arms outstretched, not budging. Yusuf, who was usually taken in secondary roles and never expected to react, calmly approached Suraye and said, with a serious expression on his face, "I understand your concern, but let's think about this together." Even Suraye, whose mouth had fallen open in surprise, fell silent at Yusuf's thoughtful words.
"Suraye, please listen to me. What do you plan to say when you get to them? 'There, on your swing tree, there's a passage to another world. You can enter this world by riding your swing, and dear Alish found his way to this wonderful world!' Is that what you want to say? What do you think they will think? Do you really think they'll believe you right away? The first thing most people would think is that you, the girl, are tired and going crazy, and it's time for your parents to call an ambulance. Am I right? No one would believe you or me. Let's take a step back and calm down. We can go to the swings. I want to make sure Alisha's story is true. We need to test the theory."
"So what do you propose I do, stand here and watch you disappear one by one into other worlds?" This time, Suraye's voice was calm and she looked at Yusuf with a serious expression. Alish, however, answered for Yusuf.
— Yusuf and I are going to try to repeat my route from yesterday, and if nothing happens, then it means that I imagined everything and we can forget it like a bad dream. We will remember and laugh about it in our old age.
— What if everything turns out to be true? Suraye looked into his eyes carefully. Alish didn't look at the headmaster, he was playing with a dry twig under his foot with his sandals and said calmly:
— If everything turns out true, we will bring Shar and Grandfather Nazir back. If we don't return and disappear suddenly, then you should tell the adults about this. Is that okay?
— Good. — Suraye answered shortly and began to play with her mouse pigtail.
Alish and Yusuf stepped onto the board with ropes attached. The thick branch creaked softly and anxiously under their weight as they began to swing slowly. Gradually, they increased the speed, managing to synchronize their movements. They began to fly higher and higher, the arc of their swing growing larger. Alish looked down and saw Suraya's wide-eyed gaze as she stood at the table, nervously tugging on her mouse tail.
The branch began to creak louder and harder as it struggled to support their weight. Yusuf closed his eyes, imagining they might not reach the fairy-tale world they were hoping for, but instead crash into the ground like cannonballs if the branch gave way. The wind roared in their ears, blending with the creaking branch to create a strange melody.
—Hold on tight! We will reach the required height soon! — Yusuf heard Alish's cry. Squeezing the rope, they began to squat harder, adding speed.
— Boys, maybe that's enough!? — the headman whined from below, seeing the incredible somersaults of the guys on the board. The arc of flight began to reach a horizontal point. And at that moment, the branches parted, disappearing and giving way to a completely different space in front of them. Time slowed down, creating a vacuum as in zero gravity. Alish's concentration reached its peak, and he began to notice all the little things that he had missed the last time, as if in slow motion. When another space was opened, light ripples began with small bundles of lightning, which, like scissors cutting through fabric, opened the veil of this world and presented another world to the gaze. It was an incredible miracle. The air instantly changed and filled with ozone. The knuckles on his fingers turned white from exertion, without loosening his grip and with effort, holding the thick ropes to the point of stupidity. The board stopped when it reached the horizon, entered another dimension, another world, and gently stopped, standing sideways.
Yusuf, who had been standing tensely on the board until the last moment and squeezed his eyes shut, slowly opened one eye and saw that he was practically hanging on the ropes, but for some reason he did not fall. Some unknown force was supporting him. He turned around and saw Alisha's white face. The latter, having moved to the edge of the board, as before, began to make himself comfortable and looking around, said:
"This is not the world I was in yesterday. Something's not right here.
Yusuf saw his friend's outstretched hand and, grabbing it, also settled on the board with the help of Alisha. Now they could look around. It was a huge evening city in the light of gas lanterns, smelling of smog from fireplace stoves, clouds of steam and smoke coming from chimneys on the roofs of houses and buildings. The light coming through the windows of the buildings and houses was dim, as if the lights had been turned off everywhere and everyone had lit a bunch of candles. It was quite cold and shaky. The air was saturated with high humidity. From the height of the roofs, where the guys were sitting, the canal crossing the city was visible. Alish shivered from the cold and watched the night streets with a lost look, asking no one.:
"Where are we?" I don't recognize this place. There are no cars here, I only see carriages and carriages. And the people are dressed in the old-fashioned way.
Fog was gradually descending on the city. The nightlife of the city was bustling below. Young ladies in wide-brimmed hats and sheepskin coats draped over long dresses walked hand in hand with gentlemen in top hats and bowler hats, talking sedately about something. Cabs with lighted lanterns noisily drove by, exuding the smell of gas.
"I know where we are. This is London. And it's Victorian. And there's Big Ben. Yusuf said, pointing to the Parliament House and the clock tower. A little later, he shouted again, pointing his finger towards the bridge, which was barely visible:
— Westminster Bridge! This is definitely London. And you see over there!? Over there in the fog, it's the Trafalgar Column. I see her spire, or rather a statue.
There was a smell of stench from somewhere. Alish held his nose and mumbled:
— Old London was not a particularly pleasant place. Oh, by the way, smartass, this is the Nelson Tower for your information.
The argument that was raging was interrupted by a knock on the glass with something metallic. The guys turned around and only now noticed that the swing had stopped in the air, being on the same level with the tiled roof of a high-rise building at a palm's distance from the cast-iron fence and gutter. Three meters from the flatter roof, there was a dormer window, about half a meter in diameter. This additional structure was more like an attic or an attic. And in this attic window, there was an old man in a sleeping cap and with a lantern in his hands, quietly tapping on the glass with a small poker. He was saying something, but nothing could be heard through the tightly closed door. The boys stared at the night watcher with a flashlight in his hands and at his attempts to open the window. Yusuf even stopped shivering from the cold and, without taking his eyes off the dormer window, asked in a whisper:
— Maybe we won't wait for him to come to us? Shall we rush back? Suddenly he's up to something bad. Yusuf did not want to voice his dark thoughts and guesses.
— We need to find out from him at least something about Shar and Nazir's grandfather. We'll get away from him in time. Let's talk to him and ask if any of them were here. The portal most likely opens in this place. This old man lives here and must have seen something. Let him open the window, and then we'll see. — I made a decision for both of us, Alish.
The old man in the hood still managed to somehow open the window, and he leaned out of the opening with his lantern. He was quite old with a wrinkled and sallow face. The hand holding the gas lamp was shaking slightly. Alish and Yusuf, who were watching the actions of the old Londoner, heard his hoarse voice, which tried to interrupt the sound of the wind:
— Are you from there, boys? From another world?
Alish had a B in English, and at the moment he bitterly regretted that he had been so frivolous about teaching English to an Englishwoman, Laylo Sobirovna. But he understood some of the words in the whole sentence. Unlike his friend, Yusuf could communicate fluently in the language of Dickens and understood what the old man was talking about. In general, Yusuf was an avid Anglomaniac at an early age, interested in everything related to Great Britain and interested in its history. Of course, it started, like everyone else's, with Sir Conan Doyle's detective stories. And then began a fascination with other writers and the history of this country. And given his knowledge, he could even freely have a discussion with adult lovers of the history of the Victorian era of England. Meanwhile, the old man continued to say,
"Come here, I need your help, boys.
— He knows something about the portal and is calling us. He needs our help. — Yusuf said, slowly standing up to his full height and looking excitedly at Alisha.
— Maybe he saw Shar? — Yusuf was clearly eager to get to the old man and even made an attempt to go to the roof. He managed to make a move. Alish, who had just realized his friend's intentions, shouted, trying to stop him:
— Stop, Yusuf! It can be dangerous!
But Yusuf put one foot on the roof, released the rope from his hands and managed to move to the tiled flooring, regained stability. And at that moment, the swing, which had lost contact with Yusuf, slowly went back. Alish froze in a silent scream with his hand outstretched in a grip that grabbed only air. Again, like in a slow motion movie, Alish captured all the details of the incident. Yusuf's surprised face, his shaky position on the roof of old London, and the old man who had already climbed out onto the roof with a lantern dangling in the wind in his trembling hand and extending his free hand towards Yusuf with a face in alarm.:
— Be careful, boy! Don't fall!
And everything was gone in an instant. Alish was falling back, with cold hands, abruptly feeling a different atmosphere, filled with stuffy evening air and the heat of an August day leaving the ground, accumulated during the day. Unable to stay on the board, Alish flew out of the swing and collapsed into a strawberry patch. Hitting the ground, the boy howled. His whole body ached, there were abrasions on his elbows and knees, and besides, he had seriously twisted his leg. Suraye immediately screamed nearby, ran up and began to help the boy, who was stubbornly trying to get to his feet, but the severe pain did not even allow him to sit down.
— Alish! Why are you alone? Where is Yusufchik!? Don't be silent Alish! I told you not to!
Alish, sweating all over, gasping for air, almost suffocating, began to speak:
— Suraye, stop shouting, do you hear, stop. We urgently need to return for Yusuf. Help me get up and walk to the swing.
But another attempt was unsuccessful, and the boy, writhing in pain, sat back down on the ground. The headman, who was nearby, was almost crying with annoyance:
"What have you done, Alish? Why don't you ever listen to me? Where is Yusuf now?"
Alish replied, "It's my fault. I didn't have time to stop him. He got off the board and I suddenly turned around. I just didn't expect him to get up and come back."
Suraya, for whom time had seemed to pass like a second, couldn't get over the shock. Suddenly, Alish grabbed her hand, pulled her closer, and she sat down next to him. Alish spoke clearly, in a calm and serious voice, looking carefully at the headman's face as he spoke each word slowly:
It all sounded like a hypnotic mantra.
"Suraye, you need to pull yourself together and get on the swing to bring Yusuf back. Can you do that? Just don't be afraid, and don't let go of the rope. No matter what happens, hold on tight. If you let go, you'll be left where he is."
"Okay, I'll try," Suraye said, surprising Alisha by calming down instantly. She wiped her wet eyes and headed for the swing, as if following a suggestion. Alisha tried to sit up, this time managing to stand on his good leg. Overcoming the pain, he limped to the table and leaned against it, watching as Suraye got on the swing and started to swing.
"Ziyaeva, can you hear me?" Alish shouted at her. "Wherever we go, it's an ancient city!" The swing would stop at the roof of one of the houses, and Yusuf would be on that very roof. Grab him and let's go back, no matter what happens. Don't let go of the rope!
Alish continued to call out to her, using her last name for the first time as if to emphasize the importance of his words. The headman, Ziyaeva's companion, nodded and continued to climb up the stairs. She had a serious and focused expression on her face as she picked up speed.
For the first time, Alish felt a sense of regret that he had involved his friends in this dangerous situation. If only things had gone differently. He regretted telling Yusuf and Suraya about their plan, but it was too late now. If he could have just forgotten about everything or not listened to them, this situation wouldn't have happened.
He looked towards the garden where the Shara family lived, hoping that everything was still quiet and that no one had noticed what was going on.. He could hear a faint voice asking Aunt Fazilat for something, and she responded vaguely. Uncle Anwar should have been home from work by now. We needed to be on time to pick up Yusuf. And anyway, none of them could go near that swing anymore.
As soon as Yusuf returned, he would talk to him and Suraye. In the meantime, Suraye had accelerated so much that she had already reached the horizon. Her tails fluttered like kites in the wind, beating to the rhythm of the swing. Alish watched, without looking away, as the moment of the swing's peak approached. Suddenly, the headman stopped the swing and increased the arc, reaching the line of the horizon.
Alish, watching the flight intently, suddenly saw small sparks in the twilight light. The sparks were clear and distinct. The girl had reached the highest point. One minute later, she was falling back, in a different position.. The lightning beams lit up at the same moment, but Suraye's scream cut through Alish's ears, causing him to look in the direction of the swing in shock. The headman was not alone on the swing, and it wasn't Yusuf who was with him...