Reasons

Chapter 2

Our ancestors were always fascinated with luck. They adored it. They gave it thought. They gave it definitions. But it's always been easy for people to explain what it is, just being at the right place at the right time. Some people even end up on the dark side, that is they would be at the wrong place at the wrong time. But they never desire to be at the more powerful, more marvellous side of it, being at the wrong place at the right time.

Volhosha being not that lucky often found himself in these situations. He didn't know it for sure as most of them don't, but would get a weird feeling, an intuition. He seemed to like it and often tried to find ways to bring back the feeling. He never said it to anyone, as he knew how stupid it was and also knew they would definitely laugh at him. It was one of the reasons he never liked to talk to them, as they always see everything keeping them as the center. They would mock at anything that doesn't go with how they think. Even then, he never tried to criticize them. He knew he was one of them, he saw that creature deep within himself, that whispered to him the word 'I' everytime he had the chance to see into someone's mind, see that they too had a beautiful side.

He wanted to meet someone who had tamed it, a selfless person who understands what he meant, or at least tried to understand them. A person who listens, and never interrupts, a person who never barges in to say what he thinks, what he thinks is right, what he thinks is wrong, what he thinks he would have done. He couldn't say he didn't meet anybody like this. He met Yakub, who left the town with his parents to find a better life in the city. Yakub, as he remembers him was always moving around, chatting with anyone he could see and yelling all the time. But it was always weird when you find him alone, when you sit with him alone. He would make you talk, talk and talk endlessly. He just listens and magically bridges your words when you run out of them. One could easily tell he never tried to understand any of what they say and that it's merely acting, but they would just go on. It was as if they were enjoying bleeding beside him, bleeding their mind. One would find this monstrous, but once you're with him, you feel shielded of everything that could happen. You will lend him your mind and he will accept it happily.

He remembered all of it while looking at his father, from the brown coated glass window, the one which they replaced recently. Varselov, his father was a clerk in the lord's mansion. He didn't had any formal education past 17. His father, Volhosha's grandfather wanted him to attend university, but never had enough wealth to support him. So he send him to a reputed public library, offered to pay for his stay and suggested him to study for himself. Soon after that, he made friends with the librarian's daughter and fell in love with her. After he had acquired enough to get a decent wage, he returned to the town with the girl. Volhosha's grandfather, who was then at his death bed, didn't get to see his son's marriage.

Volhosha is now past his father's age back when he was send to the library. Varselov made sure his son would get formal education and had started saving up for it back when he had joined the lord's mansion. To his amusement, he now had twice he thought of saving up. But he never trusted the banks. Varselov having heard from Volhosha, about Zovan found the perfect place for the money. He would pay for Zovan to attend university, as he was a farmer's son who had little to no money even to get the train, and when he's done with it and get a job, he had to pay back twice the amount in little chunks, monthly. Both Varselov and Volhosha knew it was worth it. Varselov being Varselov, presented the deal to the family as elegantly as possible. He had immense respect and trust among the townsfolk. Volhosha too trusted his father more than anyone. Both parties formally dismissed themselves with a handshake after Zovan happily accepted the deal.