Let tomorrow come

Part 1. INSIDE THE GRAY WALLS. Chapter 1.

"Christina, we're leaving! Lessons are already over, but you can't get ready", a very middle-aged lady, with gray hair visible here and there, said slowly.

A girl of about seven came out to meet her. She was short even for her age, with light-brown hair, wearing a strange long dress, which girls about seven had not worn for a hundred years, if not more.

"I'm coming, grandma!" she said, hastily putting on her small shoes.

Leaves were falling outside. They slowly circled in the air, flew past and smoothly fell to the ground.Gathering in heaps, they rustled merrily underfoot. You wanted to jump and bury yourself in them and look at the still blue sky, along which the clouds were slowly floating. It was a wonderful day. Something still darkened the girl's joy, or rather someone: a stately lady walking next to her.

Christina was not a diligent student. Her lessons always came down to hands smeared with ink, torn dresses, the desire to run away towards adventure and devote her time to the garden, leaves and pieces of sky, and not to boring receptions in the halls with her grandmother's friends.

The girl's parents were constantly in distant lands and came only twice a year: at Christmas and once at the beginning of summer. As usual, when returning to the family nest, they spent more time with grandmother Eugena, whose acquaintances immediately flocked for fresh gossip. Tea was poured into small cups from personalized sets, and the servants barely had time to run for new portions of the drink. In the kitchen there was an unimaginable noise of ladle spoons; in a room full of guests, a cake was smoking, liters of tea were being drunk and there was a hubbub. Then Jane stood up and made a slight bow towards her grandmother. The latter nodded to her daughter-in-law, and long stories began about various incidents during work travel. Jack gave his mother something from these trips. The grandmother ceremoniously thanked her son, and this was followed by endless distribution of orders. Who doesn't love it when somebody brings him something from abroad that he has only seen in various magazines, or even pictured in his head?

After the feasts everyone went to bed. In the morning, Jack and Jane went into their daughter's room. Christina was already waiting for them, dressed and combed. She didn't like to upset her parents. However, the grandmother did not want to leave any misdeeds unpunished, and she considered any little things characteristic of children, or rather Chris, to be misdeeds. And she didn't understand children's pranks, no matter how sad it was. The parents treated their daughter warmly. However, they were very upset when they all paid a visit to their grandmother at noon, and not a minute earlier or later.

The old lady was sitting in a chair. When the door opened, she stood up slowly and, as usual, slowly bowed her head. Then she hugged Jack and Jane after him and invited them to sit on the sofa. Then she pointed her granddaughter to the chair opposite herself. The girl silently settled into it, feeling awkward from this whole official atmosphere. Next, tea again, conversations about upcoming plans or holidays.