Inventing Wonders

Chapter 13: Thoughts Aligned

Lara gazed dramatically across the water's surface. April had turned out to be surprisingly warm and overcast. The girl wrapped herself in a shawl, feeling the urge to kick off her shoes and run barefoot along the shoreline, but the voice of reason whispered, "It's not summer yet." Lara wasn't one of those dreamers who loved spending their leisure time in nature, but the stronger the sun warmed the streets of the gloomy capital, the more unbearable it became to breathe there.

Distant footsteps could be heard. Lara cautiously turned towards the sound. She wanted to appear mysterious, but she was so delighted by this sudden meeting that she couldn't hold back a silly smile and waved her hand enthusiastically, as if there was even the slightest chance she hadn't already been noticed.

"Good afternoon, Nikolai Pavlovich," she said with a playful smile, extending her hand.

"Lara, you seem incredibly happy today, remarkable transformations," the engineer held her hand long enough for Lara to become thoroughly flustered.

"Stop it!" she barely restrained herself from pulling her hand out of his long fingers. "I'm always like this, it's just that you're so insufferable that every time I have the pleasure of seeing you, tears come to my eyes..." Lara lowered her gaze.

Nikolai Pavlovich, seemingly still unaccustomed to this manner of speaking, raised an eyebrow. Lara mentally facepalmed and stepped back.

"Sorry..." she hesitated and slowly walked along the beach, just to avoid looking at that unbearable face again.

"No, you didn't hurt my feelings."

He replied so simply that Lara couldn't help but be surprised.

"Really?" she raised her head, with loose strands slipping from her elegant hairstyle and falling over her eyes.

"I suppose it's your incredible manner of expressing yourself that wins the hearts of your numerous admirers," he remarked thoughtfully.

Lara blinked and squinted at him.

"So, my heart has been captured by you as well?" she asked.

Lara hated flirting. Every time someone flirted with her, she wanted to disappear. Most often, this happened online, where Lara simply blocked everyone and hid under the covers. The most terrible thing was that even innocent remarks from her perspective were often taken as hints by men. The last such incident occurred at the end of her third year, when Lara actively corresponded with a pleasant Canadian while also writing a course paper about sex. After completing such a monumental work, she hastened to inform the Canadian. His response was, "Oh, you wouldn't just tell me about this for no reason." Lara replied, "No, I just finished writing a course paper about sex, nothing more." She never spoke to the Canadian again and didn't think about sex. Well, until recently, that is.

So when Nikolai Pavlovich quietly and incredibly softly said, "Yes," something inside Lara shriveled. She didn't know what to say in such situations. But not reacting would be a big mistake. Everything got tangled in her head. Lara found nothing simpler than taking his hand.

"Lara, my request to meet in such a remote place must have raised many questions for you..." he began, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

"Why would it? Everything is clear: you decided to kill me and hide the body in the woods. Fortunately, there are no witnesses..."

"What?" Nikolai Pavlovich was more horrified than surprised.

"Just kidding!" Lara sighed. "In any case, if you chose such a place, there were reasons. Not that I particularly want to know them..."