“I won’t take you much time,” retorted Karina, starting to get angry, she didn’t want to do this job, she was sick of learning something from Dony, because she didn’t see any point in it. This was a meaningless task, which her father sent to fulfill just to occupy her with something else, so that she didn’t interfere with him with her conversations about Nikto. Waste of time. But, unfortunately, Karina had a rule – if she took up work, even it was most uninteresting, she should have done it well. If possible. As best as possible. And so she was sitting in Dony’s living room and was angry. Slaves and servants scurried past with boxes and suitcases, the bustle of moving was in the air.

“You see what’s going on,” Dony told her nervously, “I haven’t packed anything yet, the move is like a fire or an earthquake. At four my fiancé arrives, but nothing is ready, I still need to make up!”

“Now it's only half past three,” said Karina.

“Yes! During half an hour it is impossible to have time to put yourself in order. However, you don’t understand it, you are a warrior, not a woman.”

Karina silently swallowed a mockery, or what it was. She should just do her job well.

“You look beautiful without make up as well,” she said as good-naturedly as possible, not at all sure that her words sounded really sincere. And not because Dony looked bad without makeup, but simply because Karina didn't give a damn about it.

“Ah, don't talk nonsense!” Dony turned away from her, peering attentively at the surface of the mirror. “When I am without make up, I look ill, pale and tormented.”

“But you really were sick recently,” Karina remarked, glad that there was something to cling to in the conversation.

And Dony froze with a snow-white puff in her hand.

“I am absolutely healthy. And if I was sick, it was a very long time ago,” she said in an icy tone.

“I just have to do my job well,” thought Karina once again and said:

“You had a concussion.”

“Is this an interrogation? You follow me!”

“What is it about my simple question? Why are you so nervous?” Karina shrug her shoulders.

“Have you come to ask me about this?”

-Dony, we were hanging in the same company, we were almost friends. We could be close friends if you wanted to. What is strange that I came to find out howyou are doing and say goodbye? After all, you are leaving.”

“Yes, I'm leaving. We can write letters to each other if you want to be friends.”

“And aren't you sad to leave all this? Your own theater…”

“No! I want to have a family, give birth to a baby. I will write new plays. There, by the sea. I will be a writer. I will have an ideal life with my beloved man, which I also wish you, Karina. Finally find your ideal man, your second half, and become happy.”

“But wasn’t Nikto your ideal man?” Karina suddenly caught herself thinking that she could hardly pronounce that name.

Doni laughed pretendedly:

“Karina, it’s all in the past, and I'm leaving. I'm leaving! Understand?”

She seemed to be running away from something, a thought flashed across Karina, as if afraid. She is afraid!

“Have you quarreled?”

“No! Karina, what do you want from me?!”

“Heck!” Karina could no longer drag this out with Dony. “I just need to find out who cracked you on the head so that you had a concussion!” She could not stand it.

“How rough! But at least thanks for the directness. I fell down! Is that all?! Is the conversation over?”

Karina stood up, Dony turned to the mirror, furiously began to wave her brush, putting pink blush on her cheeks.

“Maybe you should, nevertheless, return to your female destiny, Karina, it seems to me that what you are doing doesn’t suit you at all,” the ex-girlfriend of Nikto blurted out suddenly quite sharply. “Before it's too late! Love someone in the end, and stop shaming!”

Karina froze on the threshold, not looking back, she seemed to force herself to step over it:

“Goodbye, Dony!”

“Good luck!”

*  *  *

“I just had to do my job well. Damn!” Karina angrily kicked the column to which her horse was tied.

Well, Dony may go to hell. She is afraid of something, very afraid, that's for sure. Well, okay! All the same, it doesn’t matter, and nothing will change. Nothing. It is so?

Chapter seven

Karina and Zara

Everything was different with Zara. She herself opened the door for her. She had a small apartment on the very border of “Upper” and “Lower”, most likely not even an apartment, but a little room. Pretty poor thing.

“I was sleeping,” Zara explained languidly, “I apologize for making you wait…”

And Karina looked at her in all eyes and couldn’t hide it. This girl Zara… she was pretty sweet, maybe even beautiful, but with some rude predatory beauty. And most importantly, she was all covered in tattoos. The short towel which she turned around herself didn’t really cover anything. Legs, arms… When she lazily straightened her black hair, Karina saw that even her armpits were tattooed. “Gods! It's probably terribly painful!” Flashed through Karina's head. She saw black patterns on the temples of Zara, and they obviously continued on and moved to the forehead, only they were hidden by a thick long bang. For some reason, Karina became very interested in what was tattooed on Zara’s forehead, under this fringe.

“I work in the evening, I dance,” Zara said, “and during the day I sleep. Now… I will show you all my documents. I have all the documents. I've been checked many times already.”

“You dance?”

“Yes, striptease,” Zara grinned, “in one eatery nearby, but this is not forbidden, right? I'm not a prostitute!”

“It’s interesting what makes people cover their bodies with tattoos like this, go dance striptease, how crappy her life should have been, why did she do that with herself,” thought Karina.

“That's all here,” Zara handed Karina a stack of stamp papers.

“I believe you.”

Zara shrugged.

“Then what do you need? Will you drink something? But I only have strong drinks,” she grimaced in a smile, and, having folded in a certain way the filter of a cheap cigarette, lit it.

“Yes, I’ll have a drink,” Karina agreed, not believing her ears. For some reason, next to this girl, she immediately wanted to drink, just looking at her, no other thought came to her mind. Well, what else to do with her? Only to drink!”

“Ah, great!” Zara yawned and slowly walked over to the loose buffet.

“One person bought me out. My owner. In his will, he wrote that he freed all his slaves after his death. He was alone. And old,” Zara handed Karina a small glass filled to the brim with a dark, sharp-smelling liquid.