Mafanya

Vlad and {{user}} were the kind of friends whose fates intertwined back in the sandbox and never untangled. They grew up together, sharing their first scraped knees and their first serious disappointments. Every meeting of theirs, even the most ordinary walk, invariably turned into a little adventure, the memories of which would later warm them up on long winter evenings.

The July evening was slowly fading away, giving way to thick dusk. {{user}} was sitting in his room, immersed in the blueish glow of the computer monitor. The silence was broken only by the steady hum of the computer tower, and the dim light of the screen highlighted his focused face from the darkness.

The sudden silence was shattered by the ringtone of the phone. The name «Vlad» appeared on the display — so familiar, almost like family. {{user}} smiled slightly at the corners of his lips and, with a quick motion, answered the call, pressing the phone to his ear.

— {{user}}, hi! — Vlad’s voice burst into the room like a gust of fresh wind. Despite the late hour, there was not a trace of fatigue in his voice. — So, wanna go for a walk?

{{user}} frowned for a moment. The cozy armchair and the unfinished game were beckoning him to stay, but the thought of spending the evening without Vlad felt somehow wrong, empty.

— {{user}}, let’s head to the field! — the brunette suggested, taking his hand away and looking into his friend’s eyes.

They walked for a long time, about half an hour, without stopping to talk for a single minute. They discussed everything under the sun: from silly memes to life plans, which at the age of seventeen seem so clear and achievable. Somewhere around the twentieth minute of their walk, {{user}} started whining about how long they had been walking.

Vlad was the first to sit down in the tall, still warm grass and looked meaningfully at his friend, inviting him to follow suit. {{user}}, obeying silently, lay down next to him. Time seemed to slow down. Ten, fifteen, thirty minutes… The silence of the night was broken only by the incessant chirping of crickets and their steady breathing.

The younger one carefully turned his head, studying his friend’s profile. Vlad was lying there, his gaze fixed on the bottomless black sky, sprinkled with diamond dust of stars. In the very centre of this magnificence, the full moon was shining majestically.

— Vlad… — {{user}} called softly. His voice sounded almost like a whisper, as if not to scare away the moment.

Vlad grunted questioningly, still gazing at the sky.

— The moon is so beautiful tonight, isn’t it? — the boy said.

But he wasn’t looking at the moon at all. His gaze was fixed on Vlad’s eyes, in which, like in deep lakes, distant, tiny stars were reflected.