Parallel worlds

Ed instantly realized that the girl was extraordinarily talented, deep and sensitive inside. Although she did not say a single word or even look in his direction, her image captured his thoughts. He dreamed of walking with her along the shore of a blue sea, holding hands. In his free time he painted her portraits. During art lessons he could hardly concentrate on his assignments. Soon everyone in the group noticed that Ed was in love with Paro — everyone except Paro herself.

She was so immersed in her inner world that she noticed nothing around her. She lived in her thoughts everywhere — on her way to school, while eating in the cafeteria, when going to bed, and even while walking with her best friend. She thought constantly about a magical world where everything was completely different from life on Earth. She was sure that such a world truly existed and that she would one day see it. People around her believed she simply had a rich imagination.

Ed and Paro always walked home along the same road, yet she never noticed him — not in class, not on the street. It even began to seem to him that he was invisible. His self-esteem started to fall. If studying had not been so easy for him, he might have followed the same troubled path as his older brother.

Despite his own problems, Alvin never envied Ed’s success. On the contrary, he was glad that at least one of them was doing well. He loved his younger brother for his kind heart and remarkable character. Alvin was also the first to notice the serious changes in Ed. Outwardly everything seemed the same — Ed answered brilliantly in class and remained polite and friendly — but a hidden sadness had appeared in his eyes.

One day Alvin accidentally discovered a carefully hidden portrait of a pretty girl and immediately recognized Hanna’s best friend. He understood that both he and his brother were suffering from unrequited love…

Although Alvin was known at school as the biggest troublemaker, he was not without talent either. From an early age he wrote beautiful poetry. He decided to confess his feelings to Hanna in a romantic way — through heartfelt verses. Under the name of a secret admirer, he began leaving letters for her almost every day.

Hanna immediately appreciated the beauty of the lines and eagerly waited for new messages. Gradually she fell in love with the unknown poet and dreamed of discovering who this mysterious admirer was who had captured her heart.

Meanwhile, everything in Ed’s life went on as usual. However, one unexpected incident changed everything. One day, as they were walking home along their usual route, Paro was again lost in her thoughts, and Ed was walking a few steps behind her. Suddenly a huge dog ran out from around the corner and rushed toward the girl. Brave Ed did not get frightened. He quickly grabbed a long branch and drove the dog away. The shepherd turned out to be cowardly and ran back into its yard.

In her heart Paro felt deep gratitude toward her rescuer.

The next day she finally noticed that her hero had been sitting beside her at the same desk all this time. She felt terribly ashamed that she had been so inattentive to her classmates. From that day on she began to admire Ed’s talent and kindness. After school they started walking home together and talking about everything.

One day Ed asked her a strange question:

“Did you pretend not to notice me for so long on purpose?”

Paro widened her eyes in surprise.

“What? No, I truly didn’t notice you at first. I just keep thinking about a magical world that must exist somewhere. In that fairy-tale world there are elves, fairies, and nymphs. They know many things we don’t, and we know many things they don’t.”

Ed listened with great interest. That day he decided that this mysterious girl was truly special. He also noted to himself that Paro had an extraordinary imagination and might become a wonderful fantasy writer in the future.

Years passed. The children grew older. They were no longer in elementary school — they were now students in middle school.

Then, one ordinary weekday, a very unpleasant event occurred. On her birthday Hanna received a modern laptop from her parents. The new gadget immediately attracted the attention of the entire school. Katrin quickly came up with a cunning plan.

Since first grade she had loved Alvin, but despite all her efforts he never paid attention to her. She suffered greatly from this. On Valentine’s Day she discovered the bitter truth. That morning she had arrived at school very early and saw Alvin putting a letter into Hanna’s locker. After he left, Katrin read the message and realized that he was confessing his boundless love to Hanna.

The shock made her seriously ill. She stayed home for a whole month. From that moment on Katrin swore that she would defeat Hanna in everything, no matter what it took.

When she saw Hanna’s new laptop, Katrin decided to take revenge on Alvin as well. During lunch break, when all the students went to the cafeteria, she secretly took the laptop from Hanna’s bag and hid it in Alvin’s backpack.

After lunch Hanna discovered that the laptop was missing. A terrible scandal broke out. The police were called. They searched everyone — students and teachers alike — and eventually found the laptop in Alvin’s bag.

The boy was expelled from school in disgrace.

No one believed in his innocence except his parents and his younger brother. The story was even published in newspapers and shown on television, so no school wanted to accept the “thief.” At a family council it was decided that the brothers would move to another continent — to America — so they could continue their studies there.

Ed and Alvin left unexpectedly. Ed did not even have time to say goodbye to Paro.

At first she cried bitterly, then she missed him for a long time. After several years she finally came to terms with his departure and with the thought that they would probably never see each other again.

After Alvin left, Hanna stopped receiving letters. Since Ed had been friends with Paro, Hanna eventually guessed that the secret admirer had been Alvin all along. She realized that for years she had loved and hated the same person. She deeply regretted how she had treated him. In recent years she had begun to suspect that someone had framed him.

She still kept all his letters.

For several years she tried to find him, but without success. Meanwhile, the brothers graduated with honors from an American school. Alvin achieved phenomenal success as a football goalkeeper. Yet he could never sleep peacefully, haunted by the belief that Hanna had deliberately ruined his life. Ed, on the other hand, suffered because he could not see Paro.

Five years passed.

At last the brothers decided to return to their hometown. Too many things there had been left unresolved.

Hanna and Paro were walking home from school in a terrible mood. Hanna still could not calm down and kept complaining all the way:

“This is all very strange. Some unknown girl appears out of nowhere and accuses us of things we never did. It’s complete nonsense. Let’s buy some ice cream and sit at the stadium for a while.”

The girls sat comfortably on a bench and began to eat ice cream. Their mood had just started to improve when suddenly a football flew toward them and hit Hanna on the head.

“What kind of day is this?” she exclaimed angrily. “I’ll show them now. Hey you! Watch where you’re throwing the ball!”

She pointed at the back of a well-built football player. The young man turned around and froze for a few seconds. He immediately recognized Hanna. She has become even more beautiful, Alvin thought.

Hanna also felt slightly embarrassed.

“You could be more careful,” she said. “You hit me right in the head.”

“This stadium is meant for playing football,” the young man replied coldly. “We are not obliged to adjust to random passersby. If we are disturbing you, you can sit somewhere else with your friend.”

Hanna was stunned by his rudeness and left the stadium. On the way she muttered to herself:

“I’ve never met such an unpleasant person. Instead of apologizing, he shows off. I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before, but I can’t remember where.”

Paro stayed at the stadium alone. She had long been used to her best friend’s impulsive temper and was not surprised that Hanna had left without saying goodbye. Once again Paro drifted into her thoughts about the magical world.

Suddenly she remembered her dream in which a mysterious nymph had warned her to be careful. She rushed toward the exit — she was eager to tell Hanna everything. On her way she collided with a tall blue-eyed young man. Their eyes met, and Paro immediately recognized him.

“Ed… You are Ed, aren’t you?”

The young man was shocked. So much time had passed — how could she still recognize him?

“I’m sorry,” he said cautiously. “Who are you?”

“I’m Paro.”

He forced a slight smile.

“I’m sorry, but you must be mistaken. My name is Tim, not Ed. You’ve confused me with someone else.”

Paro felt terribly embarrassed.

“I’m very sorry,” she said with a trembling voice. “I must have been mistaken.”

She hurried away toward her neighborhood, while Ed stood still, watching her leave.

I’m so happy you still remember me, he thought. Forgive me for lying. I still don’t know how to explain why I disappeared for five years and never wrote to you.

Later at the stadium Ed met his brother. The training session had already ended, and the players were leaving. Alvin sat on a bench with a gloomy expression, drinking cold mineral water.

“Hi, champion,” Ed said. “How was the training?”

“I saw her,” Alvin replied quietly. “She has become even more beautiful. I realized that I still love Hanna. All these years I thought I had forgotten her. But it was just an illusion. I must confess something to you, brother. I have done something terrible. I decided to take revenge on both of them — on my beloved Hanna and on your Paro — for all the suffering we went through.”

Ed’s eyes widened in shock. He grabbed Alvin by his shirt.

“What did you do? Tell me immediately!”

“I arranged it so that they would be accused of theft — just like I once was.”

Ed was furious.

“First of all, you have no proof that Hanna was responsible back then. And what does Paro have to do with any of this? Why did you drag her into your revenge? Wasn’t it enough that because of you we stopped communicating? Isn’t that enough?”

“What?” Alvin exclaimed bitterly. “So now you think I am to blame for all your misfortunes? I never expected this from you.”

“You are going too far,” Ed insisted. “Innocent people may suffer because of you. Don’t you understand that?”

“I came back here to find out the truth,” Alvin said. “And whoever framed me will pay for it. Whoever it is. It makes me sick to think that it might be her. But all the facts point to Hanna. She hated me from the very first day. She wanted to get rid of me.”

“Have you ever thought,” Ed replied calmly, “that it might have been someone else? Why don’t you talk to Hanna yourself? The answer might surprise you.”

“Thank you for your support, brother,” Alvin said. “But I am sure it was her. Still… I will check everything again. Somewhere deep inside I still have hope that my suspicions are wrong. Let’s go home. We have to get up early tomorrow.”

Paro rang the doorbell for a long time. No one opened. Suddenly the door creaked, and a skinny old woman wearing huge glasses stuck her head out.

“Girl, why are you disturbing me? It’s already night. You should have at least a little conscience,” she grumbled angrily.

The old woman made such a commotion that within a few minutes neighbors began peeking out into the hallway. Hearing the noise, Hanna also came out — her apartment was located right opposite Baba Galya’s door. In the darkness Paro had simply mistaken the apartments.

Hanna immediately stood up for her friend.

“Why are you shouting like that? She just confused the doors because there is no light in the hallway. By the way, it was you who broke the switch when you were drunk.”

The old woman was furious.

“How dare you, you little brat, point out my mistakes? You are too young to judge adults!”

“You are not an authority for me,” Hanna replied calmly and pulled Paro inside. “Come in, dear.”

After Hanna slammed the door in the old woman’s face, she completely lost control. She began banging on the door and shouting nonsense loud enough for the whole building to hear. Eventually the neighbors had to call the police to calm her down.

About half an hour later silence finally returned. The girls sat at the table drinking orange juice. Each of them was lost in her own thoughts. Hanna still could not forget the rude football player she had met and asked:

“Paro, do you remember how a ball hit me today? The guy who threw it reminds me of someone, but I can’t figure out who.”

“By the way,” Paro replied thoughtfully, “today at the stadium I ran into a boy who looked very much like Ed.”

Suddenly Hanna had a realization.

“That was Alvin. He has returned. I’m almost sure of it.”

“Do you really think so?” Paro said doubtfully. “The boy I saw today was not Ed. Unfortunately, I must have been mistaken.”

“My dear,” Hanna smiled knowingly, “do you think he would immediately admit who he is and happily say, ‘Hi Paro, long time no see’? Remember — he left without even saying goodbye to you. And in five years he didn’t send a single letter or make one phone call, even though he knows your email and remembers your number. He is probably afraid to reveal himself now, worried that you might push him away. After all, you had such a love.”

Paro was barely listening. She suddenly remembered her dream.

“By the way, Hanna, last night I had a strange dream. A magical nymph warned us about some danger.”

Hanna widened her beautiful eyes and laughed softly.

“Oh, you dreamer! Didn’t you also see a genie or superheroes with magical powers? Maybe you met Marilyn Monroe in your dream too?”

“Why don’t you believe me?” Paro insisted. “The magical world really exists.”

“It exists only in your head,” Hanna replied. “You have an amazing imagination. You should use it and start writing children’s books. Good night. Let’s go to sleep — otherwise we’ll oversleep tomorrow.”

“Hanna, have you forgotten that we have been suspended from school for two weeks?”

“That’s right,” Hanna sighed. “I really forgot. What are we going to do then?”

“Let’s ask my magic sphere at midnight,” Paro suggested. “It has never lied to us. But we must ask clear and precise questions — then we will receive truthful answers.”

Midnight approached. The girls sat opposite the magic sphere. This unusual object had been inherited by Paro from her great-grandmother Diana.

From childhood Diana had been a very unusual girl. She could predict the future with astonishing accuracy. Some people called her a fairy, while others considered her a witch. As the years passed, her gift only grew stronger. She could see events that would happen fifty or even a hundred years later.

Diana once learned that in the next generation a baby girl would be born — a girl destined to be a sorceress. Her extraordinary ability would be to live simultaneously in two parallel worlds. Before her death Diana created a magic sphere and placed her gift inside it. She decided to leave it as an inheritance for her great-granddaughter.

She even gave the child her name before she was born.

Clinging to life until the very end, Diana wanted to be present at the baby’s birth. When she finally held the newborn girl in her arms, she immediately predicted her future.

“May your life be happy, princess of the fairy world. May you live well in two such different worlds.”

At last the clock struck twelve. Paro lit long candles.

“Your turn first,” she said softly. “Ask your question.”

“All right,” Hanna replied. “I know what to ask. Who was that boy at the stadium today?”

The sphere began to spin slowly. Then an image appeared — a broken heart and wounds in a chest.

“Paro, I don’t understand anything,” Hanna whispered. “Do you? Please explain — you’re an expert in this.”

“In such cases the sphere shows a person’s feelings,” Paro answered. “His soul is full of pain and sorrow.”

“Now I will ask,” Paro continued. “What will happen in the fairy world in about two weeks?”

The sphere spun for a long time. Suddenly darkness fell, a cold wind blew, and a vision appeared: on the shore of a green sea mermaids were crying, while nymphs foretold that a terrible disease would soon come from the island of the Black Rock. It could destroy the magical world. Only one girl would be able to find the cure. But her face could not be seen — powerful witches had cast a spell to hide her identity.

The girls were terrified by what they saw.

For several minutes Hanna was unable to speak. When she finally regained her voice, she whispered in shock:

“So the magical world really exists… All my life I thought it was only a product of your imagination. I still can’t believe it. It turns out I have been friends with a sorceress all this time. No — I should have guessed earlier. After all, not everyone in our world has a magic sphere.”

Paro sat silently with a sad expression. She had never felt so upset before.

“Did you hear what they said?” she murmured. “The magical world may disappear forever. We must not allow that to happen. We have to find the cure as soon as possible and somehow deliver it to the fairy planet. We have very little time — no more than two weeks.”

Hanna still could not fully grasp what was happening. She listened to her friend in confusion and asked:

“But how are we supposed to do that? We don’t even know what this cure is — or whether it really exists. And even if we find it, how can we bring it to a parallel world?”

“Why do you think we have the magic sphere?” Paro replied. “It knows the answers to almost all questions. Let’s ask it what this cure is and where we can find it.”

She leaned closer to the glowing sphere and asked:

“Please tell us where we should search for the salvation of the magical world.”

Never before had the sphere spun for so long. The girls waited anxiously for the answer. At last they saw an image — a golden tulip.

The sphere could not show the place where it grew.

“I don’t understand,” Paro said sadly. “A golden tulip… but such flowers don’t exist.”

Hanna also tried to think, but nothing came to her mind. It was already three in the morning. Her eyes were closing with exhaustion. Around four o’clock she finally fell asleep. Paro, however, could not sleep at all. The young sorceress could not imagine her life without the magical world that had lived in her dreams and thoughts since childhood.

She had to find the golden tulip at any cost.

If the sphere had shown it, then the flower must truly exist.

Morning came. Hanna had already woken up and was drinking aromatic coffee in the kitchen, wondering whether everything she had seen at night had only been a strange dream. Half an hour later Paro entered the kitchen looking tired and pale from lack of sleep. She poured herself some coffee, held her head, and said firmly:

“We must find the golden tulip — wherever it may grow.”

Hanna stared at her in astonishment.

“So everything that happened last night was real… Oh my God. I never expected such a turn of events. Let’s go for a walk in the fresh air. I need to recover from yesterday’s shock.”

Early in the morning the stadium was already full of excitement. The players had been preparing for an important match since dawn. That day a city cup game between the Lions and the Tigers was to take place. The stands were already crowded with football fans even though the match would start in three hours.

When Paro and Hanna stepped outside, the streets were filled with people. There was hardly any space to walk. The girls remembered the match and hurried to buy tickets. A huge queue had formed near the ticket office. After waiting for a long time, they finally managed to purchase their tickets and went to find their seats.

At last the match began. One by one the players of the Lions team entered the field accompanied by small boys. Hanna immediately recognized the handsome stranger. She could hardly believe her eyes when she saw the name “Alvin” written on his jersey. Her heart suddenly grew warm. It began to beat faster, her pulse quickened. Throughout the match she watched only him, admiring his skill again and again. When he saved goal after goal, she was amazed by his talent. The fans shouted his name loudly, but the popular goalkeeper paid no attention. He was completely focused on the game.

That day Hanna decided something very important for herself: this man of her dreams must become hers.

The match ended. The Lions won with a score of four to one. Hanna had never felt so overwhelmed by emotions before. She sent Paro home so her friend could rest after the recent stress, but she herself stayed at the stadium, waiting for Alvin.

When the stadium finally became empty, Alvin remained alone. He loved solitude — the noise of the crowd during the match always tired him. Hanna gathered all her courage, put aside her pride, and decided to take the first step.

“May I have your autograph, please?”

Alvin turned around and froze. The love of his life was standing in front of him, smiling gently.

“Do you remember me?” Hanna asked softly. “Yesterday you hit me on the head with a ball. And when we were children, you once spilled compote on my dress. By the way… I wanted to apologize for that incident with the stolen laptop. I truly never thought everything would turn out that way. You wouldn’t believe it, but all these years I have regretted not figuring out what really happened. After all, someone could have planted the laptop in your bag.”

Alvin listened to her very carefully. For a moment he felt light and calm, as if he had almost forgiven her for all the suffering he had endured. But when she mentioned the theft, everything inside him tightened again.

“Listen,” he said irritably, “do you know how many girls come up to me for an autograph? I’m not obliged to remember what happened yesterday, let alone what happened in childhood. And since you brought up the stolen laptop — I’ve long since forgotten about it. You organized it yourself and now you pretend to be an innocent victim. And please don’t come near me again. You are unpleasant to me. I know exactly what you want — to take advantage of my fame and be seen with a famous football player. That’s enough. Don’t bother me anymore.”

With that, Alvin quickly left the stadium.

All evening he was furious with Hanna for making him relive painful memories. Later, when he began to calm down, he regretted his harsh words.

Hanna stood alone in the empty stadium for a long time. She felt hurt and humiliated, and bitter tears streamed down her cheeks.

The next day no one could find her.

Hanna had suddenly disappeared.

Paro and Hanna’s mother searched everywhere they could think of, but the girl was nowhere to be found. They had to go to the police and file a missing person report. The news spread quickly throughout the city — Hanna was a popular and noticeable figure.

The news reached Alvin as well. Shocked, he did not know what to think. He blamed only himself for everything that was happening. He searched every corner of the city, but without success. Paro called hospitals and even morgues, but Hanna was nowhere. It was as if she had vanished into thin air.