Their departure was being obviously delayed – one passenger did not board, and ground crew was looking for his baggage. The air in the cabin was stuffy, because the air conditioning was not switched on yet.
When all problems were solved, the huge plane soared heavily upwards. The cabin crew was excellent, and flight attendants quickly served the passengers. All were restored to good humor, and passengers got busy with their own pastimes.
A group of young people stood out against the background of typical passengers. They were briskly exchanging remarks, paying no attention to recent discomfort and to other people in the cabin. Their light-hearted laughter was evidence of good moods, and that soon rest was waiting for them.
The plane started descending, sharply turned over the sea, and landed at the airport. The baggage was got, and the cheerful company noisily headed for the exit. A bright sunny day welcomed all who arrived at sea side.
The town they arrived in was a real sea pearl. Situated on the only bay there, it was sheltered from high winds by mountains from three sides.
The company of young people picked their way towards it. Having driven through an old bypass road up the mountain to the top of a low pass, they got out of the cab and called. In some time, a door in the big metal gates opened, and they went in.
The friends walked down a road with a slight grade, and in about three hundred feet, after a steep turn, they saw a two-storied stone house, looking like a ship, with an attic and a big terrace, like a captain’s bridge. It seemed that it stood at its moorings, by a small mountain, which hid it from all misfortunes.
The terrace gave a beautiful view of the town and the bay. The mountain to the right of the house was particularly impressive. It looked like a huge petrified crocodile, with a hotel on the mountain as its eye.
The air here was also unique. A morning offshore breeze blew away all evaporating waste products to the sea. Instead, the air of the ancient relict box-tree grove filled in all the space around.
A narrow mountain river with transparent purling water flew out of the ravine. It divided the town into two parts. One part was occupied by dwellings, and the other by entertainment and theatre buildings.
In the afternoon, a breeze blew from the sea, filling the territory with its summer smell.
When the breezes stopped their work, the fragrance of all flowers and blooming trees, gathered here from all over the world, flooded this beautiful bowl by the sea…
An iron door opened, letting the guests in. In a big hall, decorated with marble tiles, was a sofa, a big mirror in a gilded frame, and a small carved table with curved legs and a light marble top.
The guests put down their baggage and went to the living room.
The living room was lit by Italian bronze chandeliers and side lamps. By the fireplace, there were two green leather armchairs and a coffee table. A big green sofa, a huge TV set, and some pictures by modern artists added to the interior of this room.
The main windows of the house faced the bay, and the last rays of the setting sun painted the living room into different inimitable colors.
The living room joined the dining room through an arched passageway. The dining room was ready to receive guests. A crystal chandelier illuminated a dark incrusted table with tableware on it; crystal side lamps gave additional light to the room.
Thick soft carpet covered the floor, completing the interior.
The cheerful fuss of guests noisily settling into their rooms animated the whole house. Everybody tried to choose a room, facing the bay at the foot of the mountain. Guests opened the windows, and rhythmic music filled in the surroundings.
Not all young people were guests, though – Julia was the master’s daughter, and, as hostess, gave orders to her friends, helping them to settle and unpack their things. Soon, everybody went quiet, took a shower, changed into summer clothes and came down to the dining room.
Girls seated young men around the table and went to the kitchen.
In the kitchen, they saw a huge cake, ordered by Julia’s parents for the occasion of their arrival, and lots of cold snacks, that were quite to the point in such hot weather.
The girls were quickly carrying the dishes to the dining room, and putting them on the table closer to the young boys.
Such attention and care pleased the young men. Full as they were, they asked for more. Joking, the girls good-naturedly obeyed and put more food on their plates.
When the dinner was over, the friends went to their rooms to have a rest. After their rest they had to make the acquaintance of the dogs that guarded the house.
Nord – «the Lord Dog» – warily came up to a guest, slowly and deeply breathed in his or her smell, and only then put a stamp – nuzzled up the guest with his wet nose, leaving his smell on the person.
Alfa was his opposite. She did not want to accept anybody, and could just keep her patience with the strangers. Each time she looked at them with suspicion, she kept her distance. To show the strangers how much she didn’t trust them, Alfa, one by one, carefully took her hostess’s house shoes to the farthest corner from the guests’ spot. Her looks clearly showed that the hostess’s shoes were under good protection.
The last dog, Berta, was very young yet, and copied the older dogs in her behavior. She instantly joined their company in any undertaking.
The three dogs were German Shepherds, so nobody was going to take liberties with them. Nobody, but Michael. His behavior with the dogs was quite boyish, and, in response, they did not reveal any aggression towards him. It seemed they understood that he would never be different, and were indulgently patient with his tricks.
Julia took out a big piece of beef, bought specially for the dogs on her way home, fairly divided it into three parts, and put a piece onto each dog’s plate. Then she poured clean cold water into bowls and carried everything to the yard, in front of the main entrance.
The dogs started eating all at once, standing with their front legs far apart over the plates with food. From time to time, each of them began to stamp against the ground with its hind legs. This showed that they liked the food very much.
Our company was watching the dogs’ feast from the bench in the yard.
Suddenly, Alfa, seeing that the delicacies in the other dogs’ plates were coming to an end, ran up towards the iron gates, loudly barking on her way. Nord rushed after her, outran the dog, and dashed forward. Berta, like a flash, ran after Nord, and cunning Alfa, having waited at the turn when they would run past her, quickly returned to their plates, and as quickly ate everything on them. Then she licked clean the plates, and went to have a rest in the shade, inside the yard, with an obvious feeling that her duty had been done.
The young people curled up, looking at this cunning muzzle, licking herself all over. This trick was worked through by Alfa, and she used it not once. When the other two dogs, hot after running, returned, they sniffed around their plates, drank cold water, and also went to the shade for an afternoon rest.
It was still hot, and everybody was worn out by the heat. Michal suggested that they could go swimming in the sea. Michael was a ringleader, with lots of ideas on his mind all the time. Not all his ideas were good, but this one pleased everybody.
Looking at his T-shirt, soaked with sweat, Julia assumed that she looked no better. Linda, her friend, also agreed to walk down the mountain to the sea, and William just stood up, tacitly approving the suggestion. He preferred deeds to words. William kept his silence more often than he spoke. He listened to others and gave a meaning to what was said; he did not like to be an object of somebody’s analysis.
Preparations were not long – swimming suits were put on, and terry towels thrown over shoulders – this was all they needed to bathe in the sea.