Having courageously completed a whole bunch of practical chores and homework, Sergei sadly sank into a chair and sighed … “When will spring come?” he thought in confusion, looking out the window. It was already mid-March, but cold and lousy weather stubbornly held on to their positions on the street. Today was yet a grey and gloomy day, just like yesterday had been. And the day before, and all the days before that. And yes, he still had to walk the dog …

The boy’s gaze fell on a package of coloured pencils presented to him the other day by his father’s friend, uncle Andrey, a cheerful parlour magician and entertainer. Sergei had politely explained to him then that he was not really fond of drawing. At which Andrey just smiled mysteriously and said, that these pencils were not that simple but magical and would paint even the most boring day in all the colours of the rainbow …

“I’m not little, and I don’t believe in miracles anymore!” Sergei was indignant.

But Andrey had laughed and then replied with a smile, “But in vain. Our whole life is one continuous miracle! And, young man, before you can say so, you must first try!”

Sergei took out the pencils from the box and examined them sceptically. They looked utterly ordinary. “Well, maybe I’ll still follow uncle Andrey’s advice. Just out of curiosity,” he finally decided. Taking the gentle pastel shades of pencils in both hands and waving them like wings, he said three times:

On the wings of a rainbow
I bring you!
Into the world a smile
and the joy of the wind!
Good luck, stay,
I ask you!
Open the dream within
my cherished way!

Having barely finished the last sentence, he hurriedly ran to the window. Dark clouds were still floating in the sky … “Uncle Andrey made a joke at me, that’s all the magic there!” Sergei thought in disappointment and threw the pencils into the wastebasket.

Dressing warmly, he sullenly trudged with Oscar into the street. The dog pulled on the leash, trying to draw its master to the left-turning path. “Okay, so be it, have it your way!” Sergei said to him, pulled up the collar of his coat against the bite of the wind, and headed down the street to the sea …

Oscar simply loved to swim. And moreover, he hardly noticed the weather at all. And now, with the agility of a slightly plump gazelle, he frolicked over and through the waves.

“Hello, Sergei!” suddenly rang in the air. Tanya, a girl from the parallel class, waved and came over to them. At this moment, Oscar jumped back out of the water onto the beach. Throwing spray in all directions, he proudly held up the ball in his teeth. Tanya laughed and praised him and patted him affectionately behind his ears. The dog wagged its tail happily in response and licked her hand.

“Today I was going to sit at home because they promised rain and maybe even a blizzard. But then, suddenly, the Sun began to appear from behind the clouds! So I decided to take a stroll …” she said with a smile to Sergei.

Sergei grinned. “It was I who drove the bad weather away to lure you to the sea for a walk!” he surprised himself by answering.

Tanya laughed merrily. “I do not believe in witchcraft at all. And the weather forecast is hardly better!”

The friends walked along the shore, talking carelessly, joking and bantering together. They took turns throwing the ball into the water, at which the indefatigable Oscar would, with joyful barks, jump into the water again, look for it and bring it back. After a while, the clouds parted. Golden sunbeams circled on the water, intertwining with each other in an amazing and beautiful dance.

And when evening came, Sergei suggested meeting the sunset out on the pier. They sat there at the edge, legs just above the slow swells. The wind calmed down, and the sea sighed softly beneath them. The whole world plunged into a gentle lilac haze, and it seemed that the silk cover of the waters merged with the sky somewhere on the edge of the dream itself …

“This is the most beautiful day that has ever been in my life!” Tanya said at last to him. “Thank you for the magic!”

“Sergei, what is this going on with you! What clouds are your head in?” Asked his mother. “Once again, hello, I am calling you to dinner!”

“In the rainbow ones, probably …” he quietly replied to himself, carefully folding his uncle’s pencils back into the box.

Attributions

Story, Music and Videos
Elena Voroniouk © 2021, all rights reserved. Russian translation by Ruben Mannstaedt.
To read the story in Russian, please click here.

Photography
“… On The Wings Of A Rainbow” by Praṇav – Let there be….. LIGHT!