2 Clouds of the earth, Sails of heaven (1)

Winter this year was very snowy.

With a thick layer of snow, winter enveloped the entire horizon, hiding everything that eyes could see. The riverbanks hid with a white blanket, and the trees became like majestic white giants because of ice and snow. Snowdrifts erased the line between land and water. The weather usually was lovely during the day, and endless smooth white expanses shone and shimmered in the sun, and at night snowstorm and blizzards roared and flew above the ground, erasing any traces of the presence of people.

Along the bank of a full-flowing river, which hasn't yet been shackled by snow passed a narrow road. This coast was higher and steeper than the opposite. A path ran between the edge of the beach and a rare fishing line. If you stop and look at the other side of the river, you can see an endless flat field. Winter hid all the slight bumps in the relief - rare hills of land protruding from the swamps, and at dawn, when the pale sun rose from the horizon, with a glow, it illuminated everything that the eye saw.

Children made their way home, to the village, through the snow that covered their usual path along the coast. They tried very hard not to slip on the ice that bound the ground.

In the centre was a fair-haired girl, who was gently held hand-in-hand by a boy a little bit older than her, like a treasure. Her charming smile seemed to illuminate everything around. She attracted the eyes of people, inspiring them with delight, and her greyish-blue eyes sparkled with intelligence. Another girl, slightly younger, walked on the other hand. She always looked around, even though she walked this path very often. Her gaze was ever and again alert. Dark hair was visible from beneath the fur hat, framing a thoughtful face.

"And why only old Gershy lives so far away? He is a doctor. How will he treat people so far from the village? Last time, my brother almost went to the forefathers while we were waiting for him..."

"Baly Gershy always has things to do where herbs grow, Zira," the boy smiled at the dark-haired girl.

"Do herbs grow?" She repeated with a hint of glance around the snow. "As if. Winter is just beginning, and several people are already sick in the village."

"Old Gershy should know better what healers should do in winter." Or did you study to know better than him?"

"No, but…"

Carried away by the argument with Athorn, Zira tripped over a snag hidden under the snow. She fell off the road along the slope to the river. The fair-haired girl, Nialeeka, immediately rushed after her, breaking free from Athorn's grip. The boy had no choice but to rush after them quickly.

Zira landed in the snow with her face. Snow wrapped river stones, so she didn't hit, but right under her nose was something sharp and definitely strange...

She restrained herself from repeating what her brothers said in such cases, and hastened to rise in her arms, not waiting for Nialeeka's help.

"Zira! Are you okay?!"

The girl shook the snow off her face and made a face. Nialeeka laughed when she realized that everything was okay. Athorn approached and turned Zira to him. He began to shake the snow off the girl habitually. Being friendly with her brothers, under their merger, he began to perceive the girl who loves to prank and grimace as his sister.

"Thank you..." Zira said, somewhat embarrassed. She was used to the care of her brothers, but so far was wary of Athorn.

"Look!"

Wet snow creaked, and thin ice cracked on the edge of the shore.

Children turned to the call of a fair-haired girl. She was still standing on the very edge of the river, which was drawn by ice only from the banks. The morning light peering over her shoulder lit up her figure, forcing Athorn to see something unearthly, too beautiful to belong to this world.

Nialeeka's thin arm reached down and pulled something from under the cobblestones on the river bank, exactly where Zira had fallen. Somehow wiping the snow and dirt from the find, the girl began to examine it. At first glance, this find did not represent anything special, but as soon as it took a closer look, it looked like that it was something valuable.

"What did I find-ah!" The girl was pleased with the discovery.

"How did you just see it beneath all this ice!" The dark-haired girl involuntarily admired.

"Just a stone," the boy said frowningly. "Drop it."

"Looks like I found something interesting this time!" The girl handed it to friends.

In her hands was what could easily be mistaken for a simple quite small cobblestone. It would not be anything special if it were not for the intricate patterns, so unlike the traditional ones. Nialeeka's discovery was not adorned with precious stones, but the decoration and precision of the furrows on it indicated an extremely high level of skill of the one whose hand this masterpiece belongs.

"Wait, it seems to me that there is... something... in it..." Zira retorted to him, taking a closer look on the cobblestone.

"Zira, only you understand me," Nialeeka laughed, and continued to wipe the slippery dirt from the find.

The surface of the stone was cast in blue and violet, although the stone itself was brown.

"It's very... interesting..."

"Beautiful."

Involuntarily, both Zira and Athorn admired the trove, after eyeing it for some time. Nialeeka didn't want to part with the stone, so, somehow shaking off the snow and climbing back onto the road, they went back to the settlement.

Athorn, being a little older than the girls, had some idea of such findings, because Nialeeka's father had already taken him as a student and he had to spend a lot of time with different people. Those people often wanted to boast, so they showed him various objects that they found, exchanged, or stole from other people. Now Athorn examined this stone accurately he saw that it stone was different from what he had seen before and that it can be precious.

"Nialeeka, don't you think it's too strange to find it on the beach? Snow and ice shackled the shores relatively recently, less than a week ago, which means... it could fall into the river from the last ships passing here. Are they were merchants or even pir...

'Since the water was ice-bound, no ships have passed here. 'It couldn't be brought here from anywhere but the river', thought Nialeeka, I believe that the current lifted it from the bed of the river...'

"Who cares! Give it to your father. He knows better what to do with it. You cannot endanger everyone because of..."

"Sooner or later, it doesn't matter," said Nialeeka, but her smile faded a little. "You're right. I will show the find to the elders."

It was getting cold, so the children hurried home.