"P Andrew Miller - After The Rainbow" - читать интересную книгу автора (Miller P Andrew)

I allow myself to smile.
"But I did hear you. You are lucky you didn't go near the skunk."
She looks over her shoulder then turns back to me. "I thought for sure it was Leo and Frank that gave us away last night," she says.
She is still not afraid. She looks up at me. A few strands of her red hair are visible on her pale forehead. I like this girl. She reminds me of the Valkryies, with her bravado and fiery attitude. I rarely find anyone with a warrior's spirit.
"Come with me," I say and turn back towards the building.
"Are you gong to turn me in?" Now her pulse increases.
"No," I answer.
"What's keeping me from running away?"
"Nothing." She has not moved though I am now several feet in front of her. I don't slowdown. She scuffs her shoes a little and then follows me. I'm glad.
She is only a step behind me when we reach the office. I go in and move some papers so she will have a seat. She stands in the doorway.
"Do you think you could turn on the lights?" she asks.
I forget that not everyone shares my sight. I pull the metal chain and a single bulb illuminates the room. My eyes adjust immediately but she blinks.
"Would you like to sit down?" I ask her.
She moves to the chair I have cleared. I sit on a stool facing her.
"Do your parents know where you are?"
She snorts. "They don't know anything. And couldn't bother."
I hear no self pity in her voice and she doesn't look away. Her green eyes remain locked onto my own gray.
"What are you called?" I ask.
"You mean ny name? Sarah, Sarah Prescott. What's yours?"
"I am called Heimdall."
"That's a weird name."
"Not where I come from."
"Where's that?"
She does not realize what she has just asked. But then, why should she? I stare at her, deciding what I should tell her. She takes off her hat and her red hair falls down upon her shoulders. It is longer than I would have guessed and more beautiful. Though it does not compare with Sif's golden tresses, its color is bright in this dingy room. The red of her hair, the green of her eyes, remind me of Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge. It has been so long since I had someone to talk to, I decide to tell her the truth.
So, I tell her of Asgard with its high stone walls and how Odin tricked the giant into building them. I tell her of the great hall of Valhalla and the feasting of the warriors that went on under its roof. I tell her about watching Thor battle the Frost Giants among the icy mountians of Jotunheim.
I tell her how Frey lost his sword for the love of a woman. I tell her of Iduna and her golden apples. I tell her of Loki and how he ended the beauty of Balder.
And I tell her about Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge connecting Midgard to Asgard and how I was the warder of the Bridge. I tell her of its glorious colors.
She stares at me through all my tales and there is a smile on her face. When I finish, I notice she is yawning. I have forgotten that she may need sleep even if I don't.
She stifles a yawn and grins at me.
"It sounds wonderful, beautiful," she says and I think she actually believes me. "What happened? Why did you leave?"
The colors in my memory die. She realizes she has asked the wrong question but I also know I must answer it.
"It had always been prophesied that we would die in battle, Asgardians and Vanir against the Frost Giants and Surtur and the other monsters. The day of the great battle approached, Ragnarok came. We went to the field of battle. We were alone. The Giants did not come. Surtur did not show. The Midgard Serpent and Fenris did appear.
"We felt our destiny slip away from us. We lived for battle, to die in battle. We would not be cheated. We went into Jontunheim to find them. We traveled to Muspelheim. Nowhere could they be found. And while we were gone, looking, they destroyed Asgard. It was set afire, burned to the root of the World Tree.
"Some of us walked into the fires, not wanting to live. But some of us could not die without a fight. We went down Bifrost to Midgard, here to earth. Behind us, Bifrost shattered into shards of color, then vanished."
She doesn't say anything after I finish and I find that I can no longer meet her gaze. Instead, I stare at the floor.
"So, instead of watching the Bridge, your watching cars? Old habits die hard, huh?" She is standing again. She pulls her hat down over her head.
I look at her. She goes to the door and then turns her head. "I'm sorry," she says and then leaves.
I listen as her footfalls sound off into the distance.

* * * * *

Once more it is near midnight and I hear Sarah approaching. She is trying to be even quieter than normal and imitate natural sounds as she walks. Of course, I can tell the difference, besides the fact that few woodland creatures smell like shampoo. Though she does get closer tonight than she did last night before I catch her.
I meet her at the fence. She is smiling. "Well, how about another story? Tell me more about Thor."
She climbs the fence and we go back to my office. I had a feeling she would come again tonight and I brought instant cocoa for us to drink. While we sip at our steaming mugs, I tell her of Thor's fishing trip and how he hooked Jorgumund, the Midgard Serpent. Sarah enjoys the cocoa and the story. When we finish, I escort her back to the fence.
"You know, I'll keep trying Heimdall. And one day, you'll see, I'll sneak up on you."
I laugh. "I'll buy more cocoa."
She scampers over the fence and jogs across the grass.
I turn and walk back through the cars. They are red and green and gold and blue and in some ways they resemble a rainbow.

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