It's not a good day today, actually, the sky is a bit gray and it looks like it might be raining soon.
But in the dacha of Mrs. Karenin's house, there is a small sky-blue bench on the white railing, and Anna and Karenin's son Seryozha are sitting on it upright.
His face is a bit chubby, and his brown-blond curly hair is well-manicured, looking cute and cute.
His fat fingers are holding a piece of colored paper, as if he wants to fold it into the shape of an animal. And his soft, crisp and immature voice was happily humming a song.
The paper crane's wings had come out, and not long after, even the head was folded.
His hands are so dexterous, just like his mother.
"You still need eyes, don't you?"
Seryozha said softly to the paper crane, and then gave it a pair of swarthy eyes.
He gently held the paper crane with both hands, his beige nails were short and his fingers were round, but he was serious about it.
After all, he is only three years old, and he still believes that every paper crane has a soul. When people can't see them, they will fly on the wind. Now, he wants to discuss with the little paper crane in his hand. Once, let it see how it flies.
"I won't tell anyone, I can keep it a secret," Seryozha muttered.
Of course the paper crane didn't respond, so when Anna came out, she saw her son's confused eyes.
As a mother, if you are more careful, you can always understand what these little babies are thinking. After all, their current thoughts are as clear and transparent as crystals.
"Honey, it's still a little paper crane." Anna said with a smile, and she approached Seryozha, bent down and kissed the child's forehead.
"So, like me, it's a little shy sometimes, isn't it?"
Seryozha said with a blushing face. For some reason, he felt a little embarrassed when his mother saw the whispers he said.
"Sometimes yes, so, we'd better not force it at this time, right? Just like when you are embarrassed, we will give you time, right?"
Seryozha bowed his head and thought for a while, then nodded solemnly.
He lifted up the little paper crane, then pouted and gave it a kiss. Because he knows kisses are magical, just like his mother did to him when his dad was tired from work.
"When you're not so shy, you'll let me see it, right?" Seryozha touched the wings of the little paper crane and said softly.
Anna watched all this tenderly and did not bother him.
Children of this age always have too many fantasies. Most people think it is fake and unreal, but Anna thinks that as long as he loves the world and the people around him, then it is okay to give him a little room for fantasies. Not impossible.
As if he had reached an agreement with his new friend, Anna saw Sergei nodding his head, and then solemnly placed the little paper crane on the railing.
"It said it would fly away at night, but it begged me not to sneak a look at it, otherwise it would not be able to fly." Seryozha said to Anna.
"Of course, you won't come here secretly, right?" He added with some worry.
"I won't, baby."
Anna touched the boy's head, and Seryozha smiled at him, as if expressing his gratitude.
He's always been a polite kid, and smiling is all he does.
"Is Dad coming back?" He raised his head and asked, expectant in his voice.
Most children of this age are afraid of their fathers. After all, there are very few big men who are as kind and amiable as Oblonsky, but even his uncle Oblonsky is only kind to his daughter. , he was a bit perfunctory and harsh to his son.
Even Dolly had secretly worried about it before Seryozha was born.
In their impression, Karenin was a rare and decent person, but people could not help agreeing with one thing, that is, this gentleman was not tender enough.
Children will not like such an adult, he is too serious, even if they are given candy, they will weigh it for a while before approaching.
But maybe because of this, God gave him a little wife who didn't fear him at all, and later, their son.
It seems that from birth, the big-eyed, dimpled babe has been in love with her father.
Not long after he was born, he liked to lie in his father's arms, although he didn't like to cry in anyone's arms, he was a good baby.
When he was learning to walk, it was his mother and the nanny who took him, and he staggered step by step, but towards the gate, until his father walked in, and his little hands, which could not grasp anything, hugged tightly. on each other's knees. The smiling face on the little bib can't compare to his crooked eyebrows and eyes.
Occasionally, in some free time, when no one was watching, Seryozha would sit on his father's shoulders and look at the world on another level with his big blue eyes.
These are all things he is used to, so it was not until he grew up a few years later that he realized that not every father is like this.
But these are things for the future, and now Seryozha is only a three-year-old boy.
After finishing his homework, he waited for his father at the door as usual.
Ana fully understands what a child expects of a father, even though she never had one. She likes to see it, a child's dependence on his parents shows that he really trusts his parents to give him safety and protection.
"Yes, he'll be back soon," said Anna.
She sat on the wicker chair on the other side and began to do some knitting. It was a little blue hat, which Seryozha knew was for Nikolai.
"Can I touch it?" he said, with a wistful expression.
"Okay, but don't break it."
"I'll just touch it lightly," Seryozha promised with a smile.
He touched it, hesitated for a moment, and then asked with a blushing face, "Can you knit one for me too?"
Ana stopped, blinking, and then said, "But I might be tired. I gave you one before, didn't I?"
Seryozh frowned, just like his father.
Then he hesitated again, and then said: "Well, then, mother." Having said that, Anna noticed Seryozha covering his eyes with his hands.
"What’s wrong with you?"
Seryozha's tone was sullen, and he said after a while: "I can't go on looking at the hat you knitted for Nikolai, I like it so much, but I can't help it." At last he muttered again, "" So I decided to make myself invisible to it."
Anna couldn't hold back this time, she laughed.
Seryozha looked at his mother suspiciously, and then he found himself drawn into his arms and kissed.
"Did I say something?"
"You said very cute things." Anna replied to her son with a smile.
She saw the boy's expression was still a little confused, but she didn't intend to continue to explain, so she suppressed a laugh, and then said: "If I knit you another one by myself, I will be very tired, but if you If I could help, I wouldn't be so tired."
"But," Seryozha thought for a moment, then said, "I won't." He shook his little head, and looked at his fat fingers.
"How can I help you?" he asked his mother earnestly, a little uneasy after he realized that he really couldn't knit.
"You can hold them for me." Anna put the ball of yarn in Seryozha's hands.
"If you want to ask someone for something, then you have to help the other person. Even if you can't, there are always other things you can help with, baby." Anna said.
Seryozha looked intently at the ball of yarn, then nodded and returned a smiling face.
"I can still sing to you, mother."
"Now I'd love to hear you sing, dear," said Anna, giving Seryozha an encouraging smile.
So, after Karenin came back in the carriage, he heard the boy's singing from a long distance away. He stopped the coachman and walked a little longer than usual.
When he approached the yard, what he saw was a warm picture.
His wife found him first, then their son.
"dad!"
Karenin heard Seryozha exclaim, his large blue eyes were like jewels, and his cheerful expression was exactly like his mother's.
Karenin nodded in response to his son's call.
No matter how many years passed, he was still that high-ranking official in Petersburg after all, with an inviolable reserve.
Anna collected the ball of yarn and set the little one free. The latter winked at him, then trotted in his father's direction.
He is not the age of a toddler now, the child who walks up to his father and raises his hand high for a hug.
Seryozha is three years old and is beginning to have his own pride and recognition.
So he stopped in front of Karenin, just looked at him with those shining eyes, and when his father patted his little shoulder, he felt proud and satisfied.
But what he didn't change was to take the initiative to hold his father's big hand, and Karenin was already used to his son's movements.
"The babysitter said it's going to rain, so I'm a little worried about you, Dad." Seryozha said, "When it rains, you'll come back late. If there's a thunderstorm, I can't protect Mom by myself."
He observed it carefully, and in fact Karenin was obliged to recall it, and it turned out that Seryozha was right.
"I will consider this in the future." Karenin promised.
Seryozha nodded reassuringly. At home, they never doubted their father's assurance.
Karenin led Seryozha to his wife.
"Welcome home," said the wife, with a smile, black hair and gray eyes, just like back then.
Karenin also showed a small inaudible smile. Over the years, he has never been lonely on the way home.
It's just a normal afternoon, like every day.