This happened just as they were preparing to leave Moscow.
Seryozha spent a very pleasant few days at Uncle Oblonsky's house. Although his mother could not come with them, his father brought him, but before he left he also learned the unexpected good news. There may be another brother or sister soon.
That's good, thought Seryozha, he had never been a cousin.
Everyone is happy except one.
"I don't want to be an older sister anymore." Seven-year-old Tanya gasped, and even her pretty floral dress was wet.
Seryozha was a little bewildered, his eyes widened. Because he rarely saw Tanya crying in front of him, she has always been his brave and sensible young lady. But Seryozha is a smart boy after all, so he decided to put down the little soldier in his hand, and asked tentatively, "You, do you want a hug?"
Tanya nodded, but the tears were still rolling down her pretty face.
Sergey opened his arms. At the age of five, his body was still round and round. Even his arms were like lotus roots, tender, fragrant and soft.
"I already have a brother, and he's not good at all. I don't want to have another one." Tanya sobbed, her little hands tightly wrapped around Seryozha's neck, her chin resting on the latter's shoulder, and after a while , Seryozha felt his collar was soaked.
"Did I make you sad too?" Seryozha asked in a low voice. Although it wasn't his fault, his tone was a little apologetic.
Tania let go of her hand, lowered her head, and then shook her head in denial.
"You are very well, Seryozha."
"I hope you were born by my mother, my real brother." She took out a flowered handkerchief from her inner pocket, and wiped her tears delicately.
"Have you told Aunt Dolly?" Seryosara suggested softly, taking Tania's other hand.
"No." Tanya shook her head again, she has always been the kind of sensible child that the elders said.
"Perhaps you should have told her," Seryozha said softly. His mother had been telling him this all the time, and only honesty would save him from being wronged. Because, even if it is a mother or a father, such an intimate presence may not always know what you are thinking.
"I can't." Tanya shook her head again, but she seemed calm for a while.
The little girl looked up at Seryozha. She had fair hair like her mother, but she liked Seryozha's hair better. Brown-blond, slightly curled, it looked great with his blue eyes, so Tania couldn't help but kiss him on the cheek.
"I really envy you, Seryozha." She couldn't help sobbing again, the tip of her nose was a little red, like a sad lily.
"You have no brother or sister."
Seryozha didn't tell his father about this immediately, because he didn't want anyone in the family to show a sad expression. But on the train, when it was just him and his father, he decided to ask each other tactfully.
"Daddy, if you do something I don't like, can I tell you?"
Karenin put down the document in his hand, raised his head and replied, "Yes."
"Actually you should have said it, Seryozha. I remember your mother telling you."
Seryozha nodded.
He was too small and not tall, so when he sat on the soft train chair, his legs were still dangling in the air.
He usually doesn't wobble his calves so unrulyly, but when he's thinking about something, this little problem can't be controlled.
Karenin noticed this, but this time he forgot to remind his son.
He knew that Seryozha was a very self-disciplined boy for his age. Judging from his slightly sad little eyes, the latter is clearly troubled by something.
"You can say it." He closed the file, already determined to solve his son's little troubles first.
Seryozha nodded again, like a puppy trying to bite its tail but unable to catch up. Then, after his confusion had passed, he decided to look up and ask for help.
"Actually, it's Tanya."
"Tanya doesn't want another brother or sister."
"Everyone was happy, but she was crying."
Karenin poured a glass of water for the little boy, and the latter took it, holding the glass in his immature hands. Although he didn't quite understand, he still drank a few sips.
In fact, there is no rational reason for this, but I don’t know when, maybe it was when Seryozha was able to think about problems and express them, the father, in his heart, whenever the little boy showed confusion When he looks relieved or sad, he always feels that maybe what is in front of him is no longer a little boy, but some kind of plant.
Plants don't weep, but need moisture. Seryozha is a boy, somewhat sensitive, and has a strong ability to empathize with other people's sufferings. Therefore, for a moment, the rational official wondered if there was a light rain in the boy's soft heart .
It's common sense to hydrate your plants. To solve puzzles for his children, this is the instinct that Karenin began to have after becoming a father.
"Why do you think she no longer wants a brother or sister?" asked Karenin.
Seryozha blinked perplexedly, then shook his head: "I don't know." He added, "I told Tanya she could tell Aunt Dolly, but Tanya wasn't going to tell her."
"I always tell you and mother everything," Seryozha said so naturally, but with a little shyness.
Sometimes he doesn't want to be that kind of parent's little baby, and that makes him feel a little shy, but sometimes, he thinks it's good, makes him feel safe and happy.
"Different family education is not the same, Seryozha."
"I know, but I always thought that at least we can tell you what we think. Because my mother said that everyone is an independent individual, so we must be honest and tolerant, so that we can be happier and happier." His little hand stroked Looking at the cup, a pair of big blue eyes seem to be shining with wet light.
"This needs to be advocated, but because people are independent individuals, not all ideas will be accepted by another person."
"Tanya didn't say it because she knew it wouldn't change anything?" Seryozha asked softly.
Karenin was not surprised. Although Seryozha was a little too gentle, no one could deny his intelligence. Although her wife didn't say so, the father always understood. Some people are not smart on the surface, but because they are too kind.
In the past, this kindness was not recognized by Karenin, but now, facing this small child who has grown up from the size of a palm, even a cold and hard person will always slowly soften his heart of.
"Not everyone is like your mother, Seryozha."
"Your mother, she has the ability to easily change a person." The man seemed to recall it before he said.
Seryozha approved of his father's evaluation of his mother. But he also wanted to tell his father something else, so he gave a soft smile, "You too, Dad, not everyone is like you."
Hearing his son's words, Karenin smiled slightly.
Seryozha looked at the snack box, thought for a while and asked, "Can I have a piece?"
"Is it time for your snack?"
"Not yet..." Seryozha withdrew his eyes reluctantly. Although he was still a little bit reluctant, he still decided to restrain himself.
Immediately afterwards, Seryozha tried to raise his arm and poured Karenin a glass of water. Then he sat down again, holding the water glass and asked, "Next time, can I do something more?"
Karenin knew what Seryozha meant. Boys' minds are never too difficult to guess.
"I think you've done a good job today."
Seryozha blushed a little, and after a while, muttered, "Next time I will bring a handkerchief."
Karenin nodded in agreement.
After drinking the water from the glass, Seryozha looked out of the window for a while in silence. He saw the scenery passing by outside the window, and those mountains, and then, as if remembering something, he asked again: "Will you give me a brother or sister?"
The movement in Karenin's hands paused for a moment, his thumb pinched the paper, and after a while, he looked at his son and said, "Do you want a younger brother or younger sister?"
Seryozha smiled shyly and nodded: "Yes."
His reaction, which was different from that of most children, made Karenin decide to stop his business again. It was rare that he took the initiative to find out more about his son's thoughts.
"Why?"
Seryozha did not turn to face his father, but still muttered shyly, drawing circles on the clear car window with his round fingers.
"I want to be a brother."
After he finished speaking, he looked at his father as if he mustered up his courage: "I like you to call me baby. But sometimes, I also want to call others baby." He thought for a while and said, "Actually Babies can too."
It seems that I am a little worried that this reason is not sufficient and it is easy to be rejected. Seryozha remembered his father's teaching that if you want others to promise you anything, you must first give them at least three good reasons. So he hastily added:
"I am five years old. My mother said that when I was three years old, I could get a set of soldiers with small sabers, and when I was four years old, I could choose my afternoon tea. Now I am five years old. I haven't made a wish yet. I I feel like I'm old enough to be a big brother."
"But you are already an older brother, have you forgotten?"
Karenin mentioned a child's name, and Seryozha did not refute, but nodded with a smile.
"I like him. But I also want to have a brother or sister of my own."
"You know, Papa," he murmured, "with mother's hair or eyes, or yours. They'll look a lot like me."
"I wanted a brother or sister when I was three years old."
"I don't remember you ever telling us this." Karenin confirmed after thinking for a moment.
"Yes, I haven't said anything yet." Seryozha nodded, and he was already sitting upright. Then he raised his big blue eyes and said, puzzled, "But I need to make some preparations, don't I?"
Karenin thought that preparation meant accepting the fact of having a younger brother or sister, but his son, like his wife, always caught him by surprise.
"I've got to grow taller. I've got to have a lot of strength," he nodded, as if confirming his statement.
"I still need to know a lot of knowledge. There is always a lot to learn. I don't think I am fully ready now, but I may grow up soon. At that time, I will have other responsibilities. But I am very Worry." He frowned his slender eyebrows as he said, like a fluffy bird, and his thoughtful look was cute and messy.
"Worried about what?" Karenin asked, and he got a small, complaining look from his son.
"Of course you can't teach him too much, Dad."
"I want to be his older brother, but also a good role model."
Seryozha sighed softly, "Then I think that five years old should be a good enough age. At least I am five years older than him, and I can teach him a lot."
"We thought you didn't want a brother or sister," said Karenin. They had barely discussed it, his wife had not indicated that she wanted another child, and Karenin was content with his family. So plans for a second child were never mentioned.
Seryozha looked at his father with some reproach. Perhaps there were not many people in Russia who could treat Karenin like this.
The little boy pouted: "I'm just preparing."
"A brother or sister is as precious as I am to you."
"If I become an elder brother too early, how can I take care of them? If, if they ask me a question that I don't know, I will be ashamed!" Seryozha said seriously his deepest concern.
Facing such a little boy, the senior official of Petersburg couldn't help smiling.
"Then," Seryozha blinked, "may I be an older brother?"
"There is no guarantee of that, Seryozha."
"But that might be true."
Seryozha seemed to have thought of something, and laughed: "I think Christmas presents are good."
"Perhaps you will."