The Before Short Story Series. Part 1 - Иван Перепелятник

go to Lake Baikal in Irkutsk or Sochi, at least there are normal hotels there. Rip-off! I want my money back!’, Ivan Rosin, Bulgaria.

‘Aren’t there any normal reviews, Don?’ scrolling down through the selected list, Lewis noted irritated.

‘Lewis, please specify which criteria for selecting reviews I should prioritize to meet your expectations.’

‘Don, you’re so… smart!’

‘I’m glad you appreciate my work, Lewis.’

‘Stupid idiot! If you want something done in a normal way, do it yourself then. We’ll sort it out.’ Lewis continued to search for information on the trip to the Moon and reviews of the moonlanded, as space tourists who visited the international lunar base were called.

His attention was distracted by the program, which he used to track the indices of the family investment portfolio, notifying him that ‘Sebra Productions shares collapsed by 7%!!!’

‘Damn it!’ clicking on the message, Lewis switched to the application to check the current status of the stake in the Sebra European company, the one which was recommended to him for purchase by former colleagues.

New York

Lewis went into the kitchen, where his wife was already having her breakfast. Meryl was sitting on one of the high bar stools at a large massive island table and was enjoying her morning portion of fruit salad. Pieces of mango, pear, apple, peach and melon, raspberry and blueberry rolled in a bowl in balls, carefully prepared by Paola from the list of recipes Everything as the lady likes. There was another smaller bowl of yogurt nearby, which was waiting for its turn to come.

‘Good morning, Meryl,’ Lewis greeted his wife.

‘Hello, dear! How did you sleep?’

‘Well, not really good. I’ve been tossing and turning since three AM.’

‘It’s taking ages to send a message,’ Meryl smiled.

‘Well, yes… And how are you?’

‘Great, thanks! I slept well. Cheerful and ready for new achievements!’

‘Well, at least someone should be.’

Meryl finished with the salad and set aside the plate with the cutlery. Paola came up to the table and took away the empty bowl.

‘Good morning, Lewis. Your breakfast is ready. Paola pointed to the plates of banana and porridge on the table next to Meryl, with the cutlery on a linen napkin.

‘Thanks, Paola.’

‘Bon appétit, Lewis,’ Paola said in a welcoming way, carrying away the used dishes.

‘What a marvel she is,’ Lewis said softly to his wife.

‘She’s been a marvel with us for ten years, Lewis.’

‘Yes, but one doesn’t get tired of miracles. Isn’t it true? Especially when someone takes care of all the household troubles and worries.’

A smile appeared on Paola’s faceplate. She, of course, have heard everything and was glad that the master positively evaluated her work—it means she is doing everything the right way.

‘What about going for a walk before lunch today, Meryl?’

‘I’m in. With pleasure. And the morning weather is promising!’

‘Well, that’s settled. Then let’s do it after breakfast, sometime about nine. There shouldn’t be many tourists in the park at this time. We can take a quiet walk.’

Having finished her breakfast, Meryl went up to the window. Crossing her stringy, thin arms over her chest, she closed her eyes, as if for a moment disappearing in the warm waves of sunlight.

Spring, day after day, was gaining her rights back from its predecessor. The changing shades in Central Park were barely noticeable—from the protective suspended animation of dark brown, to the newly awakening timid light green. The budding greenary of the park, following the ancient call of natural cycles, was clearly affirming the long-established laws of life. A flock of birds back home, was spinning over the island of a carefully preserved urban oasis, finally dispelling the last doubts—spring had come!

One could not deny that the city had changed a lot since Meryl and Lewis moved to New York. It was over 70 years that Meryl’s father had passed away in Washington, and almost immediately they decided to move into the house they had always dreamed of. The exorbitant cost of apartments on the 67th floor in the 432 Park Avenue residence did not stop the newlyweds. When they received a realtor’s offer, even the fact that Lewis could not come to terms with the obviously inflated price didn’t stop them from accepting it. The financial assets of Meryl’s father (she came onto the inheritance as his only daughter) allowed her to never worry about money in their family again.

Meryl was looking at an unnaturally flat rectangle of wildlife, inscribed in the concrete walls of the city surrounding it from all sides. No one dared to interfere with the famous park area of the capital of the world in any way. This pompous name for New York came into life in official sources after the Great Reform of 2107. It was then that the landscape of the political map of the world and the system of administrative management had been transformed, and a new flag was raised over the UN headquarters becoming a symbol of a new era.

The United Federation of Nations, a structure developed with the participation of artificial intelligence of the PAX quantum system, determined the roadmap for further development of the mankind. An important point on it was Central Park in New York, where the leaders of the world enjoyed walking unnoticed, discussing state issues, as well as ever inexhaustible flow of citizens and countless tourists, coming to the city from all the six continents.

From time to time plans for possible reconstructions of the park leaked to the press, as a rule causing an unambiguous reaction from New Yorkers. When it seemed that there was no way to avoid developers’ construction plans in the park, the citizens started protesting so violently that the mayor’s office had just one thing left to do—allocate additional funds from the budget for the development and maintenance of one of the most famous park areas in the world. Thinking of