Friendship

One day Li learned that friendship is simple. He found it out quite by accident during another unexpected meeting. It happened at the airport…

Not a single ray of sun pierced the dense endless clouds. The light would appear only after the plane gained altitude, as if transporting passengers into another reality, pulling them out of the familiar dreary grayness. Then the rain would disappear too. And some of the people in the cabin would finally let the first timid smiles break through as they leaned toward the portholes.

Li thought that at that moment he would be indistinguishable from such passengers, if not for the fact that a timid smile had not left his face since the moment he entered the airport building. This was his first flight in his life, and everything around amazed and excited him.

Outside the window, like gigantic fish, planes glided smoothly along their tangled trajectories, blinking with lure-lights. Departure staff scurried back and forth. The fish-planes, one after another, gathering speed, turned into birds, becoming smaller and smaller until they disappeared somewhere behind the clouds.

Li watched this movement in fascination, joyfully anticipating how very soon he would rise on one of those birds…

“Mommy, mommy, why is that uncle dressed so weird, is he from the old times?” a ringing voice sounded behind the man. A little girl with curly hair tugged at the sleeve of a fair-haired woman and, without a trace of embarrassment, pointed directly at Li.

The woman was clearly embarrassed, crouched next to the girl and gently lowered her hand, trying not to meet the gaze of the hero of this amusing scene:

“Sunshine, I told you, it’s rude to point at people like that!”

The girl rolled her eyes and drawled:

“But I didn’t say anything!”

Li smiled mischievously, winked at the girl, and, taking advantage of the fact that her mother wasn’t looking at him, pantomimed a long beard down to the floor and, hunched over, shuffled a couple of steps like a hundred-year-old man. The girl laughed, clearly pleased with what was happening. Her mother blushed and, quickly glancing over, caught Li in his pantomime. He shrugged, as if apologizing for the awkward position, and sidled to the chair opposite the window.

The woman and her daughter trotted to the far end of the hall; the airport continued to live its rhythmic life.

“You really are dressed unusually, young man,” a hoarse soft voice reached Li from the neighboring row of chairs. “That’s how they dressed in my youth, you know.”

Turning around, Li saw an elderly woman squinting and studying his appearance. He shrugged again, this time replying:

“I’m in a big city for the first time; in my native village many people dress like this.”

“Ah, well, that explains everything,” the lady smiled, and immediately added reassuringly, “Don’t worry, in our time people dress in all sorts of ways, I’ve seen all kinds of things in this airport these last days!”

“The last days?” Li was surprised. “Aren’t you flying somewhere?”

“Oh, I am, I am,” notes of amusement sounded in the woman’s voice. “To be honest, I fly constantly; today is already my fifth flight this week. It’s just that my routes run on different sides of this city, so I’m here quite often.”

Li shook his head appreciatively:

“Wow! And for me this will be my first flight in life.”

“So that’s why you’re looking around like that!” the woman smiled and continued, “I’m sure it will be a pleasant adventure.”

“Thank you, I really hope so!” Li bowed his head. “I’m Li, and what is your name?”

“Maria.” The woman rose from her seat to sit next to Li. “Do you mind?”

“Oh, not at all, I’m very glad!”

For a few seconds they both looked out the window, watching a huge white plane with two rows of portholes glide past.

“I’m very curious why you travel so often. Would you share?” Li asked, surprising himself with the simplicity of his question. He would never have asked a stranger so directly in the first minutes of meeting. But Maria seemed so naturally disarming that Li felt no embarrassment at all. Usually unsociable, now he felt calm and at ease.

“Oh, you know, Li, it’s all work!” Her face brightened noticeably, as if little lights lit up in her eyes. “I’ve only been in this for five years, and it draws you in so much that there’s literally not a minute of free time left, except for pauses like these at the airport!”

“Wow! And what do you do, if it’s not a secret?”

“Lectures. Or, if you like, dialogues! I tell people what I myself have managed to learn. About other people. About how adults differ from children, and old people from adults. About what love is. Friendship. About the strange paths by which people try to find their happiness…”

Li frowned, trying to understand what Maria was talking about:

“You must be a psychologist?”

“Ha, no, not at all!” she chuckled softly. “I’m rather a storyteller.”

“Oh, so you’re a writer?!”

“Well, yes, books turn out well for me, as it happens. But most of all I like to tell and discuss all this with other people.”

“How interesting!” Li leaned eagerly on the armrest. “And how did you learn so much?”

“Some from my own experience — I’ve already lived quite a bit after all,” Maria replied playfully. “But the greater part is my observations and communication with other people, like with you now.”

“You named such serious topics! About love, growing up, friendship, happiness…” Li thoughtfully scratched his forehead. “I think I myself know very little about this.”

“Many people think so. And then it turns out that behind outwardly ordinary people and ordinary stories there are unique destinies, with real adventures, emotions, ups and downs! I’ll tell you this, Li: everyone has their own pearl, which for someone else will be extremely valuable knowledge or experience. Or even more than one!” The woman enthusiastically lifted her hand. “It turns out I’m a pearl collector!”

She laughed joyfully:

“Li, you’ve just given me a wonderful metaphor! I’ll definitely use it in my stories!”

Li smiled modestly. There was something about this woman that distinguished her from others. Enthusiasm, sincerity, a clear passion for her work. Li realized that he felt admiration.

“Maria, you know, I admire how you talk about all this! And I even begin to believe that I too may have some kind of little pearl,” Li leaned back thoughtfully in his chair.

Maria was silent for a moment, studying Li, and then said:

“It seems to me you are a straightforward and kind person, Li. And then you will surely have more than one story of how you had to pay for that. I’m afraid these are not very cheerful stories.”

Li was surprised, and even shrank a little in his chair, as if defending himself against such unexpected frankness. He thought for a bit. Then he spoke, slowly choosing words:

“You are very perceptive… I’ve had different situations, and it hasn’t always been easy… But I’m sure it’s not about others, and not about me being kind or somehow unusual. Rather, it’s hard for me with people, hard to understand them, hard not to sympathize with those I like, and to smile at those I don’t like… I adapt poorly, and I’m bad at acknowledging my attitude toward others…”

“Is it hard for you to talk about this now?” Maria nodded reassuringly. “You don’t have to answer me.”

“No, no, I’m very curious about these thoughts!” Li frowned. “It seems I really am afraid to express sympathy directly, as if I’m imposing myself on the other, and does he need that? And dislike — it’s as if if I refuse to communicate with someone I don’t like, I’ll hurt him, hurt him undeservedly…”

“Tell me, Li,” Maria said softly, “how are you with me right now?”

Li hesitated for a couple of moments, listening to himself.

“I like you, Maria, and I like talking with you. I trust you, even though I’ve only known you for fifteen minutes! It’s surprising, honestly. I felt like this only in my village, near friends.”

“I like you too, Li. And I’m glad we happened to meet today. You’re an unusual person.”

“So are you! It immediately becomes clear why you have so much work and so many lectures — where else would you find such a perceptive interlocutor!” Li looked at Maria with great respect.

“And yet I am no different from others in any way, that’s what is most surprising,” Maria shook her head. “Right now both you and I are equally fascinated by the conversation, and each of us has something to tell.”

“Something is off here,” Li smiled, squinting. “I’ve never had such conversations with random acquaintances. But with you — easily.”

“You know, I can probably find an explanation for this,” lecturer’s notes flashed in her voice. “At some point I realized that there is no sense in postponing discussions of truly important and interesting topics only for the circle of people I consider close and friends. And there is no sense in drawing a line in my head. One can talk about important things with a person to whom I feel interest and sympathy. It is enough that this interest is mutual, and then a real friendly conversation becomes possible. And in dialogue the distance will build itself, quite naturally; it is enough to remember that before you is another person, different from you, with their own special world inside. To treat the difference with respect, and to find similarities with joy.”

Li listened with great interest. There was a certain simplicity, a naturalness, as if what his interlocutor was now talking about was the simplest natural phenomenon, like rain or sunrise…

“This… This seems so simple and clear now,” he said quietly. “So friendship is very simple?”

“It seems so,” Maria smiled contentedly.

“And what else do you share in your lectures and stories?”

“DEAR PASSENGERS, BOARDING FOR FLIGHT…” boomed from the speakers, interrupting the flow of conversation.

Li startled, shook his head, returning to the reality of the airport. He pressed his lips in regret.

“With you it’s so interesting that I completely forgot about the upcoming flight,” he smiled. “And I must go, they announced my flight!”

“Thank you for our conversation,” the woman leaned forward and shook the hand Li extended with both of her palms. “May your first flight be wonderful! And we’ll talk about the rest another time. Something tells me that with my frequent travels we will definitely meet somewhere.”

Li met Maria’s gaze, warmly pressed a hand to his chest, showing how touched he was by the meeting. Maria smiled encouragingly. Li lifted his bag and headed for the boarding gate, replaying the conversation in his head and at the same time inspired by the upcoming adventure.

In rhythm with his steps, the airport continued its swift and bustling dance…