Sunlit oak tree

Getting off at the first railway station in Vienna, the young officer Augustin Greifenberg did not know where to go. He was overcome by laziness and boredom from everything that was happening — be it people passing by who were in a hurry somewhere, or the will of his aunt Freundlich. Her son, Klaus, recently died in prison for opposition statements — she left him a luxurious apartment in the center of Vienna. This trip was a burden for Augustine, but he pulled himself together and took several days off from work. The street was noisy and bustling, looking at the papers again, he slowed down the first taxi and, when he said the address, the taxi moved off. Augustine drove along familiar streets, and he was overcome by memories from his childhood, when he came here with his mother, sisters and brother. So many years have passed since then, and Augustine had never come here until that day. Augustine remembered that they had a great life here. Now it was a different Vienna and a different country, foreign. He himself changed — over the years his soul became colder and crueler, losing that very childish spontaneity. The driver stopped near a small house, and Augustine, having paid the required amount for the fare, came out with a small suitcase. The house has remained virtually unchanged — only the paint has changed. Opening the door to the dusty entrance, Augustine coughed; The concierge came running at the sound with greasy hands and a cigarette in her teeth. — What you need? — she said calmly. — I am Augustin Greifenberg, I came to inherit property from my relative. — From which relative? — the woman became wary. “Here, you know, a lot of people come, show me something.” — Freundlich Greifenberg, here is the will. — Augustine handed the woman a folded paper. “I’m her nephew,” he said in a calm voice. “Ah-ah,” the woman said, opening her mouth. “This is the old woman who sat in her apartment all the time.” She was recently buried in the city cemetery. And we thought that she had no one. They already wanted to sell her living space. “The woman took out the keys and handed them to Augustine. He quickly took them and, saying goodbye, walked up the stairs, clicking his heels. The house was old, and there was no elevator; we had to walk up. A beautifully decorated entrance and wealthy neighbors — now all this was part of his past. The dusty, richly furnished apartment brought back memories for Augustine. He put down his suitcase and opened the heavy curtains — barely noticeable sunlight immediately filtered into the room. He needed to take a shower and meet up with old friends, of whom the city was full. Was he in vain to come here? The first person he recruited was Victor, with whom he became friends when Augustine came to the local school. Taking out the phone book from the nightstand, I dialed his home number. The voice of the telephone operator was heard. He was connected to the right address, the beeps on the receiver lasted a long time, then Augustine heard a familiar voice, although roughened. Victor asked who was calling. Augustine was confused. — Victor, it’s me, Augustine, remember me? Victor on the other end of the line immediately laughed. — Augustine?! What destinies are you calling me? Wait, how long have we not seen each other? About twelve years old, perhaps? After your departure from Austria, so much water has flown under the bridge! — Oh, yes, it was a very long time ago. I’m calling because I’m only here for a short time. If you want, we can see each other. I would be glad to meet you. — Augustine was short and quick in conversation with anyone. “Oh, of course, okay,” the interlocutor said, hesitating slightly. “Then let’s agree: today at eight.” I hope they will release me from the office and I will come to your house. Are you staying in the same place you lived before? — Yes, of course, I will wait. Victor was the first to hang up, and Augustine sighed sadly: they were neighbors and used to be very good friends. His parents were famous doctors in the city, and, being intelligent people, they helped his mother as best they could. The next number Augustine dialed was Reinhard, his former classmate with whom he sat at the same desk. Although they had a good relationship before, after leaving they stopped communicating. — Yes… Hello. — The cold voice at the other end of the telephone knocked Augustine out of his mood. It was as if it was not Reinhard; Augustine remembered his friend’s voice as kind and soft. — Hello, Reinhard. This is Augustine, remember me? “Augustine…” the voice said thoughtfully. — Whom I sat at the same desk with? — Well, yes. — Yes I remember. Why do you call? — Impudence and impoliteness immediately scared off Augustine. — I’m passing through Vienna. I wanted to clarify, maybe you would like to see each other? — No, it’s unlikely. — Reinhard hung up without even letting him say goodbye. Having received refusals from a couple of friends, Augustine realized that for now he would only meet with Victor. Augustine understood that a lot had changed during his departure, and most likely the people were no longer the same. But he still hoped that he had left good memories of himself. The day flew by unnoticed and quickly. While in the city, Augustine looked out the window and rummaged through a small library. He still remembered how, having arrived here with his mother, he could not adapt to the new environment. When they met Victor, at first he didn’t really want to get along with Augustine, but later they saw eye to eye, and Victor, a slightly arrogant and uncouth hooligan, became a good friend to such an exemplary boy. Augustine remembered how infrequently Agnes spoke with her mother, and their conversations always ended in a quarrel. Augustine also had no desire to build a friendly relationship with his mother. When they were about to leave back to Germany, before their father’s release from prison, his aunt once called him into the kitchen and said in a quiet, quiet voice: “Augustine, if you ever find out the whole truth about what happened to you and why you are now wandering around wherever possible, then I ask you, do not be angry with either your mother or your father. Just remember that me, Wilhelm and Anna tried our best. *** Street lamps quickly lit up, illuminating the streets of Vienna. Augustine sat in the officer’s cafe and watched the sun go below the horizon. Everyone around him was dressed in uniform, and the sophistication of this place was not to Augustine’s taste, but Victor insisted on the restaurant, apparently thinking that Augustine would be pleased to sit among his own people. He really wanted to take Augustine to an expensive place. - No one else will come? — Victor asked in surprise and disappointment, looking around him. Augustine placed an order at this time. “No, everyone else refused,” Augustine stated in a bored voice. — What happened, Victor? “It’s like I’m at home, but it’s like I’m in a foreign city,” he shrugged. His eyes no longer sparkled as before. — This is fine. We also feel like we are in a foreign city. After so many years, a lot has changed; Maybe it’s for the best that you didn’t dare come here for so long? — Lighting a cigarette and handing his interlocutor a lighter, Victor wondered how many years had passed since Augustine’s departure. “I don’t know, everything was so mixed up in my life, and these years flew by so quickly, and I didn’t even understand. First, the arrest of the mother, then the move here, then service at a school for the military, then… — He kept silent about Irene and service with Arthur. “And only now I came here, to the city where it all began. How have you lived all this time? — Augustine pours himself some wine brought by the waitress. “I wrote to you all this time, but for some reason I never received an answer.” I decided that you were angry with me for leaving so quickly then. “Well, how can I say…” Viktor said, shaking off the ashes and rubbing his eyes; he became pale and thin, beaten by life. Although it could not be said that, for all his crudeness, Victor was broken by life. “You know that we have always lived poorly, but we have always been kind to people, but in recent years things have worsened: my mother fell ill with pneumonia, and I was forced to go to work in the office of the administration. My father was arrested, and we sold that apartment — apparently that’s why you never received answers from me. No, I wasn’t angry with you, I knew that sooner or later you would return to your homeland, but I just didn’t know when… Okay, let’s not talk about sad things. — No, we’re not talking about sad things, we’re talking about life. You know, I would like to stay here longer. It always seemed to me that we shouldn’t have come back at all — it didn’t bode well, but here we are. — Augustine, it doesn’t matter. Just know that I’m glad to see you here today, and this evening will be good. — Switching the topic, Victor pointed to the stage, where the spotlight came on and the lights in the hall were turned off. — In any case, I brought you to this restaurant not by chance, the best singer is performing here, so listen, my friend. — Victor took a sip of wine from his glass. Augustine thanked him, and at that time the concert program began, for which all the spectators came. A petite young girl came onto the stage. Both in appearance and in voice she was similar to Irene in her best years. Augustine watched her sing enchantingly and remembered their best days with his beloved. Still, in the eyes of Augustine, no one could compare with Irene — there was something mysterious, enchanting about her, touching the farthest corners of the soul. When the girl finished singing, she was rewarded with a standing ovation. Other concert numbers followed, but the audience was not so interested in other artists. — How many days did you plan to stay? — Victor asked Augustine, sipping whiskey. — Doesn’t matter. — Augustine did not want to burden his friend with the details of his difficult situation. That evening, Augustine drank too much, and in his thoughts he indulged in worries about the heavy burden of complicity in murder. He remembered his carefree childhood, Alex, and thought a lot about Irene. In the end, Victor was able to chat him up about something light, and Augustine was able to relax. When they left the restaurant, Augustine could no longer stand on his feet, and Victor had to drag him home.