Intertwined Fates. Ariana Bazhenova

with a thick shock of red hair, raised a toast:

      – I wish you to find true female happiness!

      Many in our company were aware that a young and lonely girl had come to visit them. As usual, this did not go unnoticed, given the genuine interest in someone else’s personal life, which was considered the norm here, but repulsed me. Against my will, «matchmaking» seriously became an interesting activity for my colleagues.

      I indulgently smiled at these attempts to joke. My «one-room» heart was already taken. Lev unceremoniously registered there, who today did not think to help me carry the bags.

      If everyone around me is so concerned about the status of my personal life and thinks they can judge what is going on in my soul, who and why I might be interested in, I will play along. I will lay my cards on the table a little and introduce new variables into this game.

      By this time, the alcohol had already soaked into my blood and hit my head, painting a wide smile on my face, energy and a premonition that something was supposed to happen today were still raging inside. And a strange attraction to Leo did not let me sit still. It was decided – we will act further. I playfully adjusted my curly locks, turning to the boss, who wished me female happiness:

      – And I already have a candidate. Do you mind if I consult with you?

      Her face showed genuine surprise – she did not expect this answer, and we agreed to discuss this issue later. By that time, we had established mutual sympathy and trust.

      Meanwhile, a carefully cut cake was brought from the next room. I leaned over the candle in the shape of the number 22 and prepared to blow it out, making a wish. What could I spend my only whim of the year on? On this day, the Universe will definitely hear me.

      So be it, I will swing at a crazy dream, I will try to pluck from the sky a distant star, shimmering with a cold light. In any case, I have nothing to lose. I plunged into the relentlessly haunting premonition that my paths with Leo would soon converge by the will of fate. I felt how a feeling of strength was born in the solar plexus and how my body was filled with a strange warmth, causing tingling in the fingertips. A mischievous spark flashed in my eyes.

      «I want Leo to confess his love to me!» I mentally sent a wish to the Universe, putting all my energy into it, and blew out the candle. This wish seemed completely strange and impossible to fulfill. Why on earth would a married head of a software development department and an authoritative scientist confess his love to a girl who is ten years younger than him, who recently flew to St. Petersburg and has nothing to her name yet?

      So, on my birthday, I really did wish for the love of this unfamiliar and at the same time seemingly long-familiar man. I smiled – I felt that the Universe heard me. It was easy – after all, I did not expect it to come true, but immediately let go of the situation, resigned to the unreality of the wish. The Universe does not like when something is expected and demanded of it.

      A passionate and strong desire gives birth to its shadow in the soul of a person – the fear that nothing will work out. Desire and fear fight and simultaneously extinguish each other’s energy – therefore, the Universe does not receive a clear signal to fulfill the cherished dream. I put all my energy into a single desire and let it go without fear and expectations. And I will be pleasantly surprised if it comes true in strange and unknown ways for me.

      – What did you want to ask me about? – the boss came up to me after we finished the festive meal, gradually began to clean up and return to work.

      I went to a secluded corner in the already deserted hall of the administration and hesitated for a moment, clasping my hands tightly from excitement. Is it possible to share such things with the boss?

      – I wanted to ask you about one person, – I exhaled and blurted out: – I like Lev Alexandrovich.

      She looked at me again in surprise. Of course, I already understood that, despite Lev’s authority as a scientist, he could communicate with many from the position of a confused and detached person, creating the impression of a mad genius, not of this world.

      Tarot cards and heightened intuition have already allowed me to understand his character. Leo loved to shock people, to provoke their emotions with crude jokes, to tear off their masks, to find their sore spots and to tease them deliberately. In work matters, in the realm of intellect, he felt free and confident, indiscriminately throwing himself into intellectual duels, quickly thinking and cutting the Gordian knots of complex problems on the go – a real Knight of Swords. But in real life, he often retreated in confusion, like today. He hastily put on his masks, which he had recently tried to remove from others. And I felt how much he missed the Queen of Wands for the pair dance – a bright personality, confidently looking forward and dashingly maneuvering between human passions and intrigues. Such a woman looks into the very essence of a person’s soul, bypassing all masks and images. Maybe that’s why I immediately saw behind this «strange scientist» a whole and honest person, a pure, bright and familiar soul, ready to flare up with the fire of mutual interest and love. But he will hide this fact for a long time behind indifference or jokes, sometimes rude, and only the wise gaze of the Queen of Wands into the very heart of the Knight of Swords will not allow them both to go astray.

      – Kira, he’s married! – the boss frowned, abruptly tearing me out of my romantic dreams.

      She turned to the window – as soon as I mentioned Lev, he walked past us on the other side, down the street, as always, carrying some documents and happily waving his hand at us. I smiled back, and a wave of warmth flooded my heart. She continued:

      – He’s married to one of the employees, Christina… You know, it’s much more difficult to take away a married man, think about it.

      I had already bowed my head, preparing to shamefully confess my sympathy for a married man and promise to refuse to think about him, but her words left me stunned.

      So, after all, there is hope?.. And yet – how can I think about such a thing?

      – Oh, I see… It’s a pity, – I tried to portray sincere surprise and disappointment at this news, as if I was hearing it for the first time. Now the hope that the ring on the ring finger was just an ornament, a tribute to fashion or a symbol of something else had definitely disappeared. I took a deep breath and quickly put on a polite smile.

      – Thank you for the conversation. Then it’s time to get back to work.

      I returned to my desk and immersed myself in work. I had a difficult task ahead of me – to find TV channels where top management representatives could give a speech about the importance of developing a new generation of programs. And to prepare a press release.

      Suddenly, a brilliant idea, in my opinion, sparkled in my head. The development directly concerned a new project for the development of software for safe industrial production in Russia, and no one could give me more valuable advice on the search than Lev. I could not hold back a joyful smile – a little more, and I would have shouted: «Eureka!»

      Our story, no matter how you twist it, should begin today – it has already begun with a comment at the security post. And now I will take my step forward, marking our communication with a business start – together we will discuss the strategy of the presentation, which I can offer to the channels.

      I am so beautiful today, the wine is so intoxicating, my table is decorated with lush bouquets – how can luck not smile on me on this day?

      With my heart sinking from excitement, I sent Lev a letter asking for help to put together a short program of the presentation about a new type