                           Sviatoslav Loginov

                            WIND FROM THE SEA

   By the evening the Wind from the Sea has risen. It hurled waves
at the shore and sprayed water, white salty dust, smells of iodium
and hydrogen  sulphide.  Towards the wind flew  the  Sheets.  They 
appeared from  nowhere,  right from  the Wind and flew against it, 
gathering in flocks and scattering,  but always against the wind - 
to the sea.
   The wind was blowing all  the night  and  subsided  only in the 
morning. And then Karel returned. No one expected him,  the search 
group  had  already  been formed  and his mates  had  honoured his 
memory,  when he arrived  at the  station,  put his rover into the 
hangar and entered  as if nothing  had  happened.   There was only 
something  about his  face  -  a joyfully  amazed  expression  and 
something that made even  Zon Snow,  who grew old in space and had 
seen many a thing, avert hastily.
   The fact of Karel returning was obscure and a bit eerie. No one 
had survived the Wind from  the Sea as yet.  The Wind did not kill 
bodies,  but it did  irrevocably quench mind,  the people becoming 
not even animals,  but rather dolls;  no one  knew  what became of 
them, as well as no one knew what is The Wind from the Sea.
   But now there  was Karel,  remaining human.  He was sleeping in 
his room  and  all but  the doctor  were  prohibited to enter. The 
doctor said, exiting the room,  that Karel was having a dream, and 
that it was good, and that he was not to be awakened if he did not 
awaken himself, and that his sanity was not guaranteed, because if 
a man has such a face...
   Karel awakened towards the evening and immediately, not minding 
his mates, started to prepare for going out.
   "Where are you heading, Karik?"  asked Zon,  who was on duty in 
this shift.
   "To the shore",  unexpectedly  answered  Karel,  "The Wind will 
begin now, I need to be at the shore."
   "The Wind will not begin,  it never  goes on for  two days, and 
you  cannot  leave  the station  -  you are not quite well. Do you 
remember what happened to you?"
   "I do. There  was  the  Wind,  and they told me to go out again 
today"
   "Who? The Sheets?"
   "No, not the Sheets.  The inhabitants.  When there is Wind from 
the Sea,  they are intellingent.  They saved me,  but they have to 
finish the healing and arrange the meetings,  because they can not 
create the Wind often.
   "Karik, you understand you are sick, don't you? You have simply
hallucinated.  There are  no inhabitants here.  At all.  Even  the 
Sheets are not alive; the planet is dead!"
   "It is now,  but the Wind from the Sea will begin soon.  I have 
to go."
   Karel moved  towards the exit,  but the doctor rapidly  stepped 
forward and pressed  the injector to his neck.  Karel swayed;  the 
doctor dextrously catched him and dragged to the chair.
   "Nevermind," he said,  "It is not that bad, I feared the worst, 
but this can be healed.  The important thing is that he remained a 
personality,  the rest is a matter of medicine.  I suppose in half 
a year he will  be here again;  of course,  if he  would  want  to 
return..."
   "And by the evening the Wind from the Sea has risen. The Sheets 
flew out towards it.  They  gathered  in flocks,  circled upon the 
station entrance,  as if  awaiting someone,  and then flew away to 
the sound  of the  waves.  All night  long the Wind  cried  in the 
entwined antennae and subsided only in the morning.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
This work  is  being distributed in electronic form  with  copyright 
holder's knowledge and consent  on  non-commercial  basis as long as 
the integrity and invariability of the text is maintained, including
this notification. Any commercial use of this text without copyright
holder's knowledge and direct consent IS NOT ALLOWED.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

(c) Sviatoslav Loginov, 1981
(c) Translation from Russian - Denis Lianda, 2002
(c) Proofreading - Faina Khait, 2002
