“How long has it been since we saw each other,” he whispered eventually. “Must be forty years...”
“No, only ten.”
“You’ve confused something, Hrytsko... I was still young then, and now I’m an old man...”
“That’s not true!”
Lavrentiy released his visitor from his embrace and sat on the bed.
“It’s true,” he said quietly, dolefully. “There’s not a living speck left in my soul... You haven’t brought along a glass of anything, have you?”
“No.”
“Pity...”
“Why do you need that? You can barely stand on your feet as it is.”
“Ah, it’s all the same,” Kordet waved his hand. “At least I could befuddle my mind... If only you knew, Hryhoriy, how I’ve tired of life...”
He bowed his thickly overgrown head and dozed off, breathing frequently and with difficulty.
Hryhoriy sat down on the bench whi
