Chapter 5
I didn’t feel very well after my escapade with Irena. It seemed improper for me in relation to Yaryna, and although I wasn’t going to confess my sin to her, I wanted to see her. I found her home alone. There was nobody at the pub, and in half an hour she was supposed to close up shop.
“Howdy!” I greeted her but noticed her frowning lips.
“What do you want?” she asked dryly, hiding her gaze behind her squinting eyelids.
“I want you,” I said. “Has something happened?”
She was silent, as though plucking up her courage, and finally blurted out:
“It has. I, Pan Marko, am not waiting for those kinds of suitors. No, thank you. I’m not interested in birds of paradise.1”
“I don’t understand, who is a bird of paradise? Can it be me?”
“Well, it can’t be me.”
“Could you explain in m
