Kalenyk began to smoke, and I noticed how his fingers trembled.
“...from scratch,” he repeated. “I thought I wouldn’t be able to finish it. Till finally it was ready two years ago, and we began to send signals. And recently they answered. They’re already flying here. Tonight they take us back to our home planet.”
“You too?”
“Me too.”
“But you have a family here...”
“But my homeland is there.”
“One that you barely remember.”
“I remember... I never stop dreaming of it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” “I couldn’t. I wasn’t sure whether our attempts to signal would succeed. I was already losing hope.”
“But then I would have never dared hunt the rab... that is, your... eh...”
“That’s why I tried to scare you. And not just you... I have a request. I want you to be there when they ar
