第18期:桥(2)

Nina was my little sister. She was beautiful - much more beautiful than me, with her black hair and green eyes. And she was full of life, and clever too. There were always boyfriends at the door, but they changed all the time.

Then when she was eighteen, she began to study at the university. One day she came home with a smile on her face.

'What is it, Nina? ' I asked. 'You look excited about something. Or is it somebody? Tell me! ' 'I met someone today, ' she said happily. 'He's called Dragan and he's studying maths too. And he's. . . he's wonderful. '

'That's great, Nina, ' I said. 'Where in the city does he live? ' My sister did not answer this question. She began to talk about a party on Friday night.

I looked at her face carefully. I knew my little sister very well. 'Nina, ' I said. 'Come on, tell me. Where does Dragan live? '

Again, Nina said nothing, but I knew the answer. It was bad news - bad news for Nina, bad news for our parents, bad news for everyone.

Two weeks later, Nina brought Dragan to our house. Dragan was tall and dark, with bright eyes and a quick smile. He loved Nina, and she loved him - we could all see that.

Dragan had dinner with us, and then we had coffee and talked. Then my father spoke.