L 219 F

It is on the third of June in 1992. The telephone rings.

" Jane ? How are you?"

"Dad? I'm fine , thanks. And you?"

'Thanks. Jane, happy birthday! Tha call is because I have forgotten to buy flowers. You know, I was in the cemetery at your mother's tomb and I was talking to her for such a long time that
it was evening when I got home. So, I could not buy you anything but to give you my best wishes."

" Thanks. It is like a flower to me. You know in the army almost everyone sent me a red rose but none of them was as beautiful as your wish for happy birthday."

"Darling, would you come to your dad the day after tomorrow? What about celebrating your birthday in a friendly company?"

"All right, dad. As you want. But tomorrow evening Iam going to fly with Kate, you know with that F-117A which had something to repaire in the data recording system."

"Nice. My daughter is a pilot, my son is a businessman. If your mother lived she would make my face squared with her own nails."

"Father, you are great. Let me have a break. Bye!"

She put down the receiver and looked at the clock. It was almost midnight. For her tomorrow will be a hard day, the first test of the data recording system. She began thinking about the system. If it does not function she depends only on the earth control. It did not work always. There is for example the case of her father. He began his service in the army in 1947 with the last model of the ME 163 fighter. It is an old and very dangerous type. The probability that the aircraft catch fire is in a very high percentage. The place of the tank is the worst that can be imagined to say nothing of the pilot's position. When her father's aircraft was taking off one of the wings got on fire. After it her father decided on continuing the taking off and he
succeeded carrying out his task. At landing the only problem was that he was unable to leave the plane so his left leg stucked in and burnt. On this way he was not capable to continue flying so he had to retire.

This happened many years ago. But as she put back the receiver Jane had a very bed feeling. It was similar to that feeling when she and her father flew together at the first time.

Her mother was crying and did not want to watch the event. So she went away in the street to take a taxi and went home. They remained alone. She was frightened. The only question she asked from her father was why her mother went away. Instead of the answer her father pushed her into the cab than she could feel that the aircraft started very slowly than became faster and faster. Suddenly lots of spotlights appeared in front of her and she was siezed with such a fear that she had to close her eyes and was unable to move any more. Then she heard her father ordering her continuosly to open her eyes. When she did it she saw the most beautiful thing that can be seen in the world. The green medows below her and the rivers like a blue ribbon. The whole picture was similar to the one she saw in her story-books.

It was a wonderful experience.

Than the picture became obscurer continuosly and the picture of the yard appeared among the barracks. It remained in her mind almost uneffaceably with its red slag where every morning they had to run great circles on bare-foot and thousands of press-up were required in order to make the body strong as Mr Brown, the captain noticed every occasion. It is such a tiering exercise, she never loved it.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen. You are listening to channel seven."

It is the reality-she realized in her awakening moment. "Why on earth should I go back in the army?"-asked herself. "Just do it."-heard her father's voice as clearly as at the first
flying. Slowly, very slowly she crawled from the bed then took her uniform that layed on the sofa where she put it two days ago. It was time to go.

At the gate Jim was on the guard so after a kiss she could go on. She presented herself at the post to give the daily order. Coming back to her barrack she stopped at the door and looked
very surprised. The daily order did not contain the test-flying but an order to go in the cemetry for the funeral of captain Brown. He tested the aircraft instead of her. During taking off
one wing of the plane caught fire and the whole machine became a fire- bird. He had enough time to jump out but his parachute was not so strong to bear his weight. Its straps opened at his thighs and he fell down as an object from a height of more than 12000 km. He died on the spot. At his funeral the quality of the FX-10 parachute was not mentioned only his courage that drove him into death. At that moment she thought over the possibility that she could have died on the similar way but at the same time she remembered the feeling of being in the air and seeing the earth like a story-book picture and forgetting everything that is going on the earth. As she thought this the volley could be heard and then the dull sound of the clods.

Arriving back to the barrack she wished for flying. She started the engine of the plane and went higher and higher not noticing that the engine did not function periodically but the
only thing she could concentrate on was to forget everything.

L 185 F

Father O'Ryan arrived in Evillage on October 17. Despite that the place was situated on the North, this October kept the warmth and atmosphere of July. The father had always longed for a calm little village with a desperate congregation and for a cosy little vicarage with a bearably cold weather. This is exactly how Evillage looked like. The only blot the village had was a legend of Satan's appearance and of some local priest taken by him. But the people found no interest in the legend so it was long forgotten.

So, father O'Ryan felt very lucky to get to a place like that since he could've never proved in a confrontation with atheists. He never really had the ability of convincing. But this job really fitted him. He dealt with people who already believed in God and in addition were filled with patriotism. He must've believed in God because faith allowed no thinking, no reasoning and no revising. The father loved harmony so deeply that he - besides counting the donations - had never used his brain for issues other than believing in God and the Bible.

Days passed and the people of Evillage got used to the new priest, and the first teasing pieces of gossip died away. But one day - though didn't intend still - he had to realize that something strange had been going on in the church. He always heard a weird noise that sounded like someone's sigh.

On one of his average Tuesdays a stranger entered the church. The man had long hair, long nails, wore a furcoat and had that terribly foul smell coming out from his mouth. As it turned out he was Jean de Vil from a French university. He introduced himself as a historian and said that he was interested in that old legend concerning Satan. Actually he wanted to compile a book of opinions about why the people thought the priest was taken. He mainly wanted to know how O'Ryan felt about it. As he confessed that he'd never been thinking about it Mr de Vil asked him for conversations. The father agreed and the time was set. They met on every Tuesday and were talking about the legend.

If father O'Ryan had been careful he would've seen that the real issue was always mislead. Mr de Vil usually talked about controversies in the Bible. He apparently seemed to be puzzled about why God had such a lavish residing place while not allowing prosperity. Then he couldn't imagine why he had forbidden gaining knowledge from "those two trees". And anyway why doesn't he disapprove evil on Earth? Why can't a non-believer though honest and helpful man be equal to a believer? How come that the loving of God is the overall criterion? The father also would've attached importance to the fact that when Mr de Vil was with him in the church - this is where he wanted to meet O'Ryan - the sigh could not be heard.

But from time to time O'Ryan had to notice that his turning to the Bible got rational and doubtful. He would even criticize God when preaching. He had seen Mr de Vil no longer but could never get him out of his mind. The people of Evillage turned about face and avoided him. And one day leaving his properties behind father O'Ryan disappeared. The very next day the gossip was born about Satan taking him.

Father McCarthy arrived in Evillage on March 19. Despite that the place was situated on the North...