* * * * *
Driving, Marina kept her eyes at the road and noticed a hitchhiker. The young man was, about twenty years old, carrying a backpack and a guitar. He held up a sign with the name of his destination, but she did not read it, just stopped to pick him up. It did not matter to her where she went. He smiled, and threw his stuff onto the back seat. Their instruments hit each other and made a sound, and the youth said, «Wow.»
«Do you play the guitar?» he asked Marina, getting into the front seat.
«Yes, I do,» she smiled. This active guy looked so young, naive, and ingenuous that the girl sensed motherly feelings for him despite the fact they were about the same age.
«What a coincidence!» he exclaimed, overjoyed. «Will you play with me?»
He sang, but Marina only shook her head, for this song was unknown to her.
«You don’t know the camp’s anthem?» he wondered. «Are you going to the camp for the first time?»
«What camp?» Marina kept smiling.
Now it was his turn to be astonished. «I thought you read my sign…»
Marina snorted. «I’m a free person.» She sighed. «A little vacation. By the way, buddy, in this state it’s prohibited to travel by auto stop.»
«Really? Damn!» He scratched his head. «I come here every Independence Day, but nobody ever told me that. Thanks. Oh, sorry. My name is Pit, Pit Niles.»
«Marina Aleksandrova,» she replied.
«Marina?» he repeated. «Aleksandrova? Are you Russian?»
«Yes.» The girl was surprised. «How did you guess?»
«I know a Russian girl. If you would like to go with me to the camp, I’ll introduce her to you. An American family adopted and raised her, but she told me her original last name was Aleksandrova.»
Marina’s heart stopped for a second as she thought about her lost sister.
«It can’t be Masha; it’s just impossible,» her inner voice argued. «Don’t cherish this foolish hope. Russia is the biggest country in the world. Thousands of children had been adopted by foreigners.» Nevertheless, she could not keep herself from asking: «What is her first name?»
«Loo.»
Marina’s dreams were cast down. «Maybe her adoptive parents gave her another name?» she thought, trying to hold hope, and she asked Pit, «Is she a brunette?»
The image of her sister stayed in her mental vision. She clearly remembered Masha’s dark brown straight hair.
«No, she’s a curly-headed blonde, like you.»
«This is not her.» Marina felt depression. «Another joke of my Fate.»
Sighing, she drove away her thoughts about Masha. She addressed Pit, and began to inquire about the camp.
* * * * *
It was a typical summer camp. The tiny houses were placed in a semicircle near a lake, and the forest surrounded them.