From that day on, she took the novel with her everywhere.
When she was tending the flocks together with Ataq, she moved away from him so that he wouldn’t see the book she was reading.
When she found unfamiliar words while reading, she ran to Aina Apa with her questions in the evenings. Auntie admired how quickly she read it and her curiosity, because every day Saule had marked words on the next 100 pages.
But Ataq didn’t like how she had been avoiding his company lately. Previously, she had tired him with questions and suggestions that they do something together. Now she was sitting on the other side of the herd, looking down at something, and she even stopped riding her horse.
Today she didn’t notice as the flock went beyond their boundary, a line made out of small stones. She had to send them back in Ataq’s direction.
“If she can’t cope with such a small thing, then she’s forgotten how loudly I can swear,” thought the young man.
And indeed, she was sitting completely alone, staring down at something... she didn’t even notice how the sheep were milling randomly around her as she sat among them.
The girl saw Ataq when he was only 20 yards away. With just enough time to hide the book, she suddenly caught a menacing look from a pissed-off guy and she immediately understood the reason for his anger.
There was nothing to do but to stay put...
She innocently sat cross-legged before this strong man, a defenseless woman looking at him with raised eyebrows.
Coming closer to her, his mind was filled with tender thoughts: “Oh, how beautiful she is when she raises her eyes to me... And her hair is backlit by the sun...”
He stood in front of her while she prepared herself to listen to his accusations and scolding.
Ataq: -You know that it’s too early to have the herd in this area because…
Saule: -…Because we herded them here three days ago and the grass has not yet had time to grow back.
He: - And so what are you looking at?
She: - Uh…
He: - Are you sick? You’ve been behaving very strangely these days.
She: -Yes, I’m sick... I mean, I’m bored: Every day is the same.
He: - You’re starting to avoid me quite often. Have I offended you?
She: - Yes, I’m offended. We’ve spent so much time living under the same roof, and you don’t pay any attention to me.
He: - Why should I pay attention to you?
She: - Before, somehow, you took care of me, trying to stay close. What if wolves try to eat me? And there’s not enough time for you to come running?
He: - What is this nonsense? Who said that I am watching you at all? Apparently spring is affecting you…
She: - Here you have a hunting eagle and I don’t. If I could just be allowed to go hunting with it.
He: - Each hunter must tame his own golden eagle and teach it to hunt. If you really want to, we can go tomorrow to those high mountains where there is a nest of chicks. But it will be very difficult to get one...
The girl didn’t need to listen any further, because she knew everything about Qazaq customs from the novel she had just finished reading. She was just diverting his attention so he wouldn’t see the book.
She looked him in the eye but she wasn’t really listening; she just heard him talking.
For her it was interesting to observe that he talked to her using a simplified vocabulary in contrast with her current vocabulary.
She mentally supplemented his talk with words she had learned about Qazaq traditional hunting.
She thought it was funny that he, like a child, ‘bought’ her pretending to be just a silly young foal. She struggled to keep a smile off her face.
The last words she heard were: “Well, tomorrow we’re going into the mountains. Don’t forget to bring all the things that I’ve listed!”
She had no idea what things he had listed. It didn’t matter, because she knew as well as anyone what things were needed for hunting.
“When he wakes up tomorrow morning, he will realize that it’s the 21st of March, the Nauryz holiday. He’s a fool; he doesn’t even remember it,” the girl thought.
She jumped on her horse with cries of laughter and rushed after the herd to call him back.
