"Fire girl", "your whole life with you is like a volcano" - these were the words Maryana had heard all her life. But even the second phrase, most often uttered by her disgruntled mother, did not upset her at all.
For as long as she can remember, something always happened to her: Marjane fell down all the time, got lost several times, and once almost got hit by a car. The only emergencies that had somehow escaped Mariana were those related to fire.
- Probably because of your behavior, even the fire is afraid of you," her mother grinned. And Marjane suddenly thought for some reason:
- And why does everyone keep mentioning fire and volcanoes in their conversations with me? Maybe that's where I belong.
And then one day she got her chance.
The thing is, Maryana's dad was a geologist. He and her mother were divorced, but he still spent time with Maryana as often as he could, and sometimes even took her on expeditions. The first time this happened was when Marjane was almost eight years old. At that time she had just recovered from a broken arm, and while taking her on an expedition, her mother said:
- Well, look, Maxim, I've warned you. If anything happens to Maryana again, blame yourself.
- Can't I handle my own daughter?! - Dad got angry.
There's no telling how it would have ended, but then Marjane came in.
- Dad! I'm packed.
Daddy took Mariana and we left. The trip went great, Marjane didn't break anything and didn't do anything at all. Not least because of Daddy. She's always been easier with him than with her mom or grandma. It's probably because they're more restless.
From that time on, Dad started taking Maryana on expeditions whenever he could. He knew that Maryana was a fighting and brave girl who would not be afraid of anything. And that time he was even more convinced of it.
***
On the first day of vacation, the phone rang, and Maryana picked it up. It was Daddy.
- Daughter, hello! - he began cheerfully - I have a surprise for you. But first, tell me: how do you feel about volcanoes?
- Are we going to a place where there will be volcanoes?
- If you want to.
- I do?! I've been dreaming about this my whole life! Daddy, you're awesome!
- Well then, get ready, Super Maryasha, I'll pick you up soon.
Super Maryasha. Only one person called Maryana that. It turned out that they were really going to a place where there was just a huge number of volcanoes - Kamchatka. Along with them flew several colleagues and friends of Maryana's dad. Everyone knew her from childhood, so Maxim was not at all worried about his daughter.
There were several volcanoes not far from the village where their research station was located. And so they also watched the weather forecast: in addition to the usual information - sunny or not, cold or warm, windy or not, and the amount of precipitation - they also had to keep track of the volcanoes. Mariana was a smart girl, and she knew very well that it was dangerous to be near an erupting volcano. So she asked:
- Surely none of them will start erupting while we're here?
- Don't worry, Maryasha, we check them every day! - Uncle Misha, Dad's partner, assured her.
- And then, daughter, think about it: would I have taken you with me if I had known it could be dangerous? - Daddy added.
Marjane believed her father, and tried to reassure herself. But her fears were not in vain. Because two days later, she woke up early in the morning because Uncle Misha had woken her up.
- Uncle Misha, is something wrong? - she asked in a sleepy voice.
- It's not good, Maryash," he said with a breath, "We can't find your father.
- What do you mean we can't find him? Isn't he here?
It was only then that Maryana realized that if her father had been here, he would have woken her up himself. Maybe she wouldn't have had to be woken up at all.
Meanwhile, Uncle Misha continued. Contrary to predictions, it turned out that one of the volcanoes started erupting much earlier than expected. Marjana's dad didn't know that, so he left home. But now they were doing their work near the volcanoes! It was safe when the volcanoes were asleep, but now one of them was awake! Even though there was no earthquake, Marjane's dad was still in danger, and he needed to be found right away! So Marjane quickly got ready and ran to look for him.
At first she thought that Uncle Misha had mixed up something, and Daddy was somewhere in the yard, or even at the station. But after a quick run around, she realized that he really wasn't anywhere. So Maryana rushed to the place where the work was being done.
She ran a little less than a kilometer, and saw a picture: a large (as it seemed to her) volcano spewing lava flows, and her dad was nearby. When he saw her daughter, he shouted:
- Get out of here!
But Marjane, without knowing why, on the contrary, came even closer, and suddenly...the eruption subsided, and then stopped altogether.
No one ever realized what it was, or why the eruption had stopped when Maryana approached the volcano. When she told about it at school, no one believed her. But she still hasn't changed her dream, and still wants to become a geologist. And she still loves volcanoes. And by the way, her father was not hurt that time.
The end