Why That Name?

The main character’s name is Anton. Friends and family call him Tonyk. One day, during a trip out onto the river, Anton fell from the boat onto the raft, badly scraping his elbows and knees, and burst into tears. And his best friend, Tim, mocked him: “Like a little girl, To-o-onychka!” At home, Anton complained about his fate and his name, and his father told him the story of his name.

When Anton’s father was young, he worked the bread provisions on the virgin lands of Krasnodar Krai. One night, he got lost in the steppe. It was a glow from a kerosene lamp that guided him to shelter—one that Anton’s grandson, the boy, would light on the roof of their clay cottage. The lad was visiting his grandpa, enjoying steppe life, and taking care of random travelers, even though his grandpa grumbled about wasting kerosene.

In gratitude for that little light, for the bread and milk, for company and just for the kindness of his heart, Anton’s father named the newborn son Anton.

Tonyk thought about the story and wanted to help someone too, with a light. But there were many lights in the evening settlement. In the friend’s window, though, there was no light. The friend sat in the dark and felt miserable, because the boys had quarreled. By shining his flashlight into the dark window, Anton made it clear to his friend that he needed him.