Flight

Yury Mikhailovich Pushkaryov is preparing for a flight on the “Newport.” He is an experienced officer-pilot. Over a year and a half, he has already made twenty-eight takeoffs—exactly as many as his age—and he is still alive, hasn’t crashed, hasn’t broken his legs or arms like others. The day of the flight began with happy omens. There were two: a ray of early sunlight that slipped into the dark room where Yury Mikhailovich slept with his wife, and an extraordinarily bright, thrilling dream he had dreamed just before waking.