V dedinke na juhu Slovenska sa zima usadila.

In the village in the south of Slovensko, winter had settled in.

Bielo prikrytá krajina, domy s červenými strechami a tichá rieka vytvárali pokojný obraz.

The snow-covered landscape, houses with red roofs, and the silent river created a peaceful picture.

Ale ten deň pokojný nebol.

But that day was not peaceful.

V spoločenskom dome, kde sa voľby konali, panovala nervózna atmosféra.

In the community center where the elections were held, a nervous atmosphere prevailed.

Marek, vysoký a úzkostlivo presný, hľadel na stôl s volebnou krabicou.

Marek, tall and meticulously precise, stared at the table with the ballot box.

Všetky lístky musia byť presne spočítané, každé číslo musí sedieť.

All the ballots had to be counted precisely; every number had to match.

Jemu to proste nemohlo uniknúť.

He simply could not let anything slip by.

Na druhom konci miestnosti stála Zuzana s diktafónom.

At the other end of the room stood Zuzana with a recorder.

Hľadala príbeh.

She was looking for a story.

Vždy hľadala.

She was always looking.

Krátkovlasá, energická.

Short-haired, energetic.

“Niečo som počula,” šepkala Marekovi pri stole.

"I heard something," she whispered to Marek at the table.

“Chýba nám jeden lístok.

"We're missing a ballot."

”Marek zaskackal na mieste.

Marek twitched in place.

Všetko malo byť dokonalé.

Everything was supposed to be perfect.

“To nie je možné!

"That's not possible!"

” povedal rozhodne.

he said firmly.

Ale už cítil obavy.

But he was already feeling worried.

Nesmel to ignorovať.

He couldn't ignore it.

“Poďme sa pozrieť,” ponúkla Zuzana.

"Let's go take a look," Zuzana offered.

Nebolo času na rozmýšľanie.

There was no time to think.

Marek prikývol.

Marek nodded.

“Nesmie z toho byť rozruch,” dodal.

"There mustn't be a disturbance about this," he added.

Spolu začali prehľadávať každý kút.

Together, they began searching every corner.

Každý kút sedia.

Every corner meticulously.

Po chvíli našli balík novín pri okne, ktoré skoro zahltily snehové vločky.

After a while, they found a pile of newspapers by the window, nearly buried by snowflakes.

Staré, nepodstatné, ale niečo čudné trčalo medzi stránkami.

Old, insignificant, but something strange was sticking out between the pages.

“Pozri,” ukázala Zuzana na okraj papiera.

"Look," Zuzana pointed to the edge of the paper.

Marek rýchlo roztrhol stoh.

Marek quickly tore through the stack.

A tam bol, ten miznutý lístok.

And there it was, the missing ballot.

Ich dych sa konečne uvoľnil.

Their breath finally eased.

“Musel sa tam dostať omylom,” povedal Marek úľavne.

"It must have ended up there by mistake," Marek said with relief.

Marek ihneď lístok umiestnil na správne miesto.

Marek immediately placed the ballot in the correct spot.

Výsledky mohli byť konečne ohlásené.

Results could finally be announced.

Keď bolo všetko dokončené, Marek pocítil vďaku k Zuzane.

When everything was finished, Marek felt grateful to Zuzana.

Bez nej by to mohlo vyjsť najavo horším spôsobom.

Without her, it could have surfaced in a worse way.

“Niekedy je dôležité, že niekto pozoruje aj z iného uhla,” povedal Marek, keď všetko skončilo a ľudia sa začali rozchádzať.

"Sometimes it's important that someone observes from a different angle," Marek said when all was over and people began to leave.

“A niekedy musíme byť opatrní ako uverejňujeme fakty,” dodala Zuzana.

"And sometimes we must be careful how we publish facts," added Zuzana.

Tak sa spoločne obrátili k dverám, kde bola noc už úplne biela a pokojná.

Thus, they turned towards the door together, where the night was now completely white and calm.

V tejto malej dedinke už bolo všetko zase správne.

In this small village, everything was once again in order.