She had to do something today! Something special, what will make somebody happy. What it could be? The girl could wash all floors in the grandma’s house, but she was doing this almost every day- this is not be a happiness for grandma. The girl wanted to share her high flying feelings with somebody actively-today was a first day since she was discharged from a hospital. She hated be far from home, seriously, she was going insane without her grandma, sister, aunt, and her close friend Yuri. They had been playing in a mutual yard for almost two years, almost every day. The boy was quiet, nice, never created any problem, never complained to his parents, even when he had a reason for, and he was always agreed, which was nice of him. He was agreed what game they will play next hour or so, he was agreed when she offered to eat black rye bread with salt and had water from KOLONKA- which was absolutely forbidden by parents – the water was cold, even teeth hurt while was drinking. She needed company as his very much because she didn’t like to push anybody for anything, but also she liked to have a company for her own plans and to not spend a lot of time to convince the other side to participate these plans. Now she had a lot of plans- almost one month in a close place as an Infection Hospital as a patient of dysentery made her desperate to act- do some incredible act of satisfaction! It will be act of doing something to somebody close as a relative, friend, or sole mate. So, Yuri was a friend, sole mate, almost a relative. He will be a person to be satisfied. It was decided already. Period.
But what it will be? She imagined him to bleed to death, injured by some German’s bullet in a WWII. Here he is- lying on a dirty ground, can not breath, his blood is almost finished- he is almost dead! No, the war was ended in 1945, and Yuri and the girl were born in 1961. No way, this variant didn’t work. Let’s think. Ok, it could be pirates! Yes, the pirates or Indians! They recently read Fennimore Cupper’s books of Montigomo and the Last Mohican. It’s a good choice. Yuri could be caught by the Indians; they were trying to take his scalp! The girl was behind the tree, covered by lianas, nobody was able to recognize her. Great! Invisible by enemies, she will do her best to do not jeopardize her friend’s life and scalp- probably in a future she will need a husband along with his blond scalp! No, better be pirates. They are not that smart and sneaky. They able the victim to escape from their supervision and they always were drunk what made them easy been manipulated. Ok, here Yuri is, staying on the board proudly, with his chin up! How handsome he is! He is looking at a horizon, because the pirates do not deserve even to look at them- they are dirty, stupid, toothless, and arrogant, as usual- the girl saw at lot of them in the movies. Let us go ahead.
She noticed that when the time for Yuri freedom was coming- she changed the kind of enemy, which made her feel bad. Is she scared of all of these crap- pirates, Indians, Germans, WWII, and so on? No, it couldn’t be, she considered herself as a smart and brave, by definition she couldn’t be a spy, but only a fighter! It was difficult to discover the point of fear. Finally, changed a lot of different kinds of enemies, the girl discovered that she doesn’t know how to fight a men! Actually, she even wouldn’t be able to hurt nobody, even though it was a man or women, with no difference was it a friend or an enemy. She always stopped on this point in her dreams- she had to defense somebody, but she wasn’t able to make any harm to whomever else. It made her desperate- she felt as her personality was splitting in two: the wish and the ability weren’t together. As in Georgian’s toast she heard on the table full of guests, - one man had an ability to buy a goat, but never had a desire, and he had a desire to buy a house, but never had ability. Let us drink for our abilities to have an ability to make our desires come true. She warmly agreed with this thought. So, she had a desire to do something extraordinary nice to Yuri, but what was her ability? What she can do? She could feed him posi- something incredibly delicious Asian meat bolls, wrapped in thin piece of dough and cooked on steam in a special pot- but had done by her grand ma, not by her. She can not allow herself to use her grandma as a middleman between them. She could dance or sing to him- but where is guarantee that Yuri will understand that it’s an act of something great and beautiful? He could take it as an insult. She can cut the hair very nice: her new doll, given to her a birthday present, was looking very modern with this new hair- the girl did the hair stile. Honestly, she wasn’t sure how her mom will accept these changes at the doll: new, shorter hair, covered with a mother’s finished spray; the new lips-made brightly red with borrowed from her auntie’s French enamel; the lashes-they were too bushy-were fixed with a tweezers and shaped by the same tweezers, warmed on kitchen stove. Yes, the doll’s look had changed and a girl liked it- it wasn’t the usual t doll anymore- it was a star, a princess, an actress- whatever you pick up! Even the mole on the cheek, made by the chemical pencil, was exactly as the famous actress’s mole. The girl knew that these “birthmarks” ladies used as the signs: on the right cheek means happy marriage, on the left -poverty, on the chin- success- she read it in one very interesting book of an author with a French name. Actually, she couldn’t understand almost anything what was going on between the personages, but she remembered what moles did mean; also she noticed that these people from the book were wearing a lot of clothes at the same time- what it was for- she questioned herself? And she noticed that all of them, actually, didn’t work: they woke up at the middle of the day, some maid brought the breakfast into the bad- her grand ma would kill her if Ina was eating in the bed! Then these people were dressing themselves for hours with the maid’s help: some of them brought the boots, some –other piece of many other pieces of clothes, some- the gorgeous hats with bouquets of flowers for the women and Straus feathers for the men. Sometimes the women’s hats could have a shape of fruit basket in a natural size; sometimes they were in a form of a bird nest with a real bird inside-stuffed one, off course. So, she couldn’t understand why all these people supposed to have a maids to dress them if nobody was disabled or old? Just the opposite! Late afternoon, all those too much dressed women and men ordered to poor maids to harness the horses and run to the palaces for dancing and making dirty, dangerous intrigues to each other: very often they poisoned each other possessions or hired the killers, and what it was for? For some interested look from the king or Quinn side. It was ridiculous from the girl’s point of view; she considered this crowd of egoists as useless. She only could apply their existence for the fairy tails: all of them- man and women- looked very nice in the dreams: colorful crowd on the background of a good, poor girl by the hand with a hansom and loving prince. She was too young and inexperienced in life to realize that this poor girl would be murdered probably at the first convenient for the crowd moment. Also she couldn’t imagine that it was even possible for Prince to not be able to protect her, or to have a wish to save a new cooked princess at list
This day Ina needed a Prince. Who it will be? Who is near her? Yuri was- no other pretender on the Prince post allowed. Let him be a Prince for today. The feeling of gratefulness overflowing the girl- she needed the action to be done, some good action which will make somebody fulfilled as she was. She wasn’t able to be alone in the happiness. Yes! She had the answer! She will cut Yuri’s hair- here she is! It will be done artistically, not as his hair was done now: with a form as on his head was placed a pot and his mom cut the blond, thin hair by the edge. Run, Ina, run and ask him to come home. Unconsciously, Ira suspected that she has to make Yuri handsome in her grand ma home. There were two houses on a huge, surrounded by wooden barrier space, big enough for two wide Siberian houses to be placed with an outside restroom, two vegetable gardens, and plenty berry bushes. No fruit trees were grown there- a Siberian climate allowed to survive only firs and TOPOL. The little reddish-yellow, sour apples were growing on the bushes named ranetki- grand ma was boiling a great comfiture from them at august, when ranetki were ready for consuming. Also cucumbers and tomatoes were in a vegetable garden under the kitchen’s window: the cucumbers were going for the winter’s pickles, but tomatoes suppose to be collected before the early froze were coming-they were going to be placed under the big grand’s bad on the newspapers to get a red color. Then al of them would be pickled, too. To survive through the winter was always in everybody’s Siberian head-if you weren’t well prepared for the nine months frozen air, snow over you head, and empty vegetable shops- at spring you will be sick of avitaminoz. That’s why grand parents always have had vegetable’s gardens to take care of the family’s vitamins: for three warm months –June, July, and August-they usually feel out four big wooden pots: one with a chopped pickled cabbage, one with pickled tomatoes, one with the cucumbers, and one with a forest’s mushrooms-it was a rule. Grand pa was buying potatoes from the collective farm on bunches because at winter the only potatoes they could buy were frozen from the vegetable’s hop, which were the cold, smelly paces with many vegetables mostly rotted- they were collected at the collective farms fields, taken by trucks with no packing, then they were unloaded in the bases for sorting- half of them were spoiled there. Then vegetables went to shops, partially rotted. So, the result was that people, especially these with cars, preferred go to the country side and buy little more expensive fresh products instead from the shop. That’s why the basement was a very important part of the house- it was a “life space”, and, usually, it was the biggest place in the house, and the additional convenience was- it was empty from the family members practically always. Only grand ma was a full hostess here. So, now she was at work in a hospital and the basement was free to be used for a barbershop. Yes!
The place was found, now the boy had to be assured to come in a temporarily barbershop. Ina perfectly understood that her favor could be misinterpreted by Yuri’s mother before she will be able to see his son improved look, therefore Ina run to their house, kneeled on the ground before the potato’s green bush and carefully start observe every leave. Very soon Yuri came alone:”What’s going on? Something interesting found?” “Look, look here- is a Colorado beetle, see? Black and white lines! Can’t you see?”
“No, I can not! Where it is?”
“Oh, it’s gone! While you are looking at the wrong place- it’s gone! The reason is your long bank, for sure! Let me cut it nicely- you’ll see how handsome you could be! But not with your hair now! It will take only a minute. I have a scissors home. Come with me!”
Yuri wasn’t sure what to do: in one hand, he liked the girl very much; secondly, she was a friend-he must believe a friend; third, the most important part of the thoughts was his mom- she would never allowed Ina to touch his hair- he was sure in it. His mom always talked about the girl in a suspicious voice- he never understood why. Once he had heard his mom was telling his father that the girl’s brain was too inventible for to be safe. What this did mean? Yuri was awaked by Ina’s whisper:”So?” He told himself:”Hair is not the teeth-it grows.” And pronounced:”Let’s go.”
Ina felt the approaching a happiness- she imagined how nice she will show the skills in shaping a hair on real person, not at the dolls anymore. Then, she will make her friend’s hair as she wanted it to be. And, finally, she will prove his mother that she can make something beautiful, not as a last time, not for purpose, Ina tore the rope with washed clothes at the back yard-she needed to escape from the other team’s “hunters”, so the rope helped to made a turn. Who knew that it was old and tore that easily? Is this could be a reason some person to hate other because she didn’t want to be “killed”? But, it’s ok, very soon Ina will be forgiven. Just wait!
The scissors were ready, she prepared them earlier. Here was a piece of cloth, borrowed from grand mother’s wardrobe, and a glass of water to wet the hair. Ina didn’t have much time to her family start come home one by one, she had to hurry. Yuri permitted her to wet a hair and realized that it’s very cold in a basement- his head start even hurt of freezing. He complained, she told him to be a man. He tried to be but it was not easy. Actually, both of them suffered: he was cold and she saw that the natural hair is very different from synthetic’s one. It was a titanic work- to make both sides of Yuri’s hair to be in harmony: one side always was shorter. Finally, she got the proportion, but it was late- there was no much hair left. He was looking in her eyes with a hope, that everything is nice on his head, but she couldn’t give him this hope. She couldn’t lie about obvious things. It was defeat. They left the basement silently, not looking at each other. She wanted better die than see Yuri’s mother.
Everybody was home, prepared for the supper. Grand ma was a warrior at a kitchen; doing many dishes at the same time; two daughters and granddaughter Ina were running between a kitchen and a dinning room with dishes, forks, and rye bread, glasses. Grand father was circling near the kitchen- he was hungry, but waiting for the invitation. The noise from outside made them took a look throw the window.
The neighbor were pulling her son toward their house, he was wearing his hat, stretched to the brows, and was trying to resist her. Both of them were noisy: he was crying and she was yelling at him. Grand pa opened the door. “Look, just look what your Ina did to him!”-Lady took his hat off, regardless the boy’s fight,-“You must punish her. Your grand daughter is a hooligan!” Grandfather’s face turned brightly red. “Ina!!-he cried,-come here!!”. “What’s wrong with you? Why did you do this to him? Answer right away! You will not eat today! Nobody in my house will talk to you if you do not apologize to Yuri and his mother!” The girl’s heart was freezing for an hour to this moment, so, then it was a piece of ice, she was almost unconscious. “I came home from work- he is wearing the hat. I ask him why, its cold- he replied,”-the Lady continued crying out,-“We went to the table for supper-he had been having this stupid hat again! I took it off, my God! I even didn’t ask him who did it to him- I knew! It’s she, nobody else!”
Suddenly, the girl felt insulted by these words- why she always was blamed for everything? The God is a witness that she never wished somebody bad luck, always was ready to help. She was the only one, who walked her girl friends home in darkness and run home alone- because she was brave, it was her image. She never complained for nothing-she was dressed poorly: her mom was a professor in chemistry in the University and single mom with two daughters, which in reality means they barely had enough to eat with the grandparents help- the teacher’s salary in Russia was a subject of anecdotes for the people, who were close to the “material” sphere: even little children at school were proud of their parents if they were workers, or butchers, or sellers in the shops. That meant a lot: they had been living a much better life with a delicious meals and nice clothes which supposed to be over paid under counter. It was a world of favors: everybody was trying to make a favors because “you never know” when and what you will need and not be able to find on-time, even the medicines. After all given favors was coming the time for returned favors. It was a very strange society: the grocery stores were having the almost empty shelves, exclude boxes with salt and Georgian adjika- spycies in the cans, milk in a glass bottles and bread. Sometimes, as a big holiday, there were a blue, skinny chickens on a low price, but unreachable for the girl’s family-when the battle for the chickens were in a process, all adults were in their jobs. That’s why Ina was always asking herself a bunch of questions as: How come that people are wearing clothes which never appear in the shops? Why neighbors are always having a meat for the soup-the smell from their front door can not be hidden- and in her family it happen very rarely? Does it mean that her mom is not that smart as the neighbor’s boy mom? Does it mean that to be a professor is a shame profession? If it is not, why people were telling with a laugh:”Is your mother live on a salary?” She was generally mixed up but been sure- something wrong is going on, but what it was- she couldn’t understand. Adults, who were living their life’s of favors were living much more comfortable life’s ten others, who were following the main idea of socialism: be honest, opened, believe in a better feature of the human beans, do not steal, do not lie- actually there were the ten amendments from the Bible, as Ina’s grand-grand ma told. Good, why this second category of people and their families were starving sometimes, never went to a Black Sea for vocation, and were wearing boots from a synthetic material, produced in the motherhood, because they were not be able to afford the leather ones, made in Germany? Artificial boots were having the ugly view and been tore by walking in a terrible coldness- probably , the girl thought, the person who had this idea –producing these stupid, one time boots- never been in a chemistry class or had been having bad grade?
All unfairness over floated Ina’s head at once: this lady, Yura’s mom, is talking about what is right and what is wrong? This lady, who is a chief in a kindergarten’s kitchen, who is coming home through whole their area, all neighbors with heavy bags full of stolen ingredients from their own children, and nobody dared to tell her anything? Suddenly, Ina realized that adults are very frigled, scared of something, which she couldn’t understand. They were telling something, thinking and doing something else in the same time. It was difficult for them, but impossible for her, at least for this age. Girl’s head was empty of fear- she had a strong respect in her grand father, but she couldn’t tell this woman:”I am sorry!” So, she was silent. Grand father insisted two more times, finally, very angry, sent her in the bedroom to face a corner, with no supper, with a very serious aware: nobody had to talk to a girl to a moment, when she apologized. She was there for hours, no apology. Later, grand father sent her to sleep-he was furious at Ina, but, as he told, “I can not kill her!”
Next day she apologized to Youri. Thanks God, he liked his head shaved: “I look as a solder”
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