Читать книгу The Secret Life of the Two-Faced Virgin. Part 1 - Группа авторов - Страница 9

During the holidays, Natasha, her sister, and her brother were taken by their parents to spend time with their grandmothers in the village – her father’s mother, Pelageya Afanasyevna, who had become a widow during the war, and her younger sister, Irina Afanasyevna, who had never married and had no children. The village was situated on a hill, with the Sozh River flowing in the lowlands; there were also many lakes and a large forest. At that time, Natasha’s family did not yet have a car, so they had to travel by public bus. Natasha had an allergy to the damp smell of the house in which her grandmothers lived, so she often slept at neighbors’ homes. The grandmother’s house consisted of an entryway, a dining room, a kitchen, and one large room. There was a large stove and a resting platform in the kitchen. Natasha and her sister loved to sit there and often hid from their parents. The large room was divided by a single curtain, behind which were the beds of the two grandmothers. This room also had a stove. Against the wall were an old sofa and a newer one. Above the sofas hung various rugs depicting scenes from fairy tales: the Turnip and Puss in Boots. Rare portraits and framed photographs hung on the walls. Icons hung in the corner of the room, partially hidden by curtains. For some unknown reason, Natasha and her sister were afraid to be alone in this room, feeling as if someone were watching them. A slight chill would run over their bodies.

The grandmothers had a large household: two cows, several pigs, hens, and chicks. Natasha loved to play with the chicks and feed them. There were also several cats in the house, and Natasha would hide the chicks from them. For lunch, Natasha, her sister, and grandmother Irina would go down the hill to the pasture where the grandmother milked the cows. The cows gave a lot of milk, and the grandmother would carry back almost full ten-liter buckets. The grandmothers made homemade cottage cheese and butter from the milk, while some milk was delivered to the collective farm. They made butter from the cream, manually churning it in a jar until it reached the desired consistency.

The grandmothers also had a large garden and orchard, with many types of apple trees, currant and gooseberry bushes, and several irga bushes. There was a large strawberry patch. But the main part of the garden was occupied by potatoes, legumes, and vegetables. Natasha’s favorite spot in the garden was the strawberry patch. The flower beds had perennial flowers and lilacs. Natasha, her friends, and her sister often went into the forest to pick mushrooms and berries, or went to the village club to watch movies. The grandmothers’ household was a great help to Natasha’s parents. Her father would go twice a week by suburban bus to buy groceries. Grandmother Pelageya would bring a bag of products to the bus, and her father would take them home. This continued until grandmother Pelageya passed away, when Natasha was thirteen.

Once, an unpleasant incident occurred with Natasha in the village. She and her friends decided to go down the hill to ride horses, but at that time, local village boys around fifteen or sixteen years old arrived on horseback. They decided to scare Natasha and her friends and chased them on horses. One horse stepped on Natasha’s foot, striking her ankle bone. Her foot swelled terribly, and she could not walk. Natasha did not tell her parents that the horse had stepped on her foot. The doctor said it was just a bruise, although a bone fracture was possible.

Natasha’s favorite time in the village was the Kupala Night celebration. On this day, one could indulge in all sorts of mischief. The younger generation of the village, along with visitors from the cities, would gather in groups and play incredible pranks. Everything in sight – carts, horses, benches – was moved from one end of the village to the other. In the morning, all the villagers would search for their missing items. They also set various traps near the houses: ropes across doors, hanging containers of water that would spill on whoever opened the door or gate. Even though everyone knew this happened every year, no one bothered to hide their belongings. It was a festival of fun and games. The next morning, the entire village walked around, seeing what had been moved where.