Читать книгу Games of imagination - Сусанна Арутюнян - Страница 4

Several days passed. Everything went as good as possible for Solnishko. She didn’t have to go to kindergarten which was closed connected with the flu epidemic. It was too cold outside and it was impossible to go for a walk. In a word, the girl passed all her time with her family, in the most favorite atmosphere for her. It should be mentioned that Solnishko liked her flat, her room, her books, toys, DVD and audio discs very much. Sometimes it seemed to be very difficult “to take her out” for somewhere. Very often she had to be persuaded, for being interested in anything. But when she went out she didn’t want to come back any more. During such days one of the most wanted places was the Museum of the Peoples of the East. The girl liked to walk through the half-empty halls of the museum and enjoy the ancient culture of the Orient. She was especially attracted by the exhibits in the halls dedicated to India, China, Japan, Iran and of course the paintings of Nicholas Roerich and Svetoslav Roerich. Some kind of magic existed in them, the blessing light emanated from them. And the color scheme amazed the imagination. She could look at those paintings for hours and without getting tired. If some paintings of Shishkin, Vasnetsov, Vrubel, Polenov, Kuindzhi and even Aivazovsky demonstrated in Tretyakov Gallery were closer to the child by their themes, and that’s why she understood and liked them, then the paintings of Roerichs fascinated little Solnishko so that she looked at those works with wide eyes and didn’t hurry up to part with them. The girl used to come here often with her parents.

Each visit was dedicated to a concrete hall. In such way the parents measured out the physical and emotional tension in doses. Step by step they made the child closer to the high art in order for the perception not to be blurred over, the feelings be remembered and the formed interest be stable.

As a rule, after such excursions, during several days, the girl played with her grannies the subjects of the paintings she liked most of all or improvised over the themes of expositions. By sitting on a carpet Solnishko placed her toys and made compositions – she remembered the prototypes of the most interesting scenes, divided the roles and involved the adults in theatrical performances. Sometimes the girl greatly suffered from the fact that she couldn’t get the corresponding decorations. In that case the adults had to solve the problem very quickly by any possible means: to knit, to sew, to sculpt, to draw, to color, to buy again. Solnishko herself was actively involved in the process of making decorations. She was very happy when everything worked. Only seldom it could be defined especially what made her happy: the process itself or the final result.

Grandpas also were involved in the games, yet communication with grandpas was remote as they lived in “the near abroad”. Solnishko also had relatives who were in “the far abroad” by fate.

Sometimes after visiting the museum the girl got tired and preferred listening to the audio recordings of her favorite fairy tales and stories by sitting on the floor. At that time they left her alone with her thoughts and fantasies.

However at this time things were different. Still on the road, in the car it was reported that there was an explosion in the airport “Domodedovo”. By this way Solnishko heard the words “a terrorist attack” for the first time. According to the reaction of the adults, she understood that something terrible had happened. Naturally she wanted to know what “a terrorist attack” meant and she turned to the parents for explanations. The girl was very sensitive, that’s why the parents protected her from details and only briefly telling that the criminals caused an explosion, in the result of which some people died. Everything was done in order for the imagined scene of the events didn’t appear in front of her eyes. Nevertheless, the mood was ruined and it seemed to be some feeling of anxiety which nobody could get rid of for a long time.

Everything, of course, ends sooner or later. Life was normalized and returned to its former routine. However, nothing disappears without a trace.

Once after dinner when Larisa, the close friend of the family was visiting them, Solnishko told Granny to ask something by Jane Eyre, the porcelain doll Granny had recently presented to her granddaughter and which Solnishko loved very much. Granny asked the doll in English. It was a surprise for the child. The girl wondered in which language Granny said to Jane. After hearing the answer Solnishko asked:

– But why in English?

– Because she’s English, – explained Granny in a calm manner.

– Does she speak in Russian? – the girl wondered.

– No, she doesn’t – answered Granny.

– Then she is bad, – strongly said Solnishko by putting aside the doll.

– Are all bad if they don’t speak Russian? – Granny was greatly surprised.

– You know, the people are bad when they speak some languages, – explained the girl without any doubt in her voice.

– And what languages are those? – Granny tried to ask more calmly.

– Abrakalpmol… dyu.

– Who told you about it? – Granny tried to find out.

– I heard in the park, when Katya’s and Natasha’s grannies said the explosion was caused by the people who speak such languages, – the girl retold what she had heard.

– Probably yes, darling, or probably not. Nobody knows it yet. Even assuming that it’s true, you should know that there are good and bad people, regardless of what language they speak, – answered Granny.

– Does it mean Katya’s and Natasha’s grannies tell lies? – Solnishko asked with some doubt in her voice.

– No, Solnishko. They simply delude themselves, – answered Granny.

– What does it mean “they delude themselves”? – Solnishko continued her questions.

– It means that they are wrong, – explained Granny.

– But why are they wrong and not you? – disputed Solnishko.

– Judge for yourself. I, your Granny, also speak in no Russian. Does it mean I’m bad? – continued Granny.

– No, you aren’t, – the girl answered with confusion, but then she found what to say, – but you can speak Russian, don’t you?

– It means, you think I’m not bad only because I can speak Russian. But would I be bad if I couldn’t speak Russian? – said Granny.

– Granny, you are confusing me, – said Solnishko, barely holding back her tears. – And besides, grannies are kind, but you are a bit strict, – the girl resented, – well, let’s play now.

– My miracle! – exclaimed Granny, hugging the girl. – Kind and strict aren’t opposites. Besides, you should try to come out in all things by yourself or ask your relatives to answer, before coming to some conclusion and not to appear in a bad situation. And now, of course, let’s play, – Granny told her peacefully.

So, they went to the playroom together.

– What shall we play? – wondered Granny.

– This time you think up, – Solnishko got excited.

– I offer to act the story of the Trojan War, – Granny thought up.

– Let’s do it, – answered the girl with happy voice.

– Let’s divide the roles. You’ll act the Beautiful Helen, I guess so, – continued Granny.

– Of course. Larisa will act Paris, and you, Granny, will be Menelaus, Agamemnon, Achilles, Hector and all the others, – Solnishko decided seriously.

– We should think about decorations, – Larisa continued.

They began working actively. The ironing board covered by a rug was immediately turned into a horse, and the room – to the battlefield. Shields, swords appeared, as well as all the other war attributes of that time. The gym mat became the ship, in which the warlike Greek Achaean tribes led by Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae, passed across the Aegean Sea and reached Troy. The Greeks had arrived for the Beautiful Helen and the treasures stolen by Paris, the youngest son of Priam, the king of Troy. The two sides began to war. The walls of Troy were impregnable and the city itself was an impregnable fortress. In the result of military action many brave warriors were killed on the battlefield. After some years the Greek managed to posses the city by cunning and destroyed it.

The roles were learnt well but sometimes Solnishko used to change the events and she thought out or changed the plot herself, depending on her mood. At that time, during the game process, the scenario was rewritten and Solnishko redistributed the roles herself and directed the events.

It turned out to be a real performance, which captured all the participants so much that they lost the sense of time and in fact got into the characters of their heroes. It was very interesting and exciting. Everybody enjoyed it very much.

Suddenly Solnishko asked.

– Granny, did the people die so during the terrorist attack?

At first moment both Granny and Larisa were shocked, the result of which was the oppressive silence. First was Granny who came to herself:

– No, darling. There is a big difference between the war and the terrorist attack.

– What kind of? – the girl continued.

– Solnishko, thousands of years have passed since the times of the Trojan War. Regardless the fact on which side the readers’ sympathy is, we remember the participants as well as we respect their courage and bravery. Legends were composed about them. Their memory lives through the ages. While the terrorists don’t have a name. They are peoples without identity and belonging. Everybody curses them, because their actions are directed against the defenseless and peaceful people, – Granny tried to explain.

– Are they cursed? But how? May I whisper in your ear? Do they say: “Hell with you”? Do you know, Granny, I still also can’t forget those words. I want, but I can’t.

You should say: “God be with you”. And it’ll be forgotten, my dear, – said Granny by hugging and caressing the child. – Now let’s better have a supper. – I’ll warm up the food while you and Larisa gather the decorations and remove the traces of war. Soon parents will return home from work but we have a real disaster.

Solnishko couldn’t forget the game for a long time and used to tell about the Beautiful Helen before going to bed. Solnishko admired Paris, the Beautiful Helen in spite of the ambiguity of their characters. And in a dream there was a smile on her face.

Since then the girl didn’t remember about the terrorists any more.