— You only made money off that wreck! — these words whipped Zhenya all the way. — What were you waiting for, Zhenya? A happy life? Well done, you got what you deserved!
She dropped the heavy bags and sank onto an old stump. Everything had started out so well… Or was she simply deceiving herself? Twenty years of life with Misha ended one morning when she returned from a night shift and saw her husband not alone, but with her belongings neatly arranged by the door.
— Misha, what does all this mean?
Zhenya was so stunned that she didn’t even pounce on the young woman wandering around their apartment in a light robe.
— It means, my dear, that I no longer want to hide. I want to be with my beloved, not with you.
— Misha, what are you saying? We’ve been together for twenty years!
— Exactly — twenty years of torment. You know very well that there was never any real love between us. And besides, you made me get married!
— What do you mean? What are you saying? I thought you were different… But you’re just ordinary!
Zhenya wanted to say that everything seems perfect at first, and then… But Misha wouldn’t let her finish.
— Enough, I don’t need your explanations. Get packed and leave. I’ve already filed for divorce.
— But where am I supposed to go? — Zhenya asked, bewildered.
Her husband laughed, and his new mistress, clinging to his shoulder, joined in his laughter.
— Here, take the keys. This place is just for you. You don’t deserve any more.
— Misha, but…
Before she could finish, he shoved her out the door like a stray cat and turned the key in the lock. Zhenya heard the neighboring door click, and she rushed down. How ashamed she felt! Words from a neighbor surfaced in her mind: “She’ll end up crying with Mikhail.”
And how fiercely she had defended him then, assuring everyone that she had the perfect husband. She had built a cult of Misha in their home. It seemed right to her, as it should be, just like in those romance novels she devoured.
Her mother constantly reproached her:
— Zhenya, you read all sorts of nonsense and dream of the impossible! In life, there are no princes on white horses; they’re all taken out in kindergarten. Better go feed the chickens and clean up after the pigs.
Zhenya scrunched her nose and waited for the moment when she could leave the village for the city, where she would surely meet her destiny. In the city, she wouldn’t have to wash by hand, haul water and firewood.
And so it happened. Although it cost her a bit of blood and nerves when Stepan learned of her plans. And then Zhenya snapped:
— I don’t want to live like you. I don’t want to — period!
— So, we’re living poorly, huh? And isn’t Stepan your suitor?
—I’ve dreamed all my life of marrying a tractor driver!
— You know what, Zhenya? Sometimes I think the hospital must have mixed up the babies. There’s no way your father and I could have such a daughter!
Zhenya snorted:
— And I wouldn’t be too upset if you stopped calling me your daughter. A little dignity — twisting cows’ tails!
She left. She saw her mother’s tear-filled eyes, but still she left. And at the bus stop, Stepan ran up.
— Zhenya, are you leaving?
Stepan was kind and she liked him very much, but a future with him didn’t seem likely. Otherwise, they would have stayed in the village.
— I hope never, Zhenya! What are you saying? Oh, come on, I’m talking about parents! And my parents don’t need a daughter like that!
A bus pulled up. Zhenya stepped on board, turned, and in despair shouted:
— Give that girl a ride, please…
And she sat down. The sadness quickly faded because she knew for sure — she was riding toward her happiness!
She met Mikhail at the factory, where she was immediately hired. He was the head of her workshop. It took some effort, but after four months they got married. From that moment, Zhenya began to build the life she had dreamed of.
She did some renovations, searched for a trendy sink, and mostly worked night shifts. Her husband hinted a couple of times that it wouldn’t be bad if she got an education to rise above being a simple worker. But Zhenya wasn’t in the mood for that — soon Misha became her idol. He seemed to like that role: the outfits, the costumes, delicious breakfasts, crystalline cleanliness. And Zhenya sighed in front of her colleagues:
— Oooh!
She didn’t go home. At first she didn’t want to, then she was ashamed of not going for so long. And then so many years passed… How could she show her face there? And who knows if everyone was still alive and well…
Zhenya got up. According to the bus driver, it was still at least an hour’s walk. No matter, once she got there, she would lie down. And never get up again. Everything around had collapsed, everything was broken. Maybe there was nothing at all — it was all just a product of her imagination?
— Help!
Zhenya stopped. She was walking along a country road, and a minute ago there was no one around. She turned around — a disheveled girl was rushing toward her, followed by a gang of boys. Behind them ran two women. Everyone was shouting.
The girl turned out to be a Gypsy, and the boys, together with the women, intended to beat her up. Zhenya stood up and grabbed a stick.
— Hey, stop! What are you planning?
The boys scattered, but the women didn’t retreat.
— Who are you? Stand back, we’re going to beat her! Let her know what it’s like to steal!
— And what did she steal from you?
— I lost some sour cream, and I lost a piece of bacon! Shameless!
Zhenya looked at them disdainfully.
— Have you not spared any food for the children?
She took out her purse, pulled out every remaining bill — it didn’t matter that they were her last funds — and threw them on the ground.
— Pick them up. Enough fighting over such a trifle.
— And you, Gypsy, watch out! And you, girl, don’t you ever show your face in our village again!
— There’s no reason to lash out at decent people over Gypsies!
The little disheveled girl only detached herself from Zhenya once the women disappeared behind the bushes.
— Thank you! — she smiled. — You seem not to be afraid at all.
— I’m just tired. I’ve been wandering for so long.
— And why do you steal, Gypsy?
The girl shrugged:
— Well, to be honest, we always steal. It’s our job.
Zhenya struggled to hold back a smile.
— And you talk about it so calmly?
The girl produced bacon with onions, then, from somewhere, pulled out a knife. Green onions appeared and, apparently, that very jar of sour cream.
— Well, hungry? Sit down. Let’s eat. I don’t have far to go, and you have a long way ahead.
Zhenya raised her eyebrows in surprise.
— How do you know?
— I know everything. Firstly, I’m a Gypsy. And secondly, I come from a line of fortune-tellers.
Zhenya laughed.
— Oh, come on! Fortune-tellers don’t exist, it’s all made up to fleece money out of people.
The pieces of bacon with onions looked appetizing. “Well, even if it’s stolen,” she thought, “I haven’t eaten anything since morning.”
— Can you tell me my fortune? But I don’t have any money left.
The girl looked at her seriously.
— I can. But you still won’t believe me. And I’ll decide whether you deserve my trust. Give me your hand.
The Gypsy girl stared at her palm for a long time, and when she began to speak, her voice became completely different.
— Don’t regret what has happened. What was, wasn’t meant for you. It was punishment for rejecting the happiness sent from above. Now everything will return to where you went wrong.
Zhenya blinked in confusion.
— I didn’t understand a thing.
The girl looked at her and answered in her normal voice:
— And there’s no need. When the time comes, you’ll understand everything on your own. Alright, I have to go now, I must reach before sunset.
She busily gathered the remaining food, stashed it in the invisible pockets of her long skirt, and ran down the road. Zhenya muttered:
— Strange. They’re all so strange.
The house she finally reached was a real wreck. Only glass remained in two windows, and the yard was overgrown with grass. Zhenya realized that this had once been her husband’s relatives’ home.
I wonder what she’ll do here? Did she act impulsively, trying to prove something? Or maybe, here she will find… Alright. I’ll live here for a few days. Or at least get a day’s rest — and then head back!
She cleared the trash from the room with the intact windows, spread her bed with her blanket, and lay down. But as soon as she did, tears flowed uncontrollably from her eyes. “So, I’ve lived twenty years and…”
Not long after, she heard someone speaking in the house.
— Is anyone alive here?
She jumped up in fear.
— Who’s there?
“That’s it, the end,” she thought. Who could wander into such a house? Zhenya slowly opened the door.
— Who’s there?
A broad-shouldered man, who had been standing with his back turned, flinched.
— Oh, you scared me! Strange, you were just looking for someone alive.
— I was looking, but I didn’t think I’d find anyone. Excuse me. I’m heading from a hunt; my car stopped right at your house. I assumed the house was empty, maybe I could spend the night…
Zhenya straightened up.
— How did you get here, in this backwater? You know I lived in the city, I have a husband… Stepa, I’m so glad to see you! What happened? Why are you crying?
Zhenya burst into uncontrollable sobs. Stepan sat her down and said:
— Since fate has brought us together again, I’m not going anywhere. Tell me everything, let’s talk.
An hour later, they sat at a table. Stepan took out a flask, poured its contents into plastic cups.
— Come on, Zhenya, down the hatch! It’ll make talking easier.
Zhenya spoke without pause, and Stepan listened attentively.
— That’s how I threw away twenty years of my life because of my own foolishness.
— Don’t say it was all for nothing. The main thing is to understand that you took the wrong turn.
— Today, the Gypsy told me not to regret anything, that I returned to where I made a mistake. And there were so many of them, I couldn’t even count!
Stepan placed his hand on hers.
— Start making things right. What’s the matter? The chance is here, and such happiness rarely comes by.
— I’m guilty before my parents.
— Yes, that’s true. But I’m sure they will forgive.
Zhenya looked at him in fear.
— Are they alive and well?
— Of course! They’re not as spry as before, but they’re holding on. My mother raises chickens and ducks.
Zhenya wept again.
— Lord, what a fool I am! Alright, let’s go to sleep, and in the morning we’ll go. We’ll go back to where you once ran away from.
They lay down together without undressing, simply because it was warmer and more comforting. Stepan held her, and Zhenya immediately fell asleep.
Her mother didn’t even let her say a word. Zhenya didn’t have time to apologize before her mother embraced her and began to cry. Zhenya realized: it would be better to die than to abandon her parents again.
The village seemed to have forgotten that she had once run away and not visited for many years. People greeted her, saying that she had blossomed and grown beautiful.
Within two days, her spirit began to thaw. Zhenya tried to help her mother around the house, but the old woman just waved her off:
— Rest after the city, will you!
And Zhenya was resting anyway. Everything in her room remained as before: not a speck of dust, fresh linens. Her mother, it seemed, regularly refreshed everything. She waited…
On the third day, even before dawn, someone knocked on the window. Zhenya jumped up in fright. In the window, Stepan’s head appeared.
— Why are you so scared? Get ready, we’re going fishing. I grabbed your fishing rod.
Zhenya quietly laughed. Just like more than twenty years ago, he used to wake her up for fishing. Whether she liked it or not, he didn’t care. She climbed out the window and snuggled against him.
— Stepa, you’re so… amazing!
He looked at her seriously.
— You didn’t used to think so.
Zhenya smiled.
— I used to be a fool, but now I’ve grown wiser.
— Maybe you’ll marry me?
Zhenya became serious.
— If you ask me, maybe I will.
Then she laughed immediately.
— If you can catch up!
She walked down to the river. It didn’t matter that in three days she would turn 42. At this moment, she was once again that same young girl who had made so many mistakes long ago.
And a year later, she was already taking care of Egorka…
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