«Masha, hear me out. Please, don’t cry. Where I’m going, they pay really well. It just turned out this way, but we can’t give up now. I’ll make money, and we’ll start over,» Vanya tried to soothe her.
Masha shook her head in despair.
«No, Vanya, no. No money is worth a life.»
«What life are you talking about right now? Times are completely different; no one’s going hand to hand in battle. Don’t worry so much. Do you really think I would go to certain death and leave you alone? No, you just need to hold on for a while until I start getting paid. We have a place to live. At least we still have this apartment.»
Masha sighed.
«Vanya, we don’t need this business anymore. Let it disappear. To lose everything again in a week? We even had to sell everything…»
«Masha, I don’t see any other way to prove to myself that I’m worth something.»
He sighed again, knowing she understood him well but completely disapproved.
Masha knew her husband would not be at ease. What had happened was, of course, very upsetting. They had built their business for almost ten years, everything was going well for them, everything was working out. And then, like little children, they fell victim to foreign fraudsters. Now there were no traces to be found.
Two days later, Vanya left to serve on a contract.
Masha felt as if half her heart had been torn out. She would startle every time the phone rang, and if someone knocked on the door, she would panic.
A month passed, and the panic did not subside; on the contrary, it grew. Masha was sure something bad would happen, it definitely would.
Early one morning, there was a knock at the door. She looked at the clock; her legs refused to obey. She barely made it to the door and opened it. When she saw the man in uniform, she understood everything.
He didn’t even manage to say anything, and Masha slid down the wall. She woke up in the hospital, at first not understanding where she was. Then, when she did understand, she remembered and howled, screamed.
It turned out she had been between heaven and earth for a week.
She was discharged only a week later. She immediately went to the cemetery. A cross, no photographs, nothing. They gave her no compensation, said an investigation was still ongoing. Everything was so unclear there…
Masha returned home. She paced from corner to corner for a day. Then she decided that things couldn’t go on like this any longer.
For the small apartment, and even for an urgent sale, she didn’t get much. She immediately asked the agency to find her a small house somewhere far from people, from civilization. They found one 300 kilometers from where she lived.
When the taxi stopped, Masha looked in horror at the old shack she had bought without even looking.
«Is this where you plan to live?» The taxi driver looked at her puzzled.
«Right here. How much do I owe you?» Masha gathered her strength and looked at the driver.
He took the money and watched her go.
«Completely lost their minds, they have everything and still don’t know how to entertain themselves,» he muttered.
Masha didn’t hear these words. And she didn’t care. She stood in front of the old house, thinking that she wouldn’t have to live here, but she would have to survive…
She made a large bonfire, pulled all the old junk she found in the house outside. Not much. While the fire smoldered, Masha grabbed a rag.
«Good evening to you. And I see, what’s this fire about?» a voice called out.
Masha turned sharply. At the threshold stood an old woman, just like the ones in fairy tales, a godsend dandelion.
«Did I scare you? Don’t be afraid, I live next door. Well, or I’m living out my days,» said the old woman, appearing from around the corner. «What brought you to our remote parts?»
Masha finally shook off her stupor.
«I decided to get closer to nature. The city holds nothing for me anymore. My husband died…»
«Came to lick your wounds, then?» The old woman nodded understandingly.
«You might say that. Please come in, why stand at the threshold?» Masha invited her inside.
The old woman entered and sat down.
«Well done, it already looks like a home. My name is Klavdiya Nikolaevna.»
«And I’m Masha.»
«What are you doing here alone, Masha? Didn’t call anyone for help? We might not be young anymore, but we can help,» Klavdiya Nikolaevna offered. «I’ll call my girls. We’ll quickly tidy up for you.» The grandmother briskly rushed out the door.
Masha just shook her head. Imagine that, where only the soul holds on, and yet how quick she is. Twenty minutes later, Klavdiya Nikolaevna returned with three other grandmothers, about the same age.
Listening to their banter and reminiscing about their youth, Masha felt very hungry. When it got dark, they sat down to have tea. The grandmothers brought all kinds of food.
«You, Masha, don’t worry. Our places are remote, of course. But they’ve long been peaceful, everyone’s forgotten about us. The authorities, our children. No one needs us. A mobile shop comes once a week. We only buy bread there,» one of the grandmothers explained.
«How do you live then?»
«That’s how we live. Some have chickens, some have rabbits. We plant gardens, share among ourselves.»
«And where’s the nearest store, medical point?» asked Masha.
«Oh, that’s ten kilometers from here. Sometimes grandchildren and children come by. Look, Klavdiya’s grandson tried so many times to take her away, but she wouldn’t have it. Says she won’t leave us here,» another grandmother replied.
Klavdiya smiled.
«Good grandson I have, just somehow unlucky in life. Married twice already, and it never works out.»
Masha immediately imagined a self-centered young man.
«I know what you’re thinking. But you’ll see for yourself. He threatened to come in two weeks. Says he’ll chop some firewood for me,» Klavdiya added.
The grandmothers helped Masha with the garden. They didn’t do much, but still, they did something.
Who would have thought she’d be digging in the garden beds like this? Even in her wildest dreams, she had no such thoughts. But now, here she was, sitting and laying out seeds in the holes.
Every evening, the entire female population of the village, consisting of four grandmothers and Masha, gathered at someone’s house for tea. Masha eagerly listened to various stories.
«Remember how they caught bandits here?» Klavdiya waved her hands.
«Oh, how could I forget! Those scoundrels were hiding in my attic. And I didn’t even know.»
Masha’s eyes widened.
«Oh, please tell.»
«That was about fifteen years ago. Many had already left, but there were still many houses. We had policemen show up one morning. We all came out of our houses, didn’t understand what was the matter. Turned out, some bandits robbed someone, took a lot of money and all kinds of gold. And apparently, they headed our way by car, only they got lost somewhere. That’s why the policemen were looking for them.»
«What policemen? It was already the police,» someone objected.
«Oh, what’s the difference. So, they went through the yards. And it turned out, the bandits were settled in the attic at Nikolaevna’s. Oh, we were so scared then! They were shooting, and Klavdiya was at home and couldn’t leave.
«Did they catch them?»
«They caught them. But they didn’t find either the money or the car. After that incident, the last residents left the village. They say it’s a godforsaken place,» one of the grandmothers said.
«But people used to flock here. We have a very clean and healing spring here. So many legends about it, laid down by our great-grandmothers.»
«Yes, indeed. Women who couldn’t have children would come, live a few days on the spring water, and then everything would work out for them,» another grandmother added.
Masha dreamed all night of bandits and pregnant women. In the morning, waking up, she remembered the grandmothers talking about a strawberry meadow and decided to go there.
She always thought she was good at orienting herself in the woods. But there were so many berries, and the forest was so beautiful, that she lost track of time and realized she didn’t know where to go.
At first, she wasn’t afraid. The fear came later when it started to get dark.
«No, just what I needed, to disappear in the woods,» she muttered, realizing that for the first time since Vanya’s death, she wanted to live.
Perhaps it really was true, the miracle spring was bearing its fruits. When an owl started hooting, Masha ran. It seemed to her that wolves were surrounding her from all sides. How long she ran, she didn’t know, only suddenly stopped, finding herself in the middle of a meadow. In the moonlight, there stood a car. It was completely unclear how it had gotten there, surrounded by bushes. Then she remembered the grandmothers’ story. Could this be the very car that the bandits had abandoned?
Behind her, a branch snapped, and Masha screamed and jumped into the car. She didn’t care what was inside; the main thing was that the forest dwellers couldn’t reach her there. By morning, she dozed off and woke up because the sun was shining directly in her face. Looking around: dust, the seats were cracked, and on the back seat was a bag full of bills…
Masha leaned over the seat and saw that the grandmothers had gathered around.
«My dears, how glad I am to see you!» She cried with joy.
Klavdiya Nikolaevna said:
«And I already called my grandson; he’s on his way.»
Everyone gathered in Masha’s house, and she told them about her adventures.
«We’re going to turn things around here with you! But let’s not tell anyone where we got the money.»
«We’ll clear the road, beautify it, and people will come to our spring,» they discussed.
«That’s the plan! Can anyone really understand how good it is here?»
Everyone turned around. At the door stood a young man, smiling at the gathering.
Klavdiya jumped up:
«Vanechka, the grandson has arrived!»
Of course, the word «grandson» hardly suited this two-meter-tall man. Masha jerked when the grandmother called him Vanya. Ivan turned out to be nothing like she had imagined. He was cheerful, simple, and seemed very smart. In two days, he mowed the yards for the grandmothers and Masha, piled up trees.
Meanwhile, Masha tried to figure out what to start with for beautification, what to buy. And somehow, Ivan caught her at it.
«May I help you? I happen to work with business plans,» he offered.
Three years later.
«Maria Anatolievna, we have a two-month waiting list ahead, and people keep calling and calling.»
Masha sighed:
«I understand, but we don’t have that much space.»
Ivan stood up from the table:
«Mash, maybe it’s time to think about expanding?»
She smiled at him:
«Well, dear, we can think about it, of course, but you’ll have to deal with it yourself.»
Ivan looked at her in surprise:
«Why alone? Without you?»
«Without me, because I’ll be busy with completely different things,» she answered.
Klavdiya Nikolaevna looked at Masha and suddenly said:
«And I always tell everyone: it’s not a legend at all, it’s all true.»
Ivan looked puzzled at the grandmother:
«What are you even talking about? I don’t understand anything.»
«Vanya, why do you think people come here? Because the spring is healing. And we live here,» she explained.
«And so?» Ivan stared at her in the same bewilderment.
«Mash, don’t keep us in suspense,» Klavdiya added, winking.
«What are you trying to say…» Vanya asked, looking at Masha.
Masha nodded. Ivan slowly rose, looked at her bewildered, and then yelled and picked her up in his arms!
In the evening, they stood on the porch of their new house and looked at the village. New houses had been added, the number of residents had increased. And in general, the village was unrecognizable: lighting, new buildings, pathways. Nearby stood the building of the sanatorium, the very one with such a long queue.
«Well, Mash, we really did well, didn’t we?» Klavdiya was delighted.
«We did well, and so did those bandits who left the bag in the woods.»
«Let’s not even remember that, just live here and now.»
«But we’ll have to remember something,» Ivan intervened. «Mash, I’ve been filing requests for three years… In short, your husband is a hero. I know it was important to you. So we need to go to the city, get all the documents, and there’s a medal waiting for you that was posthumously awarded to him.»
Masha stood silently for a while, then hugged her husband.
«Thank you. This was indeed very important to me.»
Ivan patted her head.
«What do you think, who will be born to us?»
«I don’t care, as long as they are all healthy.»
Ivan sighed.
«We need to think about building a school.»
Masha laughed.
«Why not start with a university right away?»
They hugged and turned to face the village. They would do everything to make this place thrive, to make people here happier.
