Masha, listen to me. Just wait, don’t cry. The place I’m going to pays really well. It just turned out this way, but we can’t give up. I’ll earn money, and we’ll start over.» Ivan tried to reassure her.
Masha shook her head in despair.
«No, Ivan, no. No money is worth a life.»
«What life are you talking about? What are you talking about now? Times are completely different, nobody goes into hand-to-hand combat. Don’t worry so much. Do you really think I would go to certain death and leave you alone? No, you just need to hang in there until I start receiving. There is a place to live. At least we still have that apartment.»
Masha sighed.
«Ivan, we don’t need this business anymore. Let it be lost forever. To lose everything in a week again? And we 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 categorically disapproved.
Masha knew her husband wouldn’t calm down. The incident was, of course, very upsetting. They had been building their business for almost ten years, everything was going well for them, everything was working out. And then, like little children, they fell for foreign scammers. Now there was no way to trace them.
Two days later, Ivan left to serve on a contract.
Masha felt as if half her heart had been torn out. She flinched every time the phone rang, and if someone knocked at the door, she would panic.
A month passed, and the panic didn’t subside; on the contrary, it grew more and more. Masha was sure something bad would happen, it was bound to happen.
Early one morning, someone rang the doorbell. She looked at the clock, and her legs immediately stopped obeying her. She barely made it to the door and opened it. When she saw a man in uniform, she understood everything.
He didn’t even manage to say anything before Masha slid down the wall. She woke up in the hospital, initially unable to understand where she was. And then, when she did, she remembered and screamed out loud.
It turned out she had been between heaven and earth for a week.
She was discharged only a week later. She went straight to the cemetery. A cross, no photographs, nothing. No compensation was given; they said an investigation was still ongoing. Everything was so unclear…
Masha returned home. For a day, she paced from corner to corner. And then she decided that things couldn’t go on like this anymore.
For a small apartment, especially 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 her 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 in disbelief.
«Right here. How much do I owe you?» Masha gathered her strength and looked at the driver.
He took the money and watched her walk away.
«They’ve completely lost their minds, living the high life, don’t know what else to do to entertain themselves,» he muttered.
Masha didn’t hear these words. And they weren’t important to her. She stood in front of the old house, thinking that she wouldn’t have to live here. But to survive…
She built a large bonfire, pulled all the old junk from the house. Not much. While the little bonfire smoked, Masha grabbed a rag.
«Good evening to you. And here I was wondering what the fire was about,» a voice said.
Masha turned around sharply. A grandmother stood on the threshold, the kind you see in fairy tales, a godsend dandelion.
«Did I scare you? Don’t be afraid, I live next door. Well, or rather, I’m living out my days,» the old woman said, appearing from around the corner. «And what brings you to our remote parts?»
Masha finally shook off her stupor.
«I decided I wanted to be closer to nature. Nothing holds me in the city anymore. My husband died…»
«Come to heal your wounds, then?» The old woman nodded understandingly.
«I guess you could say that. Please come in, why are you standing at the doorstep?» Masha invited her in.
The grandmother walked in and sat down.
«Well done, the house already looks like a home. My name is Klavdiya Nikolaevna.»
«And I’m Masha.»
«Well, why are you alone, Masha? Didn’t call anyone for help? We may not be young anymore, but we can help,» Klavdiya Nikolaevna offered. «I’ll call my girls. We’ll quickly put things in order here.» The grandmother quickly rushed out the door.
Masha just shook her head. Imagine that, where only the soul holds on, and still so quick. Twenty minutes later, Klavdiya Nikolaevna returned with three more grandmothers, about the same age.
Listening to their humorous banter and memories from their youth, Masha felt very hungry. When it got dark, they sat down to drink tea. The grandmothers brought all kinds of food.
«Don’t worry, Masha. Our places are remote, of course. But they’ve been peaceful for a long time, everyone’s forgotten about us. The authorities, our children. Nobody needs us. A mobile shop comes once a week. We only buy bread there,» one of the grandmothers explained.
«And how do you live?»
«That’s how we live. Some have chickens, some have rabbits. We plant gardens, share with each other.»
«And where’s the nearest store, medical post?» asked Masha.
«Oh, that’s ten kilometers from here. Sometimes grandchildren and children come by. Look, Klavdiya’s grandson tried to take her away so many times, but she won’t leave. She says she won’t leave us here,» another grandmother answered.
Klavdiya smiled.
«He’s a good grandson, only he’s just unlucky in life. He’s been married twice, and it never worked out.»
Masha immediately pictured a self-centered young man.
«I know what you’re thinking. But you’ll see for yourself. He’s threatened to come in two weeks. Says he’ll gather firewood for you, grandmother,» Klavdiya added.
The grandmothers helped Masha with the garden. They didn’t do much, but they did something.
Who would have thought she would be digging in the garden beds? Even in her worst nightmares, she never thought of such things. But now, it was nothing; she sat there, arranging 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 we caught bandits here?» Klavdiya waved her arms.
«Oh, how could I forget! Those scoundrels hid 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 residential houses. We had policemen show up in the morning. We all poured out of our houses, didn’t understand what was going on. Turned out, some bandits had robbed someone, took a lot of money and all sorts of gold. And apparently, they headed our way by car, only they got lost somewhere. So the policemen were looking for them.»
«What policemen? It was already the police,» someone objected.
«Oh, what difference does it make. So, they went through the yards. And it turned out that the bandits had settled in the attic at Nikolaevna’s. Oh, we suffered so much fear then! They were shooting, and Klavdiya was at home and couldn’t leave.»
«And 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 place lost by God,» one of the grandmothers said.
«And yet 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, exactly. 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 how the grandmothers talked about a strawberry glade and decided to go there.
She always thought she was good at navigating the forest. But there were so many berries, and the forest was so beautiful, she lost track of time and realized she didn’t know where to go.
She wasn’t initially afraid, but fear set in later, as it started to get dark.
«Well, just what I needed, to disappear in the forest,» she muttered, realizing that for the first time since Vanya’s death, she wanted to live.
Perhaps it was indeed the miracle spring doing its work. When an owl started hooting, Masha ran. She felt as if wolves were surrounding her from all sides. She ran, not knowing how long, only to suddenly stop, finding herself in the middle of a glade. In the moonlight, a car stood. It was completely unclear how it had ended up there, surrounded by bushes. She remembered the grandmothers’ story. Could this be the same car that the bandits had abandoned?
A branch snapped behind her, and Masha jumped into the car with a shriek. She didn’t care what was inside; the main thing was that the forest dwellers wouldn’t reach her. By morning, she had dozed off and woke up to the sun shining directly in her face. She looked around: dust, cracked seats, and a bag full of bills on the back seat…
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:
«I’ve already called my grandson, he’s on his way.»
Everyone gathered at Masha’s house, and she told them about her adventures.
«We’ll turn things around here with you! But let’s not tell anyone where the money came from.»
«We’ll clear the road, beautify it, and people will come to our spring,» they discussed.
«That’s the plan! Does anyone really understand how good it is here?»
Everyone turned around. A young man stood at the door, smiling at the gathered group.
Klavdiya Nikolaevna jumped up:
«Vanechka, the grandson has arrived!»
Of course, the word «grandson» hardly fit this two-meter-tall man. Masha flinched when the grandmother called him Vanya. Ivan turned out to be nothing like she had imagined. He was cheerful, straightforward, and seemed very smart. In two days, he mowed the grandmothers’ and Masha’s yards, piled up trees.
Meanwhile, Masha tried to figure out where to start beautifying, 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, of course, we can think about it, but you’ll have to handle it alone.»
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 at his grandmother in confusion:
«What are you even talking about? I don’t understand.»
«Vanya, why do people come to us? 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 do you want to say…» Ivan asked, looking at Masha.
Masha nodded. Ivan slowly stood up, looked at her in bewilderment, and then yelled, picking her up in his arms!
In the evening, they stood on the porch of their new house and looked at the village. There were new houses, more residents. The village was unrecognizable: lighting, new buildings, paths. Nearby, the sanatorium building was visible, the very one that had such a long queue.
«So, Mash, aren’t we great?» Klavdiya rejoiced.
«And we’re great, and those bandits who left the bag in the forest.»
«Let’s not even remember about it, just live here and now.»
«But we have to remember something,» Ivan interjected. «Mash, I’ve been submitting requests for three years… Basically, your husband — he’s 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 there, awarded to him posthumously.»
Masha stood silent for a while, then leaned into her husband.
«Thank you. This was indeed very important to me.»
Ivan stroked her head.
«What do you think, who will we have?»
«I don’t care, as long as everyone’s healthy.»
Ivan sighed.
«We need to think about building a school.»
Masha laughed.
«What, not about 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.
