Hello, ladies. Are we sitting here? Gossiping about everyone?” – a cheerful neighbor came to the shop. – At least I’ll listen to the news. They won’t show and tell such things on TV.
The women giggled and cleared the edge of the bench.
-And where are you coming from so handsome? – his aunt asked.
The neighbor waved his hand.
-From the store. I’m in trouble, women. My wife left me.
-And to whom?
-To a friend of mine. She said I’m not a man if I don’t bring money.
My aunt giggled.
-So he doesn’t seem to work either. And what’s the difference between you?
The neighbor stood up and shrugged his shoulders.
-“I don’t know what it is either,” he said and staggered away.
My aunt sighed.
-“Men have gone pale. They don’t want to work, they always want to live at the expense of women. Take my neighbor, for example. What a guy he was. Handsome. But he broke down when his first wife and son left him for another man. He lost his way. And the second one? He was the first worker in the collective farm until he injured his arm. And that’s all, the same story.
And the woman produces. Well, her husband died, so live for the sake of children. No, she rushes between these two. Always hoping for something. And these? No, to repair her hut, to put it in order, they compete with each other who is better. And what is happening to the village, women? Earlier our men used to go for a walk, but they worked. And now? No work, no people. Everyone is leaving. That’s right, a normal person is looking for a better place, – she said sadly.
-You don’t say, – her grandmother supported her. -My children have scattered everywhere. They come rarely. I see my grandchildren only on photos and see how they grow. How good it used to be. Everyone lived nearby. Sisters, brothers, parents. And all together and all together.
With songs and feasts, not without it. We would gather, for example, to dig potatoes. The whole family. And during the day we will dig up the gardens. We will sit in the evening, and tomorrow to work. And now everyone is dug in their farms and complaining. This is not so, that is not so.
And then a woman with children and bags passed by.
-“Are you moving somewhere?” the aunt asked.
She put the bag on the ground and sighed.
-“What can I do? At least my husband has a pension, but my ex does not even want to hear about work. And I have children to raise. Three of them. And to dress and feed them. And you can’t spend a lot of money on children’s clothes. It’s good that the garden helps out. Otherwise, I would have gone with an outstretched hand. After the winter, I will probably go to the region. I’ll buy a house for my mother’s capital and no men.
They are tired until you force them to dig beds. And then they demand to put food on the table. You say that it will be a product for you too, but they do not understand. There is nothing to do in the village, no kindergarten, no school. And my daughter is going to school in a year. Who will take her to school? And the boys will be better off in kindergarten, otherwise they are completely out of control. They run around wherever they want. And I need a job, they are growing up.
Although it’s a pity to leave. I was born here, married here. And the beauty around. I can’t help it, I have to go. Well, I’m going. My husband will soon be running all over the village looking for me. Goodbye, ladies, – and taking the bag on her shoulder, she left.
-I think she thinks right. She is still young, she has children to raise. If she was younger, she would have gone somewhere too. And now where? To leave the house, it’s a pity. My husband built it. It’s really big, though. But he thought that the children would be around.
And here it is. Once I went to pick berries and got lost. Children used to trample the paths, but now everything is overgrown. Now I’m afraid to look there alone. I’ll get lost and won’t be found. So, we will live here. It’s good that they bring a pension, even if it’s a small one, – the aunt said and also got up.
-Sit, don’t sit, but the farm will not wait. I have chickens to feed, a piglet to feed, and a goat to milk. Goodbye, see you tomorrow, – and leaning on a stick, she went home.
And the grandmother sat alone for a long time. She was remembering. How she lived, how she worked and raised children. Yes, years passed like leaves from trees. And how many more are left, only the heavenly office knows. As it got dark, she went into the house. Without turning on the light, she lay down. And why does she need light, she has not seen for two years.
And the woman never left. She stayed. She could not. It was too scary to change her life.
