– Son, your wife sleeps till lunchtime again. A young wife shouldn’t sleep so much.
– Let her sleep, do you feel sorry for her? She painted all night, the muse came to her.
– Muse… It would be better to learn to milk a cow and pluck chickens. I’m getting old, who’ll take care of the farm?
– She’ll learn, Mom, give her time.
The girl heard the conversation. She had not slept for a long time, just lying there thinking. How did it happen that she ended up here, in a small village.
She studied at the art school of her city. She lived with her grandmother, she had no parents, they died young.
Boys did not pay attention to her. And she was not sad about it at all.
On weekends she sat in the park and painted. People, nature, everything that caught her eye. Here is a guy sitting, eating a pie on a bench, sticking out his finger funny. The pie is hot, but he must be so hungry that he is ready to endure.
The girl took a pencil and started to make a drawing. The boy noticed that she was looking at him and was embarrassed. When he ate the pie, he went to her.
– Excuse me, I thought you were drawing me? Did you really decide to draw me clumsily eating a pie?
– You were eating it so funny, I drew it.
– Wow, that’s great, that’s really me. What a funny face!
They laughed. The next two hours flew by like a moment. The guy was simple, sincere, good-natured, she felt easy with him.
He studied agronomy in their city, lived with his aunt. They exchanged phone numbers. After a few months of constant meetings, the guy proposed to her.
– You haven’t even introduced me to your parents yet, and here is a wedding. Let’s not rush things.
– You know what, let’s go to my house, get married without any wedding, what do we need these conventions?
– Really? To be honest, I don’t want any wedding, veil, dress. And we have enough money, we don’t need to bother your parents.
That’s how we decided. After receiving the diplomas, they went to their parents. The girl took the necessary clothes and a whole suitcase with brushes, paper, paints. She did not stop painting.
Parents looked at the new daughter-in-law with surprise.
– “Well, my daughter, feel at home. Everything is simple here, sorry. The household, the garden – everything is at your disposal.
– Mom, she’s never been to the garden in her life, she’s a city girl. Actually, she is an artist, she paints very beautifully.
– You won’t be satisfied with paintings, in our village you can’t earn much money by painting. Do you know how to sew, knit?
The girl felt like she was being interrogated, she was embarrassed.
– That’s enough, mom, no more questions. We are going for a walk, she wants to draw.
The mother shook her head. She was lucky to have such a daughter-in-law. The neighbor’s daughter-in-law, who works, milks a cow, has a vegetable garden, kids, and also works as a nurse in the hospital. And this blessed woman paints some pictures.
– Son, I’ll go to the city, and let her whitewash the room, since she is an artist, she can do it easily, but help me.
Upon returning, the mother saw the whitewashed walls. She did not know what her son had whitewashed.
– Well, that’s another thing, at least some good from her. We need to teach her to pluck chickens, and then she will milk a cow.
Seeing the chicken head, the girl felt sick, and she categorically refused to pinch the chicken.
– I can’t do it, I’m disgusted… And I feel sorry for the chicken… But it was running, that’s all.
– Well, you are so vulnerable, in our village girls learn this from childhood. When they get married, they know how to do everything. Husbands are at work all day long, and wives manage the household by themselves.
– Well, you see, I don’t suit you at all, I live like someone else’s life here, everything is alien to me.
– You’ll get used to it.
But she didn’t get used to it. It was hard for her to weed the beds, take care of animals and birds, she was afraid of them.
– Yours is drawing again. The whole house is covered with art. The neighbors are already laughing at me, they say you got a strange daughter-in-law, no use from her.
– Mom, we will go home soon, they promised to give me a job at work.
– Why not, live here, what will people say? They’ll think you kicked your daughter-in-law out.
A month later, the girl disappeared. In the morning, the boyfriend saw that she was not next to him in bed. Her things were gone too. There was a note on the table: “I don’t want to live someone else’s life, sorry…”
The guy started to dial her number, but she did not answer.
– Well, did your artist run away? You’d better marry your neighbor, she’s a hard worker.
– But I don’t need any neighbor, I love her. It’s my fault, I brought her here. She is not like us, different, more spiritual, you know? Chickens and gardens are not for her.
The guy could not leave at the moment, he had to settle his work. But then he left with his things and went home to the girl. They made up, but she categorically refused to go to the village. She found a job as a teacher in a children’s art school, and was glowing with happiness.
– Mom, dad, I’m moving to the city. I can’t live without her. We’ll rent a room in the city, I’ll find a job, we won’t be lost.
The guy hugged his parents and went to his beloved, to live a new life, alien to him, but familiar to her.
It is hard for city people to get used to rural life. Do you think it is necessary to change yourself, to adapt to rural life, or is it better to return to the familiar environment?
