Татьяна Викентьева – "STOLEN IMMORTALITY" (страница 7)

"I don't understand," the boy said. "Why can't Russians live like Jews? If we're no worse than Jews, then why can't we live like them?"

- Let's not talk about Jews, son! Let's talk about you! Tell me, do you understand the importance of studying well?

-Yes, mom.

"I hope I won't have to blush for you, son! I want you to be one of the best students in the class. Promise me you'll try your best to study!"

“I promise,” said Sasha and got out from behind the table. “I’m full, Mom. Thank you.”

-Well, then, go to school, son. And remember your promise!

-Okay, mom.

Sasha picked up his briefcase and headed for the door. At that moment, the door opened, and a drunk Stepan Nilovich stumbled into the house. Seeing his wife and son, he shouted:

- Ah, who do I see! A snake with its little snake! Where are you going? The snake - to work? And the little snake - to school? Well, then get out of here quickly! I hope your spirit is not here!

"Dad! Why are you arguing again?" Sasha said, looking at his father with fear.

"Son! Don't pay any attention to your dad! He's drunk!" Antonina Yegorovna said, leading Sasha aside.

"What? What are you trying to convince him of, you bitch?" Stepan Nilovich roared, clenching his fists and staggering toward his wife. But he didn't get there. He fell to the floor in the middle of the room.

"Son! Go to school! Hurry!" said Antonina Yegorovna, taking Sasha by the hand and leading him to the door.

-And what about you, Mom?- Sasha asked with fear. - Dad will beat you!

"Don't worry, son! Daddy's going to bed. I'm going to work now. Go to school quickly! Go!" Antonina Yegorovna opened the door for her son.

“Okay, Mom.” Sasha obediently left the house and went to school.

When the door closed behind her son, Antonina Yegorovna turned around and saw her husband’s face distorted with wild rage and malice.

- Stepan! Go to bed! - said the woman. - You were drinking with your friends all night. You need to get some sleep!

- No! I don’t need to get enough sleep! - Stepan said, barely moving his tongue and trying to get up from the floor. - I need you, you scum, to finally tell me the truth!

-What truth? What are you talking about?

-You know it yourself. Tell me, why did you poison your sister Natalia?

"I've told you a hundred times that I'm not to blame for my sister's death! I swear to God, I'm not to blame! It was an accident! Someone in our household picked a false boletus mushroom in the forest and put it in a basket. And then the poisonous mushroom accidentally ended up in Natalya's plate, and she..."

Stepan, finally getting up from the floor, rudely interrupted his wife and shouted:

- Stop telling me about coincidences! I don't believe you! I don't believe you! I know you're lying! You've been lying for eight years! You better confess, or it will get worse!

"Confess to what? Something I didn't do? Understand, Stepan: I could have been in Natalya's place! It was an accident that the poisonous mushroom ended up on her plate and not mine! Is it my fault that Natalya died and not me? Believe me, Stepan: I would never have poisoned my sister! I loved her, after all!"

-Loved? You're lying! You're lying, you scum!- Stepan grew more and more furious, his eyes filled with blood, and his hands clenched into fists. - I know that it was you who killed my beloved Natalya! It was you who drove her from this world! Because you were jealous! You envied her beauty! You envied my love for her! I loved her so much! I adored her so much! And you, bitch, took her away from me! You forced her to marry you! You ruined me! You ruined my life! I hate you! I hate you, you creature!

Stepan ran up to his wife, grabbed her by the throat and began to strangle her.

- No, Stepan! Let go! It hurts! Let go! - Antonina Yegorovna screamed.

"I'll strangle you, you snake! I'll strangle you!" Stepan muttered, squeezing his wife's throat tighter and tighter. "I don't need you! I don't need your little snake! I hate you! I hate you!"

Antonina Yegorovna tried to resist her husband. But their forces were unequal. Stepan violently choked her. Then, mustering her last bit of strength, she screamed:

-Help! Good people, help! My husband is killing me! Please help!

- Ah! You're calling the neighbors, you creature! - Stepan roared. - It won't work! They won't help you this time! Don't hope! This is the end for you! The end! - The man tensed up and squeezed his wife's throat with all his might.

Antonina Yegorovna went silent and limp. Seeing that she was no longer breathing, Stepan let go of her. Her dead body fell to the floor like a sack. And Stepan quietly said:

-That's it! The end. The snake in the grass is dead! Dead.

The man knelt down next to the corpse and froze in that position. He looked at his dead wife with a hateful gaze and repeated as if in a delirium:

-Well, there you go! I've finally got my revenge for you, Natalia! There you go!

A few minutes later, neighbors, having heard Antonina Yegorovna's final cries, arrived running. Seeing the dead woman, they realized something irreparable had happened. They called the police. The local police officer who arrived arrested Stepan Nilovich and reported the incident to the city prosecutor's office.

The village doctor confirmed that Antonina Yegorovna's death was due to strangulation. He began writing the official report.

One of the compassionate neighbors, Baba Lyuba, went to school to pick up Sasha. When she peeked into the classroom, an arithmetic lesson was in progress. The teacher was working on simple addition problems with the students. Baba Lyuba entered the classroom and timidly addressed the teacher:

-Excuse me. Can I speak to Sasha Zavidov?

"What happened? Why are you barging into the classroom during class and demanding Sasha Zavidov?" the teacher asked sternly.

Baba Lyuba became embarrassed and said quietly:

-Sasha needs to go home urgently.

"Why? What's the matter? Who the hell are you?" the teacher asked even more sternly.

"I'm Sasha's neighbor, Baba Lyuba. Please let the boy out of class!"

-Until you tell me what's wrong, I won't let Sasha go anywhere!

- Oh, how difficult it is to say... - Baba Lyuba hesitated. - Well... In general... You see...

Something bad happened...

"Misfortune? What? Be more specific! What's the matter?" the teacher insisted.

-Okay, I'll tell you... Now... - Baba Lyuba gathered her strength and uttered the terrible phrase in one breath. - Sasha Zavidov's mother was killed!

When Sasha heard Baba Lyuba's last phrase, he jumped up in great excitement and shouted:

- It's not true! It's not true! I don't believe it! I don't believe you! My mommy is alive!

After that, the boy took off and ran headlong home. Behind him, he could hear the screams of Baba Lyuba and the teacher. But Sasha didn't hear them. He heard nothing. And saw nothing. In a state of extreme shock. He didn't remember how he got home. How he opened the door. How he saw his dead mother.

lying on the bed...

Eyewitnesses to the incident reported that the boy quickly burst into the house, ran up to his dead mother, and... and then immediately lost consciousness... He lost consciousness and fell to the floor...

The driver jumped at the sudden shout, turned around, and saw that it was his boss, dozing in the back seat. He lightly touched him with his hand and said loudly:

-Alexander Ivanovich! Wake up! Do you hear? Wake up!

“What happened?” Alexander said fearfully, opening his eyes.

- Nothing. You just dozed off. And then I heard a scream. You must have had a bad dream, and you screamed. So I decided to wake you up.

"That's right, Tikhon. You did the right thing by waking me up," Alexander said and sighed heavily.

The events of the past stirred his soul once again. They made him shudder with the horror and grief he'd experienced. They darkened his immortality. He needed to calm down and pull himself together. Alexander lit a cigarette and began to look out the window. After a few minutes, he asked:

-Where are we, Tikhon? How long until we get to the lab?

"No. We're almost there. Just fifteen kilometers left," the driver replied and increased speed.

“Okay,” said Alexander and began looking out the window again.

A few minutes later, the car did indeed pull up to the laboratory gates. The driver honked the horn, and the gates opened. The car drove inside and stopped.