Б. Сотников Русская любовь перевод на английский я

We were parting in the yard. Vasilisa Kirillovna startled,  hurriedly wiped her hand against the pinafore  and held it out at first to Genka and then to me. She didn’t let go my hand at once but kept it for some time, looked at me with faded eyes and said in a low voice:
– Be happy Lexey Ivanich. May be, we  shall not see each other again.
– But mountain with mountain, Vasilisa Kirillovna… have you saved enough for the winter? Will you be able to live it through?
– I think, we will, only potatoes have gathered about 40 bags! So, some money, though not much, we shall have. But thank you for a kind word. We lived well with you, like being the kindred. – she was about to cry, but looking at the daughter, pulled herself together and went to the cow in the barn. Yet, turned around in the door and crossed us: –  Let God save you!
       Mashenka was standing, lowering down her head, gnawed the thin grass, drawing something with the boot on the raw sand. I looked at her flaxen hair,forlornly lowed shoulders, cotton dress, faded during summer, neatly patched at the elbows, reddened and swollen eyelids, saw the little hills of breasts, protruded under the dress, and felt, how I became overwhelmed by the piercing and deep pity. The girl seemed to me so lonely, that I was ready to kill Genka.
“ I shall embrace and kiss her  before parting, – I thought,–  then Genka too… At least a little joy for her…”
– Well, Mashenka, let us part, – I said, as energetically and gaily, as I could. I smiled at her, patted on the head and pressed to myself. Letting her go, I added: – Don’t forget us here.
– Me? To forget you?!
         And I felt ill at ease. Quite unwell. Added joy, one might say. It would be better to leave everything as it was.
          Genka came up to Masha.
– Good bye, Masha! – He held out his hand. – Be happy here…– Genka uncertainly pulled her to himself, probably wanted to kiss her, as I did it, on the cheek, but she put forward the lips, pulled out her hand and unexpectedly  hugged him by the neck.
      There was a kind of tense situation. Masha, evidently, forgot herself and still didin’t let  Genka go, kissing him over and over again, and he was confused now to put her off and felt himself to blame. The parting was taking some time. Genka was red, perplexed, it was good that Vasilisa hadn’t seen it and went to the cow in the barn.
– Good bye, good bye, darling! – Mashenya at last sighed out and jerked away from him. Her eyes were very blue. And not a single tear in them, only terror. In such a way look at those, with whom part forever, and that is why can’t either speak or complain. She didn’t even ask our address – she had no hope!
     I looked at her whitened face, she walked, as if in a faint, her lags almost gave way (she was touching with her hand the wooden wall of the house), and I felt painful, on the point of shrieking…
       We walked along the lane, trodden by the cows, without turning back, silent and guilty. Somewhere from below, the bitter smoke trailed on the bushes, the fire of wet leaves was being made. Genka also seemed to understand that everything was not a joke, the childhood was over. He was sighing and keeping silence...I also was silent. What could be said here? I understood what was going on with the girl. But what was to be done? The business leave of our squadron was over too, we were flying away…
 The dark, wet footprints trailed after us; the dew fell on the grass. It was slippery to walk. We were breathing hard but didn’t turn back.
 I couldn’t keep myself from looking back. There, on the clayey hill, Mashenka was standing. Her lonely figure looked, like broken sadness. And dark clouds continued to swim – out of the hills, forest, severe north. The cold wind was blowing. And Mashenka – only in a dress…The wind tore it at the knees. But she didn’t move – stood there motionless. Only waved me by the hand, when I turned back
 The curve of the river sparkled in front with gray flatness. There, across the river, only to get it over by the ferry, was our airfield.  And Luzhki was on this side, on the high hill, and behind – meadows and meadows.
The rain pattered on the wide dusty leaves of the burdocks and very soon stopped, made only  narrow trails, didn’t even washed off their dust, and the dark clouds were serious, low and were covering all the sky. Immediately it felt, like a winter draught and suddenly the cranes’ distant cries gripped me by the heart. I raised my head and found the wedge of birds.
– Turn round, Genka! Do ,turn round!
But he wouldn’t, only drooped his shoulders still more, as if a great load had fallen on him.
Somewhere behind the horizon the thunder rolled with the dull sound. And then hit quite near, above the very forest – from the tops to the ground. The thunder in autumn…And Mashenka was still standing – the lonely little birch tree on the hillside.
She was standing, when we were already at the airfield. Standing, when in some 40 minutes sat down into the cabins of our bombers and began starting the motors. My plane was the last at the plane parking, and I now saw her from the high cabin.
Started the motors – standing, began taxiing – standing.
One after another we were taking off. Now it was my turn. I am swiftly letting out the undercarriage – on the hillside Mashenka: standing.
We began to make up the chains and flew for the parting circle above the airdfield I find below the curve of the river with the black boats, cut into the flatness of water, the hillside,,, Mashenka on the place, her light little figure is seen. To her right the maple grove was burning, like fire. Farther – there were dark forests – oak, thick, joyless. And still farther – supporting the horizon, the domes of the remaining churches in the distant Russian villages, glistened with gold – there the sun still peeped between the dark clouds. How far it was! Russia is big, and where the destiny would carry us, was not known. But how it would form – probably depended on us. And I am shouting with the open text to Genka over the radio, pressing the button of the radio station:
 –Genka! Wave her good-bye – she is standing.
! thought that the right leader in front would separate sharply from the second chain and, making the steep turn to the right, would fly to Mashenka close to the very earth, throwing apart the eagle wings. But Genka is unable to decide. We are making the round, again approaching Luzhki, and I again see Mashenka on he hillside. I can’t help it and  separate myself from the chain, leading the plane to Mashenka. I unwrap from the neck the lomg woolen scarf, which, as I remember, Mashenka liked so much, open the little window to the left of my face and immediately hear  the angry voice of the leader over the radio:
– 275th, what pranks are these! Stop immediately! Rusanov, return to the chain!... “Ah, no! –  I think, – I will be punished all the same, why then should I return?” And rush in a hedgehop straight to Mashenka, only a bit to the right, so, that she might see me in the cabin. I fly by, count till 4 and throw the scarf into the window – in such a way, that the stream of air might bring it directly to Mashenka. Then I make “a candle”, turn to the left and look back. Masha was running already on the hillside, waving my red scarf. It seemed to me that she was crying to me there, below, like a lonely, crane cry, and begin catching up with a squadron, flying to the South. I no longer see Mashenyka.
Catching up with the array of the planes, I again look back… But we already have flown far, and Luzhki were no longer seen. Yet, Mashenka’s figure was stll standing long in front of my eyes, – as delusion, as a rebuke.

To be continued