Student of the Port School. Severed Head

Severed Ginseng Seeker's Head

A week later, Nikolai became a full member of the port workers' team. No sharp twists of fate were foreseen. Kolya stayed to work in the same workshop and for the same master, where he worked when he was a student at the Port School. The master respected Kolya for his gentle disposition, and most importantly, for his ability to read, and at first did not give Kolya a large amount of work.

Then, when a month passed, the second and the authorities began to ask the boy completely, only then the master began to allow Kolya to do more serious work.

However, something has changed in Nikolai's life. He finally moved out of his old apartment. Now Kolya received a salary and could afford to rent a modest but good room.

On that day, Kolya was even offered a choice of two rented rooms. In the evening, after work, Kolya went to meet the owners of the rooms.

For the boy, it was not so much the room that was important, but the opportunity to live without guardianship. Life with the former mistress left Nikolai with painful and unpleasant memories.

One room was in a house that was right in the center of the city, on Svetlanskaya. The owner of the house questioned Kolya for a long time. When the conversation was over and they even kind of shook hands, the owner suddenly asked for a large deposit for the furniture in the room. Allegedly, the former tenant burned the headboard when he fell asleep with a cigarette.

Nikolai liked the room, it overlooked the sea, there was a lot of air and light in it, but the deposit was so large that almost the entire monthly salary would have to be paid.

Kolya told the owner with a sigh that he would think about it and was about to leave when the owner grabbed Kolya by the sleeve of his shirt and began to persuade him in a whisper. He even promised to cut the amount by almost half if Kolya would give the money right now.

Kolya had no money, which he told the owner about, but the man held the young man tightly by the sleeve and did not want to let go. The man's eyes rolled and became strange.

Kolya was dumbfounded, he asked the man about something, but the man suddenly fell silent, and his face began to flush with color.

It was only then that Kolya realized that something was wrong.

It was impossible to escape, therefore, after a little thought, Kolya decided to bend the fingers of the owner of the apartment in order to free the sleeve, and it worked. After that, Kolya ran away from the man, brushed off his sleeve and quickly left the house.

The second room was in the area of the Semenovsky bucket. The young man walked confidently to the street whose address Lenkin's brother had given him. Yurka, Lenka's brother, was in a strange company. The boys and girls who are Yurka's friends, not that they were thieves, but never passed by something that lies badly. They could empty the pockets of a drunken sailor, but they would never go into someone else's house.

Yurka gave Nikolai the address of a relative of his girlfriend.

Kolya was walking towards the Semyonovsky bucket, and the road suddenly seemed familiar to him. However, having felt the approach of a headache and hearing the heart-rending sound of a siren in his brain, Kolya did not even try to remember something.

Over the past few months, Kolya began to keep his memories at a distance. He still wanted to remember everything, but did not want to suffer pain.

The room that the mistress of the house offered was not as spacious and beautiful as the room of the strange owner, but Kolya immediately realized that he would stay here to live. Firstly, the price was right, the seashore was a five-minute walk, and most importantly, having settled here, Kolya would become the owner of not one room, but two and a half. Half was a kitchen, and two small rooms could be used as an office and a bedroom.

The hostess did not care how Kolya plans to equip the rooms. The house was divided into two halves. In one half lived the hostess with her husband. Kolya could now live in another. The only condition of the hostess was not to use the small pantry, which was at the end of the corridor. In the pantry were the belongings of the owner's niece.

The woman told Nikolai her sad story. The woman did not have children, the husband was not very worried about this circumstance, and the woman suffered, and when her husband's sister died, unable to endure the hardships of resettlement, Varvara Stepanovna, that was the name of the woman, accepted the one-year-old niece into her family as a daughter. The girl was raised in love, when she grew up, they began to think about what business to attach to. Varvara Stepanovna sewed well, Zoya, that was the name of her niece, also began to master the profession of a seamstress. Everything was fine until one day Zoya disappeared. They searched for a long time, with the whole world, a lot of money passed through the hands of the police officers, but there was no result. The girl fell through the ground. Six months later, when the woman realized that her niece would not return, she decided to rent rooms. If a stranger settles in the rooms, then the pain may subside and recede, this is exactly what Varvara Stepanovna hoped for when she told Yurka, Zoya's friend, that she wanted to find a tenant.

Kolya took the hostess's story to heart and promised not to touch Zoya's things. A week later, Kolya felt at home in Zoya's rooms. Varvara Stepanovna did not interfere in Kolya's life, did not ask about anything, did not teach, but after returning A hot dinner was waiting for the young man on the table when he got home from work. Kolya, who was not accustomed to such care, was at first embarrassed and refused, and then he realized that with his refusal he could offend a woman. In Varvara Stepanovna there was a lot of unused maternal tenderness and care, and Kolya became such an object to whom this care was henceforth directed. I saw the owner Kolya several times, the man also worked in the port, but in a different part of it, and often went to sea. Kolya tried not to abuse the care of the owners and did not like to go to the owner's half of the house.

One day, returning home from work, Kolya suddenly realized that exactly a year had passed since he graduated from the Port School. This circumstance excited Kolya, but not for long. In the current situation, Kolya liked precisely the fact that nothing was changing around. Work on weekdays, cleaning and working in the library on weekends, evenings reading a book - Kolya liked all this precisely because of its repetition and inviolability. The young man understood that the house he was going to was just a rented apartment, but he liked to fantasize that this was his house and that he was expected and loved in this house.

“The city government decided: “Set a deadline on November 1 for the demolition of all fanz on the market square, appointing a place for the construction of such in the mountain of the Semyonovsky mowing or in another area of Vladivostok, but so that in one case or another, they acquired these plots with trades in the city, although it is allowed to build more correct fanzas, which should be covered by no means with straw, but with tess. The public headman of the city of Fedorov reported to the military governor “that Vladivostok Square, on which red rows and a bazaar are supposed, is occupied and occupied by the Chinese without any permission and even contrary to the orders of the police and public administration. The manzas were given a place to build on the Semyonovsky meadow overlooking the Amur Bay, but each time the manzas, under various pretexts, keep this place for themselves, causing damage in monetary and sanitary terms, since they trade and live in the same premises, grouped into one solid mass. There you can find luxury items next to spoiled fish and other things, which, of course, in a hot climate, can also have a bad effect on the local population.

N. Matveev. "A Brief Historical Sketch of Vladivostok"

Once, on a Sunday, after visiting church, Varvara Stepanovna came in very upset. A neighbor, the unlucky Natashka, said that the efforts of the police finally bore fruit, and the Chinese and Koreans began to massively move here, to the Semyonovsky bucket. Of course, this was not due to the fact that Asians suddenly became law-abiding en masse, but the mayor finally took drastic measures. Through the efforts of the police, the shops of Asians began to be demolished. When the Manza and the Kore realized that this time the situation was serious, they finally thought about what had been offered to them for a long time, about resettlement.

In connection with these circumstances, Varvara Stepanovna was worried about how the life of everyone who lives in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Semenovsky bucket will change when restless Chinese and Korean neighbors appear nearby. When the hostess started talking about the Chinese, Kolya suddenly realized that he had not seen his little Chinese friend for a long time.

A year has passed since that story, about which Nikolai was now ashamed to even remember. That winter evening, Kolya almost died. If not for the little Chinese friend, then Kolya would have frozen to death. And suddenly, like a year ago, a passionate desire arose in Kolya to be in the area of the Katorzhnaya Sloboda again.

Something cleared up in Kolya's memory during this year, he remembered at least that he had run into his stepfather near the tavern. And now, remembering the danger, the young man could not understand his feelings. He knew that he should not even think about going to Katorzhanka, but at the same time, some strange feeling, a sweet desire, like a rope, pulled him to go and find some place.

Expecting a sonic boom, Kolya habitually bent over so that the pain would not be so intense, but to his surprise, the siren did not sound this time. Timidly exploring dangerous territory, Nikolai moved further in his memories.

He remembered the advice of his friend Lenka and his first visit to the hard labor camp, he remembered how for the first time in many years he ran into his stepfather near the tavern. He even remembered how he ran away from his pursuers and reached the rock, in which there was a breach.

“But what are the sights in Vladivostok? Is it long-haired, effeminate manza, in blue sweaters, in the market. Or Koreans, in white overalls, driving around the city on red cows. In terms of grandiose building structures like docks, embankments, arsenals, etc., there is still nothing here; in terms of the monumental, like monuments, palaces or temples, absolutely nothing either - this is all in the future, and probably in a very distant one. In terms of the beauty of nature - there are, they say, places - beautiful, but not in the city, but there, behind the mountains that enclose it, to the north; city places, if remarkable for some reason, are only for their really original nicknames. How and why are these personalities took shape and how they came into general, even official use is unknown, only we must do justice to them, that not all of them are elegant and euphonious. So, for example, there is "Golopup", or otherwise "Mountain of disgrace", "Rotten corner", "River of Explanations", "Mashkin's ravine", "Dating Blockhouse"

N. Matveev. "A Brief Historical Sketch of Vladivostok

It was evening. Suddenly Kolya realized that he did not want to read. There was nowhere to go, and no one to go to, but I didn’t feel like sitting at home either. Finally, having gathered himself, the young man decided to take a walk along the seashore, but the walk did not bring satisfaction. The sea froze back at the end of November, and it was cold to walk on the ice. However, Nikolai did not want to return home yet.

Sitting on a large stone, he began to think about the future. In the present tense, he felt good, but already feelings arose that began to destroy his unshakable calmness. Kolya talked to himself and reminded him of how bad and lonely he felt when he was left alone, but his body yearned for unexpected finds, unusual sensations, new knowledge. Feeling that he was cold, Kolya moved along the coast. It was necessary to return home.

The sand crunched underfoot as Kolya left the icy edge that separated the ice from the sandy space. Leaving the sandy shore, Kolya came across something round, a bit like a ball. The young man really wanted to kick with his foot what lay before him, but suddenly a terrible guess made him go cold. Nicholas peered at the find. Indeed, what lay in front of him was not a ball or a round stone, in front of him lay a severed head. The moon that came out from behind the clouds illuminated even a small pool of blood. The blood quickly froze, apparently a man was killed recently.

Kolya stepped back. He wanted to run away, and then he stopped. He just didn't know what to do. If you inform the police officer, provided that now there is one nearby, then the police officer, without understanding, can put him, Kolya, in jail. But Kolya couldn't leave just like that.

Finding a stick, Kolya turned the head of the dead man so that his face could be seen. The deceased was Chinese. Near the eye of the deceased was the same tattoo as Kolya. Rather, there were at least fifty tattoos, they wrapped around the left eye of the deceased like a spiral.

The man was a ginseng seeker. Most likely, it was because of this that he was killed. Ginseng in this wild land, in Vladivostok, was valued much, much higher than gold! It's just not clear why such an experienced taiga hunter and earner let himself be killed so easily? Kolya suspected that the killer would not be found. Firstly, the police will not look for the killer of some Chinese, and secondly, if no one recognizes the head, and it is unlikely that anyone will do this, then no one will know that the victim was a ginseng seeker.

Kolya could not leave, he felt that he would do the wrong thing if he just took it and left, as if there was no terrible find. Thinking a little, Kolya found a flat piece of wood on the shore. Having found the tallest tree that stood on the shore and cracked its branches from the frost, Kolya climbed almost to the top and carefully laid this small platform on the branches.

After that, he went downstairs. Carefully, so as not to get dirty with fresh blood, he took his head by the long hair and again climbed the tree. After apologizing to his head, Kolya, as best he could, braided the corpse's hair into a braid and made a small bun out of the braid.

Placing his head on the platform, Kolya was about to get down, but suddenly remembered that he had not done the most important thing. Imitating Chen, Kolya sang a funeral song. Kolya was tired, maybe that's why it seemed to him that the eyes of the deceased, which had been open all this time, suddenly closed after the song.

So it was or not, Kolya did not check, having finished singing the last words, he turned away from his head and also, without turning, climbed down from the tree, and then began to back away. When the tree was out of sight, Nikolai turned around and ran towards the house. Several times it seemed to him that someone was following him, but when he turned around, there was no one on the night street.

The next morning, Kolya, as if nothing had happened, went to work. The state of shock rendered him immune to the frightening memories for some time. The day passed in a blur.

The next day was a holiday. For the first time in a year, Kolya did not go to the library. He lay and looked at one point. The white wall seemed to him like a snowdrift, and he pressed his forehead against it. The young man scolded himself, called himself a sissy and a girl, reminded himself that he had seen more than one such corpse while walking in the taiga, he was surprised at himself and ridiculed, saying that he was too relaxed. However, nothing helped, the wide-open eyes of the murdered Chinese looked straight into the soul and demanded retribution.

It was already evening when Varvara Stepanovna began to worry that all day Kolya's silhouette had not once flashed past her window. When she entered, the first thing she heard was the voice of Nikolai. The young man was talking to someone. However, there was no one in the room except for the young man.

Kolya spoke in Chinese, his voice now soaring up, then falling to a whisper.

When the mistress of the room called out to Kolya, he did not answer her. Varvara Stepanovna once again, I'm afraid livo, called Kolya, but the young man suddenly began to sing. Overcoming fear, the woman went to the bed and leaned over the boy. Putting her hand to Kolya's forehead, the woman realized after a few seconds that her tenant was sick!

Kolya was delirious. The higher the temperature rose, the further Kolya went from real life. His teeth chattered, his body shook. It seemed to him that he was lying on the snow in the taiga.

Varvara Stepanovna covered Kolya with a blanket, but this did not help. Chills shook the boy's thin body. Then the woman went to her half of the house and brought two more blankets. This time, the young man finally warmed up, the chills passed, but the temperature began to rise sharply.

Varvara Stepanovna was at a loss. She had money hidden in case someone from the family became ill and needed a doctor, but she was afraid to leave home and leave Kolya.

Kolya relaxed, the chills subsided, and the sore throat seemed to be bearable. He was very thirsty, and his memory helpfully transferred him to an underground city. However, the barrels for drinking water were empty, the fountains dried up. Despite the darkness that reigned in the city, Kolya saw everything perfectly, but there was no sense in it. The sacred books were closed and there was no more water. Kolya remembered that at that time when he was in the city, he was warm and comfortable in the bed that was in the house. However, now in this bed, Nikolai could not find peace. It was cold, damp and lonely all around. Nikolai's body lay delirious in Varvara Stepanovna's house, and the spirit walked the streets of the underground city. But one spirit was not enough for the city to come to life again.

There was a knock on the door of the house, Varvara Stepanovna raised the candle higher and went to the door. A Chinese boy was standing on the threshold of the house. When Varvara Stepanovna asked the boy what he wanted, the boy smiled shyly and nodded. There was a pause. Kolya tossed and turned on the bed and shouted

"Close his eyes!" Somebody close his eyes!

Things took a bad turn. The woman wanted to return to the house, but the boy suddenly spoke

- Wind, damp, - pronouncing Russian words with difficulty, the boy tried to help himself with gestures, - the cold settled in his kidneys. Gotta get the cold out!

- What do you want, baby? The woman's gaze was fixed on the bed at the back of the room as the Chinese boy distracted her. "Are you hungry?" Give you food?

“No food,” the boy continued to smile, “my friend,” the boy waved towards the bed, “my friend is sick, I want to help!”

Are you talking about Cole? The woman finally understood, “Is he your friend?!

“Yes, I'm talking about Ko-lya, Ko-lya saved me, now I have to save Ko-lyu.

“Boy,” the mistress of the house suddenly decided to be strict, “you go away.” Mom is probably looking for you, it's already late.

“We need to help Ko-le,” the boy looked pleadingly into the woman’s eyes, “I want to help!”

- Well, all right, - Varvara Stepanovna gave up and stepped aside, - come in. If you are his friend, you can be here. What do you want to do?

“I,” the boy thought, “I don’t know how it will be in Russian. It is necessary to expel the evil, cold wind from Ko-li.

- Well, well, - the woman gave up, - do what you think is necessary! If only he would stop moaning so plaintively!

The boy, where with words, where with gestures, but explained to the woman that he needed to heat the potion on the stove. Varvara Stepanovna didn't mind; she had lit the stove long ago, when she first discovered that Kolya was chilly.

The potion that the boy warmed had a pungent odor. Why is it sharp, the drug just stank! The woman's throat tickled, but she restrained herself. For the sake of Kolya's health, one could endure.

Having warmed up the medicine, the boy diluted it with water and gave it to Kolya to drink.

To do this, he had to use the help of the mistress of the house. Kolya kicked, pushed away an invisible enemy and shouted. When the young man nevertheless swallowed the medicine, the Chinese boy ordered the woman to take off all the blankets from Kolya.

Varvara Stepanovna hesitated a little, but nevertheless obeyed the Chinese girl. Moreover, the Chinese boy even asked permission to take off Kolya's shirt. Varvara Stepanovna wanted to object, it seemed to her already too much, but the Chinese boy fell on his knees and hugged the woman's legs. A strange feeling of peace and warmth enveloped Varvara Stepanovna as she lifted the boy from her knees.

The shirt was taken off together, Kolya's body became heavy and unbearable. Then the boy sat down near the stove and closed his eyes. Varvara Stepanovna also sat down on a bench. She waited for who knows what and waited. Ten minutes later, Kolya began to sweat. However, it did not happen the way we are used to. Moisture began to drain from the body of the young man literally in streams. Varvara Stepanovna had never seen anything like this.

The Chinese got excited. He ordered to substitute the basin. Water dripped from fingers and toes. Turning Kolya in such a way that the water would by no means be absorbed into the bed, but the glasses into the basin, the boy began to mutter something in Chinese. However, the process of sweating lasted no longer than ten minutes. As soon as Kolya stopped sweating, the Chinese girl asked Varvara Stepanovna to wipe Kolya dry, and he himself lit a piece of rag and threw it into the basin.

The water was on fire! Varvara Stepanovna glanced curiously at the Chinese onka, he looked at the burning water and waited for something. The woman wanted to dress Kolya in dry clothes, but the boy suddenly jumped up to the woman and shook his head negatively! And then he rushed to the pelvis again!

The bottom of the pelvis burst with a terrifying noise. The woman ran to the window, and the Chinese boy smiled with satisfaction. With the remnants of the drug, he rubbed Kolya's arms and legs, and then allowed the woman to finally put a change of clothes on Kolya.

While Varvara Stepanovna was pulling a clean shirt over Kolya, the Chinese boy took the basin, or rather, what was left of the basin, and went out into the street. Varvara Stepanovna covered Kolya and wiped the place where the basin had stood. The woman was waiting for the Chinese girl to thank him and give her some sweet biscuits, which she always had in her pocket for the neighborhood children, but the Chinese boy did not return. Finally, she could not stand it and decided to go out to see if everything was okay with the Chinese girl. But there was no one on the street. On a snow-covered bush lay a now useless basin upside down. Looking around once more, Varvara Stepanovna shrugged her shoulders and went back into the house. Kolya slept peacefully. Laying her hand on the young man's forehead, Varvara Stepanovna sighed with satisfaction, there was no fever. Making sure that everything was in order with Kolya, Varvara Stepanovna went to cook dinner for her husband.