SYMBOL OF ETERNITY. V. Speys

Vasya said authoritatively?

      – My brother did not even know the first letter. And, that’s reading primer. – Gordo Bob said.

      – Really?! – I was delighted. And my soul became calmer. With all my heart I reached for Basil, but Basil was still in the garden, he was in school until next year. Here’s how friends are learned in the last day.

      – You tell me, what’s in school. I w- as much as slid year? – Asked Bob. Bob and Nick Ponomarenko lived next door to us, and I often went to see them play. It is necessary to go through the neighbor’s garden, and I have Ponomarenko…

      Dead Hour. The children were sleeping in their beds. Last dead hour in kindergarten, the last day of preschool childhood I sighed and turned, and could not sleep, worried. I was plagued by fears:

      – «How do I go to school? – with horror thought, tossing and turning in his bed, during the dead hours – Well I do not know how to read or write, do not even know the letters.»

      I began to recall the letter. Easily remembered the letter «A» as the two telegraph poles, summarized above, and fastened the bar. Its something easier to remember, these pillars there, all you want on state farm fields. It is easy to remember, and the letter «O», similar to the hoop, which Uncle Theodore holds the barrels for pickling cucumbers and tomatoes my mother at work. How not to recall another tried to cushion at least one, or at least some, whether the letter did not come to mind anything. I began to toss and turn. I lay down on his back looking up at the ceiling, remembering somehow the grandmother at the stove and its poker.

      – «Yeah, it looks like the letter» G». – I thought, poking in memory devices that Grandma deftly wielded by putting iron pots on the stove, heat rake. But the more I could not remember. I turned light brown head to one side, listening. The pillow crackled, crushes the hay. The bedroom could be heard puffing sleeping children. Buzz, a fly flew. Everywhere reigns sleepy silence. And then on the pillow next to my head I flopped crumpled green leaf linden. I looked up, the springs creaked treacherous. Carefully looking around, the parties discovered that everyone is asleep:

      – «Pavlik? It’s not like sleeping like a log». – I thought. Look slid cot in the far corner of the bedroom, then stopped at the neighbor on the right. But blanket Wasi Ponomarenko rose slightly in tact snore, boy slept. In his open mouth we could see two white teeth, and it is all my sleeping view reminded today rabbit, sleeping peacefully on the pillow. I turned to the right, looked on the bed Leni Ochkolyasa, down, rustling, pulled back the blankets and furtively beneath beady black eyes glittered.

      – «Oh, you sneak! From me to you! "– My small little hand gripped the edge of the cushion and in a moment a soft shell, describing the arc in the air, fell on his head nestled Lenya. Blanket with lightning speed exposed areas. I was staring wide- open black eyes Leni.

      – I’ll give you – the person said. And in answer to me flew cushion Leni. Fighting boys hurried footsteps stopped outside the door. When Aunt Olga entered the room, the picture appears in front of her seemed undisturbed sleepy atmosphere. The teacher looked anxiously sleeping. When her eyes fell on my bed, her eyes flashed sparks of evil. I lay on the crumpled blanket crib feet to the side cushion. The head is lying there where legs should lie. My eyes closed eyelids fluttered treacherous. Of all the forces trying to portray a dream, I struggled not to blink for centuries. However, in vain, treacherous lashes his flutter spoiled pretense. Strict aunt Olga is already understood. She quietly left and a moment later reappeared. In her hand, swinging a long stem, gift Leni Ochkolyasa, sandwiched in the right hand, nettle. She came to me «sleeping» and began to drag nettle bare my stomach. Eyelashes closed my eyes desperately fluttered, but her body lay motionless. Lenya Ochkolyas tenderly watched from their «hiding place» for a while. He was very flattered that nettle, which he so lovingly chosen this morning on the way to kindergarten, do not fade in vain. Thus ended my preschool childhood…

      Chapter Seven

      At home, I met my grandmother.

      – Tomorrow, on Sunday, go to Buzova on the market. – Solemnly informed me Lavrentevna Eugene. Bazaar was far, six kilometers from Shpitek. The locals call this place «Bazaar in Buzova». Location Farm Buzova ranges from Kiev on the thirtieth thirty- first kilometer of the highway Kyiv Brest- Litovsk. Grandma announced this news, and happily added:

      – Maybe I cannot go. I’ll go even in the last…

      Morning I was awakened by a light touch of my grandmother.

      – Get up already. – She leaned over me in a clean white handkerchief and patted me on the head.

      I rubbed my eyes. Rose, sleepily trudged into the kitchen. It stood on a stool bucket of water and a mug, and nearby, a stool near a garbage can. Scooping a mug of water, scored in his mouth, then poured out of his mouth his arms on a garbage can. And, soaped wet hand soap, wash. For my grandmother went to two middle- aged women.

      It had two aunts in white colorful shawls. A distant relative, Aunt Manya from the neighboring village from Lychanka. And another, the eldest daughter of the grandmother, Maria, or, as everyone called her, too, Aunt Manya. They were, like the grandmother in white kerchiefs. At Aunt Mans from Lychanki wearing red woolen skirt and brown shoes without heels. Aunt Manya from Shpitek dressed in a light and spacious long cotton skirt in gray and brown peas. On her feet she had sandals. And my grandmother was wearing soft slippers, in which she was, she said, it will be convenient.

      The sun with its rays touched the tops of the trees, coloring it with soft pink color. On the grass glistening with dew. Potatoes in the garden bloomed white flowers. It was a calm field work. That time when the crop absorbs moisture, fertilizer and heat – matured.

      Farmers could make a break. End of July, beginning of August. Then, to gather strength and to harvest, to stock up for the winter.

      – Cam on, let’s go soon, the still us go. – Quickly said goodbye to Kate, we moved on. It was nice to meet tribeswoman as «away» from home and we have to see it, too.

      A field passed when the sun warmed significantly in the back. But the first trees by the side of the highway hid shadow walkers, and go easier. Grandma decided to rest under a tree and sat down on the grass, at the same time and shod. Buzova with its bazaar was across the highway. It is enough to just two hundred meters. Noise trading crowd, grunting, bellowing and growling animals, merged into the distant hubbub is near the bazaar.

      In the bazaar of Aunt Manya Lychanki bought a pig. He hid in bag wild cries. With this pig, endlessly screaming in the bag, we went to the bazaar, attracting everyone’s attention. Trade here all the horses, cows, puppies, kitchen utensils, shoes, clothing, animal feed, seeds and so on… I could not understand that looking for my grandmother. But when Aunt Manya from Lychanki went to a woman, holding a child in the hands of school uniforms, began to bargain, I understood. Grandma made me wear a jacket. All at once I nodded approvingly, and the form became my ten rubles. Pig in a poke, then died away, then again frantically yelled at the whole market. And only then, when Aunt Manya from Lychanki stayed with fellow villager, fodder- trafficked, we got rid of the pig screeching. She left on a cart with a fellow villager. And we have come in the same way home late at night.

      They came. How nice it was after a hot sunny hike dip in the cool clean house. We were met by the mother in a white scarf tied at the Bolshevik- style red kerchiefs. Nice to see her welcoming smile, this was extremely rare.

      – Well, bought form? – See the purchase; she said she was glad grandmother. And Grandma pushed the knot. And I got a school uniform there.

      – Have you tried on Valik form? – She asked anxiously, – Go ahead, Valik, put on.

      I put on a very uncomfortable uniforms jacket with metal buttons, cap with a badge and become like a little cabin boy with a sailboat, only was not the sea, and only the