t the appointed day at five o'clock in the morning, rattling with our bowls and spoons, Tatyana and I crept along the
silent streets. We came to a place of general meeting. Ruslan and Yura were already there. Then came Stas and Eugene. They told us that Sensei would be an hour late because he had worked until morning. The guys said that usually he does not stop until he has seen the last patient. The endless queue at his door finally stopped growing at almost two o'clock in the morning. Obviously, people found out that the chiropractor was leaving for a week, so they came in droves. By five o'clock in the morning, Sensei had finally finished his reception.
A bit later, Andrew and Slava arrived in his grandfather's jalopy, which seemed to be as old as Andrew's grandfather himself. But Tatyana and I were happy to go even by such means of transportation. When you are in a good company, a Zaporozhets isn’t any worse than a Mercedes. We began to put things into the steel car top carrier, having filled a trunk with our luggage almost to the top.
“Well, Kostya will have to put his bag next to him,” Andrew said in a bossy way, barely able to close the trunk.
But when Kostya arrived, Andrew's jaw drooped. Kostya's luggage arrived by Volga together with a fully loaded trailer. As we helped unload these endless bags and sacks, Andrew almost lost his gift of speech. Helplessly waving his hands, he blew up at last:
“You are out of your mind! It looks like you are going to the North Pole. We are going for a week, and just the food you brought will be enough for three years! Moreover, these huge flasks filled with water! Sensei told you to take one, not four. Why not bring a tank!”
“To tell the truth, I wanted but I could not. There was no suitable transport,” Kostya answered with a smile, nodding at his father's Volga.
“You're nuts! Just tell me, where can I fit all this? What do you want me to do with these barrels?! Unless we attach them to the Zaporozhets instead of wheels?!”
“But Nikolai Andreevich seemed to promise he’d take something in his trailer.”
“That's it, he only ‘seemed to promise.’”
“OK, don't lose your cool, we’ll think of something.”
For good fifteen minutes, Andrew indignantly circled the huge heap of Kostya's treasure. But Kostya only laughed the matter off, saying, “I will see how your Excellency will thank my Majesty for unforgettable comfort at the seaside.”
While Andrew broke out in the next fountain of emotions, Tatyana asked Kostya, “Really, why did you pack so much?”
“Well, why not enjoy ourselves? I tried hard, not for myself but for everybody,” the ‘philosopher’ said cunningly. “In general, all this is only ashes and vanity.” Taking her gently around the waist, Kostya pensively said, “Of all, thy charming lips are most precious for me.”
“Oh, you,” Tatyana gently pushed him away and burst out with laughter.
Kostya made a suffering face and said with pathos, “Ah, pride of heart costs many torments!” Looking sideways at Tatyana, he added, “I have so hardly pulled my bowstring, / That I am afraid my bow will be broken!”
“He will not get away from me. I shall make it difficult for him,” Andrew casually said loudly, continuing to mutter to himself.
All of us roared with laughter as Sensei, Volodya, and Victor drove up. Looking at the huge heap of things, Sensei asked in confusion, “Guys, are you going to the North Pole?”
All our company burst out laughing again, but Andrew, having found an accomplice in Sensei, started to complain.
At last Nikolai Andreevich arrived with the long-awaited trailer. But it appeared that the trailer was too small for all of Kostya's goods. Somehow we pushed things into three cars and began to ram our bodies inside. Slava sat in Sensei's car. Tatyana and I placed ourselves among the bags on the back seat of the Zaporozhets. And Kostya as the most guilty person got a vacant seat. It was in front, near Andrew, on a sitting which was not only non-standard, very low, but it also rocked here and there being fastened with only one screw. So Kostya, because of his height, felt all the charm of the three-hour trip in the Zaporozhets. But the never-ending humor of our guys smoothed all discomfort with friendly, cheerful laughter.
Our Zaporozhets rumbled ahead of the whole column. Andrew tried to squeeze all possible force out of it by pressing the gas pedal. Sensei and the senior guys followed us, keeping a distance. Nikolai Andreevich, being loaded up to the top, slowly drove somewhere behind Sensei. It was not enough for Andrew to head the line, so he made up his mind to show us that that Zaporozhets was the coolest car on the road. He began to overtake one car after another, speeding and throwing his chest out with pride. Kostya crossed himself for fun at these maneuvers, clutched at the front panel, and started to pray about the salvation of all drivers suffering from such an inveterate driver of this jalopy.
We rushed forward a little bit. On the way we saw a small roadside market. In the distance, Tatyana saw strawberries in baskets on the ground and shouted to the guys through the noise of the roaring engine to stop the car. When we stopped at last, Kostya gave a sigh of relief trying to get out, as he said, from this tin in which he doubled himself up like a mackerel. To let us get out, Kostya had to drag out his armchair again. The whole market observed this comedy. Moreover when Kostya at last slammed the door, a mirror fell off of it. Andrew yelled at him as though he had ruined the most sacred thing, “Master's fist should strike your body and his leg should strike your muzzle! Who on earth slams a door like this?! For three days, I have been collecting this car from pieces. It is a valuable antique! You should treat it gently, like a woman…”
And there was more of a lecture on this topic. The guys dispersed in the market choosing berries. I remained near the Zaporozhets waiting for others. Sensei with the guys drove up, but when they got out of the car, something strange happened.
One woman, wearing a black kerchief, about forty-five years old, stood without any interest with her goods. Her eyes were red from tears. Having noticed Sensei, she hastily stepped over her berries, practically scattering them all over the ground with this motion. Having run up to Sensei, she fell down at his feet and began to implore him, lamenting in tears, “I beg you, Gabriel, take care of my sonny. How shall I live without him now?! Please, Gabriel, take me to him. I do not want this thrice cursed life any more, I do not want it! My God, have mercy on me, let me go to my sonny…”
I was standing very close by and saw how Sensei’s eyes changed. Some shine appeared in them, or more correctly, some soft, tender light that changed Sensei’s features. At this moment I felt that my lotus flower began to vibrate intensively. And this pulse force came not from my thoughts but, as it seemed to me, it came from Sensei. He bent over the woman, raising her.
“Rise, woman,” he told her in a very calm, quiet voice.
It seemed to me that his voice became somewhat unusual. The woman rose a little but did not stand up from her knees, continuing to beg him, but this time it was more quietly, looking directly in his eyes. Sensei tenderly put his hand on her head and said, “Do not worry, woman. Everything is fine with your Nikolai. He is a pious man. He has already been taken care of.”
The woman stretched her hands to him. Her eyes were lit with some sparkle of hope, but her face became stiffened in a single impulse of begging, “Let me, Gabriel, let me go to him…”
Such words of despair made me shiver. At this moment, Sensei’s face was covered with a light haze, and his face became even nicer because of it. My lotus flower pulsed even more.
“Everyone has his own time. You still need to take care of Ksyusha. You will be a guest at her wedding, you will await her firstborn, you will nurse him for a week. And on the ninth day, you will go to your Nikolai to tell him what a fine grandson he has got,” Sensei said calmly.
With each word of Sensei, the eyes of the woman became lighter and kinder. Teardrops of joy began to shine on her face. The woman broke into a smile. Not knowing how to express her gratitude, she began to fall down to his feet again. Sensei tried to raise her up from the ground. Then some old women who traded next to her ran up, lifted her from the ground, took her arms, and led her to the village saying, “Hush, Mashenka, dear, let's go, let's go home…”
The woman went quietly, with her face touched, whispering something to herself and constantly crossing herself. Other old women began to collect her scattered goods. All these events happened within one minute.
At this time, Nikolai Andreevich drove up. Having come up hastily to our motionless company with Yura and Ruslan, he inquired what had happened.
“Some old bag freaked out,” Eugene said, as he was standing far from the Teacher. “She fell to Sensei's feet, all in tears, asked something.”
Sensei silently lit a cigarette, after everything that had happened. When Nikolai Andreevich began to ask, he changed the topic to usual things, having answered shortly, “Yes, things happen in life. A woman is in sorrow.”
“I see… And why did you stop here? We did not plan it.” Nikolai Andreevich asked Kostya.
“Well, we wanted to buy some strawberries.”
Our company walked once again around the market with Sensei. Having chosen ripe berries, Sensei bought a big basket for all of us. Another old woman, packing strawberries into three packets, tenderly spoke to us.
“You, children, do not take offence. Not even a month has passed since the woman’s son Nikolai died in a crash. He was her only son, her hope and support. Her husband died a long time ago… And such sorrow again. He, her sonny, was so young. A little daughter of his remained, Oksana, she is five. Masha's destiny is a heavy one. She brought up her son almost alone, and now she has to support her granddaughter together with her daughterin-law. I don’t understand what happened to her. She has absolutely lost her head from sorrow.”
“Yes,” Nikolai Andreevich agreed with sympathy. ”Stress can cause even worse mental disorders. I remember there was one case…”
Having listened to eloquent examples from his practice, my consciousness calmed down a little. “Well,” I thought, “it’s no wonder she rushed to the very first man.”
As we drove, the guys cheerfully chattered about their matters while eating ripe strawberries. During Kostya’s latest joke, it suddenly dawned on me. At this moment, I precisely recalled that woman’s babbling and Sensei’s answers. “Stop! She didn’t mention the name of her son, and moreover she did not say the name of her granddaughter. But Sensei precisely named Nikolai and Ksyusha. I nearly choked on a strawberry because of this discovery. I did not want to eat it any more. Recalling Sensei’s face, my lotus started to vibrate again, distributing pleasant sensations all over my body. I physically felt the presence of Sensei nearby. More accurately, I did not feel Sensei himself, but I felt the force that came from him at that moment. And I felt so nice and cozy, as if someone had wrapped me up with soft petals. In this state of bliss I dozed off.
