Райса Каримбаева - Quarantine. A book of stories and poems

Then the bus stopped and a dark gypsy woman entered, in a shabby, well-worn dress of an incomprehensible gray-brown-crimson color. In a pitiful voice, she began begging for alms:

– Help, please!! – she lamented, looking straight into the eyes of passers-by – mom is dying, dad is dead, there are seven of us. there is nothing. Give who can. – holding out her palm, she belittles.

Aigul submitted 150 tenge. She could not look calmly at people asking for help. She herself came out of poverty. Traded in bread from a bakery. One tenge from the sold-her. I managed to earn 300 tenge per day. There is no work in the village. Everyone can get out. Therefore, she cannot look at poor people without pity and sympathy. Nevertheless, the gypsy, having collected a “pitch”, left, got off at the next stop and headed to the next bus with the same request. “The city is expensive. It is difficult to live here,” thought Aigul understandingly. She tried to understand the person before judging. At the next stop she got off. Janelle lived in a five-story luxury building with an intercom. You should have said into the intercom and only then they will open it to you. Aigul tried again, but again there was no answer. “Probably gone,” thought Aigul and was about to leave when a cool black foreign car drove into the yard and Janelle fluttered out of it like a butterfly with pink hair and bright makeup.

Well, hello! – stretching out her hand says Janelle – How long have you been standing? Get in the car. I’ll buy you some tea. There is a pretty cafe here not far.

Aigul sat down. In the city, people do not cook for themselves, go to cafes of national cuisine and eat there. Saving on food, they buy expensive things from the cu turier and go on vacation to the sea in Europe and Turkey. Janelle did that too. She ate in tiny portions in a dessert plate and was always hungry, For Aigul it seemed wild. Why go hungry and are afraid of fainting when you can eat normally, even if not in new clothes? Why expensive diamonds when you are about to faint, because your head is very dizzy with hunger? Aigul did not understand this, but was silent so as not to offend her friend. They went to the Cafe. On the way, as usual, they chatted about nothing, laughed and joked. The roadside cafe was on the corner, at the intersection of two streets. The cafe was surrounded by greenery, there was a fountain in the courtyard, and the children of neighboring houses were bathing in it. Janelle They sat down at the table. Everyone here knew her well and every now and then she answered greetings or was the first to say hello herself. Waiter, boy 20 years old. came up extremely quickly. After ordering food and almost not touching it, when it was already brought and it was possible to start the meal, Janelle gave out:

– I just want to tell you about the new fashion. No, this is not an advertisement. I’ve been doing this myself for almost a year and a half. Business is very convenient in that you do not need any expenses. All work on the internet. -And right there, not allowing to figure out what’s what, she thrust some pieces of paper into Aigula. They needed to be printed in several samples and sent out over the Internet. Income from how much you distribute. And the more mailings, the higher the income. Can. of course to hand out, but on the Internet it is faster and there will be more clients.

– We have no Internet in the village – said Aigul

– Nothing, so give it out – Janelle did not give up

– To whom? – asked Aigul- No one has money. And they don’t eat these pieces of paper. Inedible.

– Oh, come on, forget … – said and immediately began again, but in a different way- That’s why I quickly got rich and my personal life began to improve, tell me, eh? Are you silent? You do not know? And I’ll tell you, you need to lose your mind!

Aigul choked on a piece of bread:

“This is a joke, isn’t it?” She asked naively, hoping it was a joke after all.

– Village!! – a little angry girlfriend – No. This is not a joke, but reality! So I studied well, graduated from college with honors, I have a job, but no personal life, that’s all! And I am beautiful and tender, and the suitors do not look. But life goes on, I’m not getting younger. Before you have time to look back, life will fly by. I want to live beautifully, richly! And there is no money, there is no rich groom either, but there are a lot of problems. I will soon turn 30, and not married and no life. As if someone had stolen her life. I’m standing at a bus stop, waiting for a minibus, and then a boy so handsome with blue eyes, tall that your uncle Akhmet, runs up and shoves me a brochure. At first I thought I wanted to steal something, raised a cry, and he shoves it at me and smiles such a carefree smile that I felt jealous. I came home and began to read. It turns out one scientist said to the whole world. that the mind brings only sorrow. They say that for the happiness of the mind is not necessary at all. Here, says the children are happy why? Because they don’t think about anything, they rejoice at this day, this sun, wind, even flies and mosquitoes. Memory is the mind, and from it all the troubles. So I decided to become happy as a child. Professor M has a clinic here. He came here from America. I looked: all the people here are evil. I got upset and decided to make the people of Kazakhstan happy, that means to help, and opened the clinic. Yes, she’s right there. in a neighboring house on the ground floor. The procedure for erasing memory is not expensive – 29 thousand tenge. Don’t worry, I will pay for you for the first three sessions, and then you yourself. You will see, all sorts of thoughts will disappear, life will become easier, boyfriends will appear. I’ve probably not, I’ve even lost count of them. “Janelle taught her stupid friend to reason.

then the phone rang, did she pick it up?

– Hello! -Said Janel_ Who are you?

– But how who? – shouted in the tube – your neighbor! You have completely flooded me! It flows strongly from the ceiling, the ariston burned out, the wiring is jammed..

_ What Neighbor? – asked Janelle_ I have no acquaintance named Neighbor. very sorry, but I don’t know you. Excuse me. -Nothing understanding says Janelle

The pipe swore and died out.

– Some strange, says Janelle and rushed to carry on to carry some kind of nonsense. Aigul did not listen to her. She was shocked and did not believe what was happening. It seemed to her that she was being played. That this is such a joke. And she smiled. But

then Janelle grabbed her hand and rushed to the exit:

– I will now show you everything, she chirped hastily, holding her friend tighter and fearing that she would slip away inadvertently. She grabbed so hard that her hand was numb and her fingerprints were blue. Five minutes later they entered the private office of a professor named M. Here he was consulting and doing hypnosis. Under the influence of hypnosis, a person partially lost his memory, and with it his mind. The queue was not long, only ten people. In the aul, the queue for bread is much longer at times, since there is one store for the entire aul. In the office of Professor M. you had to register and make an appointment. Then they will appoint a time and by this time you will enter. Not earlier, not later. If you are late, you will not come at all. Therefore, people were worried, often asked the time again and were in a hurry, they were not even angry a lot. Who came here for the third time. someone for a week. Those who have been in nirvana for a week, in paradise. Sometimes with stupid faces, as if falling from the moon onto a sinful earth, they did not understand what was happening and cried like little children. But moms weren’t around. And the “children” were crying louder. calling your mom. It was funny and disgusting to watch.. Janelle was busy in the reception, asking something, answering the secretary’s question, and calling somewhere. Aigul, left to herself, was left unattended. They forgot about her. She whispered in Janelle’s ear that she wanted to go to the toilet and, having received an approving nod, immediately rushed to the exit.