Dmitry Nazarov - Right hand. Prince of Darkness

Inside we had to split up. Male travelers were allowed outside the gates, but they were not allowed to enter the living quarters, so Eitan had to eat and spend the night in some kind of military tent, spread out for such purposes in a wide courtyard. Either a local watchman or a woodworker was called in to help him, I didn’t really figure it out. I was taken along the stairs to the second floor located on the street. First, I ended up on a terrace covered from the rain by a wide canopy, and then in a room of an incomprehensible purpose: it was too large for a cell, too small for a refectory. Judging by the wooden table, it was still meant for eating, perhaps in cases where several nuns happened to have breakfast or dinner separately from the rest.

There were six of us in the room: four novices, one nun and myself. The menu consisted of a cup of water, a slice of black bread and… several heads of garlic. Either this vegetable became a favorite dish on earth, or it was used with might and main as a means of detecting demons. If the goal of the hospitable hostesses was the latter, we can say that it was achieved: I did not touch the garlic. I can’t stand his smell, and it has nothing to do with my, without a doubt, demonic essence.

However, to the credit of the local inhabitants, it must be said that they did not raise a fuss about this, and did not try to feed me by force. The atmosphere was quite friendly. Novices – they generally burned with curiosity, wanting to learn more from a person from the outside, and at the same time just chat about this and that. The presence of a nun was a hindrance: you can’t say everything you want in front of her. I had to limit myself to general, meaningless and “politically seasoned” phrases. But such a problem (as, indeed, any) had a solution.

– Sister Keminya! It’s really embarrassing for me to ask you about this … – I said, nervously fiddling with my fingers, – but my companion, the one who remained below… You see, he injured his leg during the journey: either twisted, or dislocated, or just hit. Hard to say. It’s definitely not a fracture, but maybe he still needs help.

My words, of course, were lies from beginning to end, but I suppose it is superfluous to explain that I did not worry about this.

– Don’t worry ma’am, we’ll check it out. The monastery will never turn a blind eye to human suffering. I’ll go down and ask him how he’s feeling. And, if necessary, I will send our healer. She’s great at this kind of work.

– Thank you, Sister Keminya, – I replied, looking down modestly.

It was fortunate that the nun left herself, and did not send one of the novices on an errand. Now it was possible to communicate, so to speak, without constraining factors.

– Well, – I perked up, – how is life in the monastery now?

And she winked encouragingly, making it clear that everyone is here.

– Quietly, calmly, without fuss, – answered the girl of strong constitution, who seemed plump because of her wide bones.

The apostle reliably hid her hair, but I was convinced that she wore a braid – at least until she was removed to the monastery.

My face took on an extremely sour expression: the novice expressed herself as if the nun had not left at all. Or, for example, remained standing outside the door. However, I have a flair for human presence, and therefore I had no doubt: no one outside was eavesdropping.

– Benevolently, – said the second with a peaceful smile, from under the scarf of which the edge of a black strand inadvertently peeked out.

No, they deliberately decided to kill me here! Directly not people, but angels in the flesh! I wanted to go outside and unwind, at least in a figurative sense, and maybe literally.

– It’s boring, – the third novice unexpectedly replied, literally bringing me back to life. – Nothing happens, every day is like the previous one.

– Not just boring, sickening! – picked up the last, the shortest, but no less lively. – You ask how life is, but there is no life here! The longing is hopeless.

The big girl looked at her disapprovingly, although now this disapproval seemed feigned. The novice with the stray lock smiled without a hint of judgment.

– You came to the monastery recently, – she turned to those who dared to express their displeasure. – We haven’t gotten used to it yet. Here life is completely different. Such changes, yes, in two or three weeks, it is impossible to accept. Here you need to get used to, feel, comprehend. In the meantime, of course, it’s not easy, – she sighed sympathetically.

Well, here’s the sermon. Complete steadfastness in the look, combined with sincere concern for others. Killer combination.

I turned away, preferring to focus on the other acolytes.

– And how did you get here?

– I am the youngest daughter of four, – the short one replied. – The dowry for the sisters was somehow scraped together, but it wasn’t enough for me. So they gave it here to somehow attach it. – She shrugged her thin shoulders, spread her hands, they say, such a story, whether you want to condemn, or not.

– And I’m the eldest, – the one who was built stronger than the rest smiled sadly. – But the end is the same. The other novices nodded sympathetically, apparently already knowing the story. But I didn’t know the continuation, so the girl explained: “Until our eldest daughter gets married, the rest can’t either.” Not to go to the ball, not to get acquainted, and even more so to sweeten the engagement. And I was born ugly, no one wanted to marry me. Here, so that the younger ones do not stay too long in the brides, they sent me here.

– What kind of parents are these? I squinted angrily.

The maternal instinct is alien to me, and I do not fully understand people who voluntarily doom themselves to many years of torment, which I imagine the care of a child and his upbringing. However, if you don’t want children, don’t have them, live for your own pleasure. And if you started, if you please, drink your cup to the bottom. It is not good to throw out of the life of someone who in this world cannot really stand up for himself. For such actions in the afterlife it is very unpleasant. I already know. However, is it worth waiting for death?

– What are the parents’ names? – as if in between times I was curious. – Do they live far away?

– Far, close, it doesn’t matter anymore, – the short woman waved her hand. – Behind these walls is like distant lands.

Her intervention diverted the conversation from my question and thereby saved the family of the eldest daughter from major troubles, such as fire, hurricane or earthquake, which I would not have failed to arrange for them.

– They are hyenas, not parents, – the novice declared with conviction, having previously admitted that living in the monastery is boring. – However, Barbara is no better.

She glanced sideways at her youngest daughter, who was handed over to a monastery for lack of a dowry.

– Barbara’s parents wanted what was good for her, tried to protect her, – objected the novice with a broken lock. – An unmarried woman has nothing but trouble in the world. So they sent her here to protect her from a difficult fate.

– How do you know, Agna? – snorted the one whose family my hands itched to punish. You might think you’ve lived a lot in the world.

Apparently, the brunette’s sermons and her inexhaustible faith in the good infuriated more than just me.

– I’m an orphan, – she explained calmly when I arched an eyebrow in question. “I have lived in the monastery since childhood. The nuns have replaced my family.

– And how did you get here? I asked the fourth novice impatiently. Did your parents send you too?