Cказки Призраков. Tales of Ghosts. Премия им. Эдгара По / Edgar Poe Award (Билингва: Rus/Eng). Александра Крючкова

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СКАЧАТЬ about to turn back and leave, as Marina stopped me.

      «Vika, I don’t feel comfortable! Come in for a while! Let’s drink coffee! I’ll treat you to something delicious!» she offered smiling.

      «No, no, I have to go back to the office!» I said, squeezing out a smile in return.

      «Your office can wait! Moreover, your boss is at the bank! Let’s go, come on! I won’t let you off so easily now!»

      I wasn’t too keen on going into their flat, although I had never been there before. I was even more embarrassed by the prospect of the upcoming conversation. A couple of years ago, when Marina and I had got acquainted, I tried to chat with her on general topics, but, as it turned out, we had really not much to talk about, besides, I was afraid to say something extra, so we ended up drinking coffee in silence.

      However, she almost dragged me into the entrance.

      We got up to their flat. Marina invited me into the kitchen. I was looking at the collection of souvenirs on the open shelves without much interest, while she brewed coffee.

      «How are you?» Marina suddenly broke the silence.

      «I wonder who she means saying „you“?» flashed through my head, but I tried to respond neutrally, «Everything is just as usual.»

      «Vlad said that a business trip to Finland is planned.»

      «Yes, but no dates have been set yet.»

      We sat down at the kitchen table. Marina silently offered to clink the cups. I didn’t resist.

      «When are the negotiations supposed to be over?» she asked, taking her first sip and glancing at her watch.

      «I don’t know, probably soon,» I answered and felt a sharp pain in my stomach, once again remembering the doctors’ advice to forget about such a wonderful drink.

      «Vika, do you believe in life after death?» Marina suddenly asked and picked me up, as I was losing consciousness from pain. «Come with me!»

      The pain left me as abruptly as it had appeared. I got up from the floor and followed Marina into the living room. She stopped by the window.

      «Now there is nothing to fear and lose,» she said without looking into my eyes. «Why did you need him?»

      «I don’t know what to answer you…»

      I knew what to answer her. I loved Vlad. Not for anything. And that’s why I didn’t care what status to be next to him. Did Vlad love me? A great question. Anyway, I had never asked him to divorce his wife, realizing that he got used to her. I didn’t wish them any harm.

      «God sees everything, Vika. He should have punished you both. You can’t imagine how much I hate you! However, God will forgive me for what I’ve done,» Marina began to sob like a kid.

      «What have you done?» I got surprised and, from a bad feeling, I immediately turned to Vlad mentally, «Please, come here quickly! Your Marina is going to eat me now!»

      «I know he wouldn’t leave you! Yes, I’ve never loved him, since it was a marriage of convenience, but he had no right! No right!!!»

      «Calm down, please!» I didn’t know what to say in such cases.

      «I couldn’t live like this! Could not! He had to lose us both!!!»

      Suddenly we heard rushing footsteps on the stairs, and the front door slammed.

      «Marina! Vika!» Vlad shouted out of breath, «are you there?»

      Marina froze in silence, turning to the window, and I ran out into the corridor.

      «It’s nice of you to come!» I exclaimed.

      Vlad didn’t seem to hear me, heading for the kitchen quickly.

      «We are here!» I shouted again. However, frozen at the ajar door, Vlad didn’t even turn around.

      «Marina!!! No, you couldn’t!» he exclaimed without turning to me.

      «God must forgive me!» she said coldly, approaching us.

      I stood between them, trying in vain to figure out what had happened. Vlad turned around, slammed the kitchen door in my face, and, not paying any attention to us, started pacing back and forth down the corridor, frantically dialing someone’s number on his phone.

      «Vlad, what’s wrong?!» I wondered.

      «I’ve calculated everything,» Marina said, patting her husband on the shoulder. «It’s too late!»

      «Ambulance?» shouted Vlad, getting through.

      «What damn ambulance?! What’s wrong with you?» I screamed in his ear.

      «He doesn’t hear us,» Marina stated. «However, life after death exists indeed.»

May, 2002

      7. Межгалактический Союз Писателей

      Путь к моей славе был достаточно лёгок – мне несказанно повезло!

      Однако началось всё с того, что родился я исключительно уродливым и невысоким. Моя сестра-близнец, Майя, напротив, получилась симпатичной, да и невысокий рост для девочки – скорее плюс, чем минус. Майя нравилась всем. От меня воротили нос. Как я ни пытался понравиться людям, обратить на них своё внимание – тщетно. Даже тяжеленная обувь на толстенной подошве не прибавляла мне ни весу, ни росту.

      Так я и стал писателем – завёл себе жилетку в виде дневника, которому доверял интимные страдания от невзаимности, но после пришедшей на ум первой же рифмы переобулся в поэта. Вскоре я обнаружил, что в Интернете есть масса сайтов, где можно разместить свои шедевры. В итоге, после мучительных качелек между «за» и «против», ведь тогда я ещё не был уверен в отменном качестве собственных произведений, всё-таки СКАЧАТЬ