Irina Tall (Novikova)

Today she had a fever, she was lying wrapped in a cuckoo in a warm bed of yellow bright flowers, and outside the window lay a roaring and wet snow and dogs roamed it, along with people, crows crumpled in black spots in the snow, and an inaudible speaker was talking under the pillow , the lecturer quietly read the text of a famous book ...

She moved her right hand a little and touched her forehead, hot, very hot, like a red-hot melting furnace. “And why am I lying here?” she thought. And suddenly a few lines came, they flew in, sat on the bare wires and froze there, and they didn’t want to go anywhere, and that’s all, no matter how you drive them away.

They grumbled. “I’m a little kid

I’m a year without diapers ... “

And they played it again and again, something was seething inside, it pricked, and it became either smaller, or more, completely Alice in Wonderland. Or maybe there are no miracles?

And the man in the big black hat came up with it.

And her mind froze, and a pair of deer ran through the store, one with large long horns, the other graceful with many spots, the second was a female and she always strove to rush forward, but as soon as she ran out, a large stand with an inscription or with canned food. So they succeeded each other, he and she ... Outside, something moved, a hammer banged somewhere and consciousness surfaced, an almost drowning child, the future suddenly ended and all dreams swam away like fish, but she remained here and no one else interfered with her.

She found a thin panel behind the lapel of a brown bedspread with a few white stripes and drops of red berries like blood, took it in her hands, he responded, lit up and trembled through him, he vibrated a little, opened a new page with his fingers and launched the film for two long hours ... Perhaps they will someday become shorter ...?

The man on the gray screen argued, then found the drumsticks, began to rehearse, she leaned over and hugged him: “I don’t want you to make noise! I can’t stand the noise! I don’t want to! You have to give it up for me!” and she nervously began now to put the key around your neck, it was instead of a big cross, and instead of a palm a small bag of tobacco ... Too free woman, too fair-haired and beautiful ...

The woman clenched her palms, closed her eyes, consciousness fell asleep again, it plunged into the ancient plane of being. And there were many films: detectives, thrillers, romantic comedies and ...

A fish swam, waved its tail, and after it the jackdaws rumbled with black fins, pushing the gray expanse of the lake and everyone became fish ...

When she woke up it was already night, an old and impenetrable old woman, below there was a warm jar of water and a soaked handkerchief with a blue border and a funny blue baby elephant. She thought all the time and her head became heavy and rebellious, and there was a movie, some people were dancing, then there were outfits in the style of Louis XIV and suddenly a black car, a jeep drove up to the main entrance and criminals broke in, some people in black and their own skin is like soot, not recognizable in the light of day ...

Or maybe it’s their own skin and they are not painted? I don’t know, I can’t say anything, and someone throws a cigarette, pours gunpowder, pours gasoline and everything lights up, almost to the ground, the gray screen drives off and you can see old heavy hands, a beard, an elderly man looks at the screen, - “I’m nothing I don’t understand what it’s for? I don’t understand anything at all? Why is this all? .. Behind her, laughter is heard, exclamations of discontented exclamations of condemnation and she is distracted, goes to the kitchen, looks into an empty snow pan with a single red spot of a flower ...

He presses the silver piston of the tap, a transparent stream pours, hands substitute the white bottom, and it fills with a transparent mass, then lights a blue bleeding light and opens a yellow package with a white inscription and orange stripes, inside buckwheat-colored pasta, measuring the right number and gradually long worms in the pan they start to stir and get wet and soft and she turns the black knob on the switch.

She does not know her actions, her head is cracking and it hurts, her throat, she strokes the swollen meat with her hand and she becomes chilly, her legs give way and her body sits heavily on a wooden chair tied with black lines of ropes, the seat is soft, bardovop, slightly aged and faded and the color faded ... And nothing else to change.

And the brown clock measures the lost time and lost moments, and everything will end soon... Perhaps!?

The siren sang in her head, walked over the pan and waved her tail, touched the curtain and stuck her tongue in there, licked the edge, and there were a bunch of flies, ate everyone and rushed off into the night.

The dragon flew in and ate half of the pasta, she just cried, and then where there is so much, there is a whole kilogram, she sat on the back of the dragon and flew away with him so as not to see the white veil of dawn.

Just don’t tell her!” repeated the rabbit.

The fox narrowed his eyes very much and clattered his teeth, and the blizzard lifted them up and carried them somewhere into their own distances.

“And they won’t tell you that you could live, they won’t see anything in you and they won’t be able to tell you more than you know, and you won’t be able not to do it!”, sang a voice and fell silent.

He was somewhere there, but not close, but most likely farther than one could say or think ...

She was looking for him and all her hands were pierced with blood, raking sharp snowflakes that were mixed and melted in the snow, the crust pricked her bare feet, and when she lost consciousness, a black rider picked her up, he was wearing a cloak and mask and she couldmnot see her face, only big bright owl eyes and he kept warming her hands and feet, blew and blew and she became warmer and finally forty began to subside and the films merged into a single eolecdoscope and consciousness woke up to live on.

She opened her wet eyelids, dawn passed over her hand, froze like a bunny in her palm, played with her fingers and caught a narrow strip on light beige wallpaper with silver stains.

And the fox no longer bothered her, and the rider settled into daytime anguish and something else pinched her heart, and she broke into a smile and became like others, like everyone else and like those who do not remember their illnesses.

The sparrow chirped, he flew and sat down on the railing, cold and narrow, there was a little snow and he sat warming his thin pink legs in the inhabited snowdrift. He chirped, pecked at some buckwheat and flew off to his own.

And the dawn in the bottom departed, gave its reign to the bright and snowy day and endless winter.