If Oksana had known what would happen, she would have thought twice before going to the village that summer. She would have surely convinced her parents to go to the Black Sea instead, but she couldn’t. Oksana deeply loved her grandmother Varya.
Varvara Alekseyevna also missed her granddaughter and had prepared a jar of strawberry jam for her since last year, knowing how much Oksana loved it more than chocolate candies.
So, it was July. The hottest month of summer marked a new day. The sun lit up the paths when Ksyusha stepped off the train and, taking off her tight, uncomfortable sandals, headed towards the cottage where she had long been awaited. The wind blew through her long fiery hair, which reached down to her waist, beautifully complementing her blue, floral dress.
Oksana walked. She flew, hurried to meet her beloved grandmother, but soon was shocked by what she saw. In one alley flashed Natasha. The very girl who had disappeared over a year ago. It was unmistakable. Long ashen hair resembling dreadlocks, only she wore such. And the lip piercings were hers too. Taken aback, Oksana froze in place, nearly tumbling into a ditch but managed to hold herself.
«Natasha, Natasha… Tutsi,» she yelled to the girl.
But the former classmate disappeared just as suddenly as she had appeared. Oksana looked again at the intersection, peeked behind the house, but the girl was gone. «Tutsi,» Oksana shouted, «your mom is looking for you. What have you done with your parents?»
But the girl and her trail were gone. Oksana involuntarily shrugged and moved on. There was no doubt: it was Natasha or Tutsi, as her classmates called her. She was always a bit odd, but the girls were friends and never fought.
Tutsi was good at tarot reading, loved mysticism, and even interpreted dreams. She also had a distinct appearance: long ashen hair almost to her waist. Sometimes she dyed a few strands blue, making her look even more exotic than before. Tutsi was not sociable but not malicious. And then, two years ago, she disappeared.
Natasha wasn’t missed immediately. No one saw her stand up, leave the tent, and never return to the camp. The girl was searched for in the woods, at friends’ homes, but never found. The police and her parents searched. They didn’t find her. Seeing their faces, Oksana decided they weren’t as distressed by the loss as other parents would be. They barely cried, didn’t cling to each other. Oksana thought they just weren’t showing their feelings. Some even thought they knew the reason but didn’t say. Some thought the girl was no longer alive. The camp where they stayed with the class had various rumors, including one about a maniac prowling the area. No one saw him then, but there were many rumors. Oksana had no doubts that Natasha was gone, and now, she saw her on the road and even in the village. It was very strange.
Looking at the road again, Oksana shrugged and hurried to her grandmother’s house. Varvara Alekseyevna was home. She was talking on the phone and didn’t notice as Ksyusha entered the door. The woman was focused on something and Oksana caught snippets of her conversation:
«Yes, Natashenka… Come to me this evening and bring Lyosha. I’ve already prepared a wedding gift for you.» And Oksana froze, sensing trouble. Does it mean Lyosha, whom she liked, was getting married? To this Natasha? What about me? Ksyusha involuntarily wiped her tears, imagining the one she liked getting married. And to whom? To Natasha, who would now be eighteen? No, this can’t be happening.
But the chain of thoughts was interrupted by her grandmother: «Ksyushechka, sunshine, why are you sad? Did mom upset you?» «Is Lyosha getting married?» «Yes,» answered Varvara Alekseyevna, «and what of it to you? He found a good girl for himself, well, I’m rushing to congratulate. You know, we always have such traditions in the village: to congratulate the young. Understand?» «Yes,» answered Oksana, «just thought a bit.» «Don’t worry,» replied the grandmother, «they’re a very pleasant couple. And I’ll definitely introduce you to them. I think that’s not why you’re sad. Let’s go inside, you must be tired from the journey.»
Oksana was confused but tried not to show that she was upset by the news. Lyosha was her secret, which she wanted to tell her grandmother. And now? All for nothing! Why confess love, dream about the future, counting stars? It all turned out to be empty words? Well, she would have to concede him to her rival.
The grandmother noticed her granddaughter’s sad mood immediately, but Oksana didn’t tell her anything about Alexey. The neighbor’s son, whose cottage was near Varvara Alekseyevna’s house, had stirred her feelings for six months. Oksana knew he lived in the city but didn’t know exactly where. He hadn’t come to the cottage in the village for several years, so Oksana didn’t know how he lived and what he was doing. She thought he was no longer interested in traveling with his father to the rural cottage.
Everything changed in the winter. Choosing a toy for New Year’s, Ksyusha accidentally met Lyosha in the city. He had noticeably matured and become more robust, more interesting. They started talking. After the New Year, they went for a walk in the park, and it started from there. Oksana couldn’t even think that she would fall in love with him. With that same boy with big cornflower-blue eyes, with whom they built sand castles in childhood and jumped into the river.
Oksana wanted to tell her grandmother that she had a boyfriend, and here it was. Lyosha announced that he was getting married. She just had to accept it. There was no other way.
«And how are you, my granddaughter? How are mom and dad?» «Thank you, grandmother, all is well. They send you their big regards!», answered the girl.
And she started to tell various insignificant facts that had no relation to her feelings. Varvara Alekseyevna listened attentively to the girl, then suggested she rest a bit after the journey. Oksana lay down but didn’t sleep. Her thoughts were gloomy in the house, which she loved more than anything in the world.
«Dear,» said her grandmother, «listen, can you go to Afanasyevna now? She has prepared a little treat for you, and she promised to give me a currant sapling. A rare variety. They say it’s completely white.» «I’d love to, grandmother,» answered Oksana.
And, deciding that a good deed was the best defense against negative thoughts, she hurried to the familiar house. Grandmother Afanasyevna greeted the girl joyfully. She began to talk about herself, about how her granddaughter had long been suggesting she move to the city, but she didn’t want to part with the house. She treated the girl to tea and a delicious liver pie. Afanasyevna treated Oksana to tea and a tasty pie with liver. Amidst the conversation, the girl briefly forgot her sad thoughts and remembered the time only when the sun began to set behind the river.
Grandmother’s Guests In the grandmother’s house, the light was on. Through the slightly open window, the sounds of conversation reached. Oksana tried to discern the guests, but it was hard to see because of the curtains. She thought she heard Lyosha’s voice, and the girl became sad again.
Oksana understood the awkwardness of the situation: Lyosha sat at the table with his bride, and she stood here. The one he swore love to, promising to marry. If the grandmother had known earlier, she would definitely not have blessed their wedding. In the village, they don’t greet those who dump girls, and they don’t even come to their weddings.
Oksana listened. There was almost no doubt left. But how to pass by the guests unnoticed? A breeze blew from the river, Oksana shivered and decided to tiptoe into the room—perhaps the guests, busy with conversation, wouldn’t notice her.
The girl stood up, crept to the door, and stumbled. Who knew that the cat Vaska would climb on the top bucket and, seeing Oksana, jump down, knocking over the metal lid and the iron mug standing on top, right under her feet. The metal dishes clattered to the floor along with the girl, who couldn’t keep her balance. She couldn’t go unnoticed by the guests.
The noise brought the grandmother running, and Oksana realized: now the young couple’s celebration would be ruined. «Oksanochka, what happened to you? That rascal climbed the buckets again? And now jumped on the window sill? Well, I’ll teach him a lesson…» The cat flashed amber eyes, displeasedly licking itself. «No need,» the girl replied, getting up and stepping towards the bedroom. «Come in, my dear,» the grandmother responded, «I just baked a raspberry pie. Sit with us.» Oksana wanted to make excuses and lie about something, but the grandmother had already opened the door, introducing her granddaughter to the guests. Seeing them, Ksyusha sighed in relief: at the table sat a completely different Lyosha and Natasha. This was a very mature and quite attractive couple. They looked at the girl amiably and invited her to the table. But Oksana didn’t know that strange events were just beginning in her life.
Prophetic Dream That night, Oksana struggled to fall asleep, and when she finally dozed off, she dreamed of Alexey and her classmate Natasha. The girl with long ashen hair called to Alexey, beckoning him with her shiny black nails, and it was maddening. Ksyusha spent a sleepless night and only managed to truly fall asleep towards morning. And when the next day she met her fiancé on the village street, she suddenly realized that the dream had been prophetic.
«Lyosha, why are you turning away from me?» Ksyusha asked, looking into the guy’s eyes. «There’s nothing to talk about,» the guy responded indifferently, «I love another and will marry her…» «How can that be? You swore your love to me? Remember what you said and promised…» But Lyosha looked away indifferently and only said: «Such is life, sorry. We have nothing in common, so goodbye…» «Who is she?» «Natasha,» said Alexey, «and I love her very much…» «Wait,» insisted Oksana, «not a blonde by any chance with long hair? Tall like that?» «Blonde,» answered Lyosha, «so what?» «Well, that she ran away from her parents and dropped out of school. Do people with nothing to hide act like that?»
Lyosha pondered, then frowned, and after said: «You’re saying all this just to stop me from getting married. I get it. I didn’t know you were so vindictive.» And, casting a contemptuous glance at the girl, Alexey walked on.
Witch Oksana watched him for a long time until a woman touched her hand. «What, dear, did your boy dump you?» «Yes,» Oksana sighed sadly. «That’s fixable. Go see Valentina. She’s our local witch, she can do love spells. Everyone goes to her. Even if someone’s husband strayed or a boyfriend dumped them. She always tries to preserve families and can even return love.» «Is that even possible?» asked Oksana, «I always thought such fortune-tellers were just scammers. And I have no money.» «Oh, Valya won’t take anything from you. She practices magic just for herself. She’ll do a love spell for you for a jar of jam. Or even just like that.»
And she gave the address. Oksana remembered it but was skeptical about the offer. She always considered magicians deceivers, but in this situation, she decided to visit the witch. Not for a love spell, but for advice. The girl was hurt to lose her love and couldn’t believe that Lyosha could dump her for another.
In the evening, Oksana quietly left and headed to the witch’s house, which stood on the outskirts of the village. It was night, the stars twinkled, and a sinister full orange moon shone on the horizon. In the witch’s lit-up house, Oksana saw her classmate Natasha and another woman. Alexey was there too. He was pleading with Natasha to marry him, but the girl made it clear that she had no mutual feelings. Their conversation was clearly audible from the street, and Oksana didn’t need to listen carefully.
«Lyosha, I don’t love you and will never be yours,» said Natasha. «Especially since you’re dumping a girl you love.»
«I don’t have anyone but you,» the former fiancé of Oksana justified himself. «I only love you.»
«That’s not true,» Natasha countered. «I’ll never believe you. Besides, you’re not my fate. We’re not a couple. Leave me alone.»
«Then unspell me,» Lyosha insisted. «You probably enchanted me, and now you’re driving me away…»
«No one thought to enchant you,» answered Valentina with a hoarse voice. «You’re not a match for my daughter; she doesn’t love you. She’ll have another fiancé, but not right away. And you should return to your girl. She’s waiting for you and loves you, so don’t hang around here anymore.»
Lyosha headed to the exit. Oksana’s heart rejoiced. She was glad that Natasha and Valentina were on her side. Now she wanted only one thing—for Lyosha to return. And although it wasn’t easy, she would definitely forgive him.
Oksana decisively took hold of the door handle and entered the house. Greeting, Oksana looked at Natasha once more—there was no doubt—it was her, her former classmate.
«Natasha? How did you end up here? Everyone was looking for you, your parents were looking for you…» «They’re not my parents,» said Natasha, «they just took me because Aunt Vera once lost a child…» «It was my fault,» answered Valentina, «which I regret to this day. Then, when I got pregnant, my husband left me, I got fired, so out of despair, I left the baby at the maternity ward. Later, of course, I tormented myself, regretted what I had done, but I couldn’t get my daughter back. I missed her, searched for her. Only my gift helped me get her back then.» «Listen, does that happen?» Ksyusha asked, «maybe it’s a false premonition.» «No,» answered Natasha, «Valya did a DNA test, so it turned out that she’s my mom, and I’m her daughter. So I went to her.» «Wow,» answered Oksana, «I never thought that could happen.» «Mom did all the paperwork for me, so I study in a rural school. And I’ll apply to the medical college in the city.» «Good for you,» answered Ksyusha, «glad you were found.» «And the boy will come back to you,» said Valentina, laying out the cards, «and very soon.» And then there was a knock at the door. Lyosha was standing on the threshold: «Listen, I was so confused that I left my cap here.» «Take it,» answered Valentina and looking into Alexey’s eyes added, «And walk Oksana home, it’s already late.»
While they walked home talking, when they arrived, Lyosha unexpectedly fell on his knees before Oksana. He wrapped his arms around her and was silent. Oksana felt his tears flowing down her legs. Then he suddenly looked up and said:
«Forgive me. I beg you, forgive me… I myself don’t understand what devil took over me. I promise it won’t happen again. I realized that I love you and want to marry only you.»
Oksana looked at the boy for a moment, and everything around froze in place. In the girl’s soul, feelings, pride, and love, hurt and the desire to forgive battled. Finally, she raised her eyes and whispered:
«I forgive you, because forgiveness is the most important thing in life. But don’t hurt me like that again. I won’t tolerate it a second time.» And the lovers embraced.
