translate english epilogue_main_7a98964b:


    "A sharp pain throbbed through my entire body."


translate english epilogue_main_7c0ecf1c:


    "I felt it especially sharply in my temples."


translate english epilogue_main_28766e67:


    "It feels like they're ready to shatter into a thousand little pieces, giving the wind free access to my empty head."


translate english epilogue_main_1f5640c9:


    "Probably I would not have been able to stand even five minutes of such torture if I hadn't opened my eyes in time."


translate english epilogue_main_4d647778:


    "I was {i}somewhere{/i}, it was impossible to tell precisely where."


translate english epilogue_main_81be611c:


    "My mind was clouded in mist, my thoughts were confused."


translate english epilogue_main_0c4d877e:


    "The moment between the unconscious and conscious states when you vividly remember your dreams."


translate english epilogue_main_e050dc5d:


    "I was going somewhere by bus and was about to doze off when suddenly a girl came up to me and began to speak quickly."


translate english epilogue_main_5d58d05f:


    "I couldn't understand a word, but the girl looked very upset."


translate english epilogue_main_6bdcd82e:


    "I failed to understand what she needed from me."


translate english epilogue_main_21564d96:


    "Time passed, and she kept talking on and on."


translate english epilogue_main_bb180213:


    "It was getting really annoying."


translate english epilogue_main_23d9757b:


    "I wanted to ask her to cut it out or at least calm down a bit, but I failed – either because I didn't manage to say anything or because my words didn't reach her."


translate english epilogue_main_14eb51b4:


    "I couldn't even see her face. I was simply listening and staring, staring and listening..."


translate english epilogue_main_685c283d:


    "Perhaps it wasn't important for me then."


translate english epilogue_main_f176077d:


    "Surely you would not try to remember what a mosquito disturbing your sleep looks like."


translate english epilogue_main_79c81bc5:


    "Surely you wouldn’t manage to recall the frequency of its flapping wings or the inclination of its proboscis after that."


translate english epilogue_main_065ff797:


    "And this girl is just one of millions of voices that disturb you from concentrating, from thinking, from falling asleep..."


translate english epilogue_main_66488078:


    "The louder her voice grew, the harder it got for me to catch her words."


translate english epilogue_main_829ffeb0:


    "The bus cabin, the seats worn by time, the uneven floor, the rusty ceiling, the cracked glass of the windscreen – everything was floating away.{w} Along with her."


translate english epilogue_main_1281b344:


    "And then I felt unique sense of relief."


translate english epilogue_main_de7746b8:


    "It didn't matter how real the bus and the girl had been – it was nothing but a bug to me."


translate english epilogue_main_6f529678:


    "And here I am, hanging in total emptiness and falling inside a dream..."


translate english epilogue_main_ed7f45f7:


    "Wow, dreams can be really something...{w} Not quite a nightmare, yet definitely not something pleasant."


translate english epilogue_main_4ad85600:


    "I got up, rubbed my face to get back to reality, gave a loud yawn and prepared to clean myself up."


translate english epilogue_main_2ebebacc:


    "It was a really grey morning."


translate english epilogue_main_6695bb75:


    "Unable to find my hygiene kit on the night stand, I concluded that I could manage without it."


translate english epilogue_main_66d354ed:


    "It was hard to get dressed – my hands were trembling like hell."


translate english epilogue_main_571f5d50:


    "I looked at my reflection in the mirror and checked out my two-week stubble."


translate english epilogue_main_c4b53f19:


    "Well, perhaps Olga Dmitrievna has a razor..."


translate english epilogue_main_602cb68c:


    "It was only when I went outside that I suddenly understood that I'm not in a pioneer camp!"


translate english epilogue_main_f8f2d3b4:


    "I'm back in my apartment!"


translate english epilogue_main_7132ec6d:


    "And I've just come out of my room into a passageway, not out of the cabin!"


translate english epilogue_main_d7d976c7:


    "I was overwhelmed with surprise, with dismay, with fear, even with terror."


translate english epilogue_main_f8f1fe90:


    "But how?!"


translate english epilogue_main_4b63500a:


    "I sat down on the bed and buried my face into my hands, trying to remember the chain of yesterday's events."


translate english epilogue_main_c0692396:


    "Yeah, the bus, the last day of the term."


translate english epilogue_main_28a24bd1:


    "Yeah, I fell asleep...{w} and woke up back 'home'."


translate english epilogue_main_e6a0051c:


    "Well, to some degree, it might even seem quite logical."


translate english epilogue_main_9b3b626a:


    "It seemed that the initial astonishment has worn off during the first few seconds."


translate english epilogue_main_2b7cb0bd:


    "After all, the fact that I came back like this after a week-long absence is no stranger than my sudden appearance at some pioneer camp of the eighties in the first place."


translate english epilogue_main_94b8b09a:


    "The events of the last two days flashed before my eyes in an instant."


translate english epilogue_main_4cdec556:


    "That mysterious pioneer, his words..."


translate english epilogue_main_16f67736:


    "But how did I manage to get back to reality then?"


translate english epilogue_main_302cfd4b:


    "According to him, I was going to be stuck {i}there{/i} forever, as there's no exit!"


translate english epilogue_main_da19ba98:


    "On the other hand, I wasn't alone."


translate english epilogue_main_c8c85310:


    "That pioneer at the bus stop and the mystery voice emphasized the contrary – that the exit exists."


translate english epilogue_main_d51d1680:


    "Does that mean I found it, I managed to get out of the endless loop?{w} But how?"


translate english epilogue_main_2d5435f1:


    "Nevertheless, I wasn't sure whether I should rejoice or grieve – over the last week I'd kind of gotten used to the everlasting inner monologue, the search for answers and the in-depth analysis of everything, so I simply couldn't accept this fact as it was, without figuring out what exactly happened to me."


translate english epilogue_main_797ee454:


    "Sure, he told me that I'm the only one who has observed the existance of other guys like me during their very first loop, but does that mean anything?"


translate english epilogue_main_6d0aec47:


    "Anyway, all his theories and ideas instantly collapsed like a house of cards!"


translate english epilogue_main_117f74f8:


    "Now I had to decide how I should react."


translate english epilogue_main_f5b5600e:


    "Of course, I should rejoice!{w} After all, I'm back to the real world."


translate english epilogue_main_9d077188:


    "Maybe the last seven days were just a dream."


translate english epilogue_main_ef3f3b75:


    "Indeed, there's absolutely no evidence that I really was {i}there{/i}."


translate english epilogue_main_6bf2c0b3:


    "I don't see my pioneer uniform anywhere, I look my age, just like I did before.{w} My phone is on the table, fully charged."


translate english epilogue_main_9854060f:


    "But one can't deceive one's own memory.{w} One can't live through such terrifically real experiences in a dream."


translate english epilogue_main_e2ba07bf:


    "I still remember the events of the whole week in great detail."


translate english epilogue_main_b42bf578:


    "Perhaps I was in a coma all this time?"


translate english epilogue_main_7db54ad1:


    "An ironic laugh escaped my lips."


translate english epilogue_main_37cb3d33:


    "Nah, that's not an option either."


translate english epilogue_main_59c846f5:


    "Then... all's well that ends well?"


translate english epilogue_main_fdf1c653:


    "The last few hours in the camp flashed through my mind."


translate english epilogue_main_376c1a1c:


    "Indeed, I wasn’t hoping to get out – either from that camp or from that reality – and I was pretty much ready to another week.{w} And another, and another one..."


translate english epilogue_main_bff86508:


    "I'd accepted my role, I'd reconciled with my destiny."


translate english epilogue_main_4a86a5af:


    "And what was I supposed to do after all the stuff that happened?"


translate english epilogue_main_c6b1ea80:


    "I heaved a doomed sigh, got up from my bed with considerable effort, and went to my computer."


translate english epilogue_main_0dba5f6f:


    "That's weird, but according to it, only 14 hours have passed since my disappearance from this world, not a whole week."


translate english epilogue_main_295da44b:



    nvl clear
    "A new message in the instant messenger..."


translate english epilogue_main_8ffdf5b6:


    "{i}Hi Semyon! Yesterday... It was legendary! CU L8R! :))){/i}"


translate english epilogue_main_da755414:


    "My college friend. It was him who invited me to that party with the rest of his college friends that I was going to attend."


translate english epilogue_main_6c9bac4f:


    "Suddenly, all my senses came back to me: the headache, the dizziness, all the symptoms of a hangover."


translate english epilogue_main_393d03d9:


    "It looks like I indeed attended that party yesterday. And I was partying hard... So, there was no pioneer camp? But then, where did all these memories, emotions and feelings come from?"


translate english epilogue_main_dc6e0b16:



    nvl clear
    "All of this was so incomprehensible that I became enraged. I began cursing foully, trying to tear my hair out and hammering on the keyboard with my fists. I didn't return to a normal state until there were no keys left on it."


translate english epilogue_main_f36bf9ba:


    "Why should I care so much? Nobody worries when a dream or a hallucination ends. Moreover, people are usually glad that it happens. Was I really that prepared to stay there that my return to reality became so undesirable for me?"


translate english epilogue_main_5f5b219a:



    nvl clear
    "And then a simple and obvious thought crossed my mind. Perhaps I'm just going insane..."


translate english epilogue_main_2500664b:


    "Indeed, madmen frequently have visions which they perceive as reality. Besides, I had all the symptons of insanity: I never leave the four walls of my prison, I never socialise, I have lots of psychological problems. Well, that explains a lot!"


translate english epilogue_main_18e12dde:



    nvl clear
    "My dark, nervous laughter echoed in the room."


translate english epilogue_main_92e8ada7:


    "Guess it’s the right time for me to visit a therapist. Or rather a psychiatrist. Or should I just surrender myself at the asylum?"


translate english epilogue_main_636725da:


    me "A horse! A horse! Half my kingdom for a horse!"


translate english epilogue_main_5f0e3c02:


    "I cried at the top of my lungs between bouts of my manic laughter."


translate english epilogue_main_ecb4a2ab:


    me "Dispute not with her! She is a lunatic!"


translate english epilogue_main_56059efa:


    "The racket my neighbours made on the wall calmed me down somehow."


translate english epilogue_main_5eb2202b:



    nvl clear
    "If I'm tripping that bad, it looks like only a lobotomy could help me."


translate english epilogue_main_ce617998:


    "..."


translate english epilogue_main_258159ac:


    "I just sat completely freaked out for several hours. Doing nothing, thinking nothing, just staring at the monitor, long since gone into sleep mode. Finally I moved the mouse and opened a few tabs in the browser. So, what's new? F5, F5!"


translate english epilogue_main_81eac3b9:


    "As if the events of the past week had never happened. Come on, do you have to grieve for a hallucination? Was it real? Sure. Lots of memories? Sure. Looks true enough? By all means, yes! Any proof? Nope."


translate english epilogue_main_6e5d6669:



    nvl clear
    "The verdict is clear, as is my future course. I have long suspected that my current lifestyle wasn't doing me any good. I wasn't ready for such an unusual event, but so what? I'll have to be more prepared for my next trip."


translate english epilogue_main_ce617998_1:


    "..."


translate english epilogue_main_76b2fe88:


    nvl clear


translate english epilogue_main_8e39de8c:


    "Night. An endless stream of threads and images took my mind off my lamentations and considerations. An instant message window popped up most unexpectedly."


translate english epilogue_main_b336ac6e:


    message "Hi, how are you doing?"


translate english epilogue_main_e3463832:


    "Sure, quite an original way to start a conversation."


translate english epilogue_main_e7ce88cd:


    me "Doing fine."


translate english epilogue_main_931ab60c:


    "The contact's profile was completely empty. Not even a nickname – just a nine-digit number. You can't guess what kind of person is on the other end by just looking at a number, can you? Sure, someday it will be all different. Unified digital identifiers instead of names, a couple of symbols for a biography, several bytes of personality and three and a half bits of feelings..."


translate english epilogue_main_dd99d86f:



    nvl clear
    message "Get home safely?"


translate english epilogue_main_387fcb02:


    "Probably someone from yesterday's party."


translate english epilogue_main_830dea84:


    me "Seems like it."


translate english epilogue_main_707b84c6:


    message "You do remember everything I told you yesterday, right?"


translate english epilogue_main_f5ebe454:


    me "Well... I guess not."


translate english epilogue_main_62a3a2c6:


    "There was yet another message after a long pause."


translate english epilogue_main_ca8f6404:



    nvl clear
    message "I see."


translate english epilogue_main_998b1726:


    "Honestly, I don't give a damn who this is and why he is messaging me. Until this unidentified individual starts harassing me, I could easily tolerate his presence in my contact list."


translate english epilogue_main_33de6e67:


    message "Well, that's ok. We'll meet again. We surely will."


translate english epilogue_main_f5239078:


    "Sure, looking forward to it, yeah..."


translate english epilogue_main_c92f92b9:



    nvl clear
    me "Alright."


translate english epilogue_main_e24c9d81:


    message "Bye!"


translate english epilogue_main_0e18a85a:


    "I didn't reply."


translate english epilogue_main_f8d54840:


    "This odd, screwed-up day at last was slowly coming to end. Going to bed, I yet again recalled in my head all the events that seemed so real for me. Where am I going to wake up tomorrow? Would these hallucinations return? Nah, I'll probably just forget everything."


translate english epilogue_main_95611f9f:



    nvl clear
    "Strange, but now I'm really feeling that everything happening now is real. {i}There{/i} was just a fiction, a game of deformed imagination, or really something fantastical, and {i}here{/i} is reality. Sometimes inconvenient, sometimes it unfolds differently from how you'd wish, surprises you like this, but it’s still reality! "


translate english epilogue_main_fb80d3eb:


    "I fell asleep with these thoughts."


translate english epilogue_main_ce617998_2:


    "..."


translate english epilogue_main_76b2fe88_1:


    nvl clear


translate english epilogue_main_c07a412b:


    "Bit by bit, my life resumed its normal course, and I started to forget the events of that week. After all, nothing bad happened. Even if it was indeed real, who cares? That were only seven days in a pioneer camp. I wasn't killed, nobody kidnapped me to conduct experiments, I wasn't brainwashed, so why do I care now about the reason?"


translate english epilogue_main_d7bc5196:



    nvl clear
    "And if it indeed was a hallucination, I could only hope that it won't repeat itself."


translate english epilogue_main_76b2fe88_2:


    nvl clear


translate english epilogue_main_1c95a7cd:


    "I was still a shut-in. My computer and the internet were my only friends, and the keyboard was the only communication channel connecting me to the outside world. The F5 key became the main thing in my life again. Come to think of it, it really wasn't all that bad."


translate english epilogue_main_76b2fe88_3:


    nvl clear


translate english epilogue_main_88474bfc:


    "Yet one day a familiar combination of digits popped up on the screen – that strange contact of mine had come online once again."


translate english epilogue_main_68c6e51f:


    message "Hey!"


translate english epilogue_main_a87c71d7:


    me "Hey."


translate english epilogue_main_15fd667b:


    message "How are you doing?"


translate english epilogue_main_e7ce88cd_1:


    me "Doing fine."


translate english epilogue_main_c56a1499:


    "Probably I knew him from somewhere. But who cares, anyway..."


translate english epilogue_main_fcdab43c:



    nvl clear
    message "Any news?"


translate english epilogue_main_dd5093d8:


    me "Not really."


translate english epilogue_main_d166e979:


    message "Stability is a sign of true class?"


translate english epilogue_main_dd69c3a1:


    me "One might say so."


translate english epilogue_main_e43109d5:


    message "Oh, I see."


translate english epilogue_main_e99ffbdc:


    "This conversation was over for me, but he didn't seem to feel like that."


translate english epilogue_main_efe11ea9:



    nvl clear
    message "So, nothing has changed?"


translate english epilogue_main_8dd0767d:


    me "Nope. Should it have?"


translate english epilogue_main_6fa5b1d2:


    message "Well, it's not like you experience stuff like that on a day-to-day basis! Not everybody gets to experience it either..."


translate english epilogue_main_1084810b:


    me "What are you talking about?"


translate english epilogue_main_3c014c6c:


    message "Don't you get it?"


translate english epilogue_main_67b3ef9f:


    "I was starting to."


translate english epilogue_main_a160c0c8:



    nvl clear
    me "I'd prefer you to explain."


translate english epilogue_main_ba495f57:


    message "Don’t you remember the camp?"


translate english epilogue_main_907853ad:


    "It felt like an electric shock! All the events of that week immediately sprang up in my mind. My hands started to tremble, a cold sweat burst from my forehead. I turned around in horror, already imagining that I'd see aliens, ghosts, or the grim reaper. But there was nobody in my room except me, as always. I ran to the corridor, checked in the kitchen and in the bathroom – still nobody. At last, I returned to the computer. The same message window was still flashing steadily, as if it was a perfectly ordinary message."


translate english epilogue_main_56c768f9:



    nvl clear
    me "Who are you?"


translate english epilogue_main_b69f1bc8:


    "My hands were trembling so much I could hardly hit the right keys."


translate english epilogue_main_56d58b67:


    message "Oh, so you do remember it?"


translate english epilogue_main_30227704:


    "My hallucinations seem to be continuing? Or did I never leave the camp in the first place? Or it's just a dream after all? Or..."


translate english epilogue_main_54a73f72:


    me "I don't know what to say."


translate english epilogue_main_3a4edaaa:


    "I admitted sincerely. Anyhow, I felt that this entity (that's the only definition that I could think of) doesn't need any kind of internet to communicate with me."


translate english epilogue_main_bbccea89:



    nvl clear
    message "Well, you can just keep silent, everything's perfecty clear xD"


translate english epilogue_main_a073eb1b:


    "That smiley at the end of the line looked like the devil himself, stretching its deformed jaws open to devour me."


translate english epilogue_main_e1d6b6aa:


    me "What is happening to me?"


translate english epilogue_main_d850b239:


    "I finally made up my mind to ask that question."


translate english epilogue_main_5e3cf096:


    message "Nothing. Nothing at all. You’re just living your regular life."


translate english epilogue_main_39faba7a:


    me "But the camp... Was it real?"


translate english epilogue_main_93656c09:


    message "And what do you think?"


translate english epilogue_main_4515fb38:


    me "I'm not sure."


translate english epilogue_main_83608308:


    message "If it seemed real to you, then yes, it was real. If not, then it wasn’t. It's just that simple."


translate english epilogue_main_d1986394:



    nvl clear
    "That's not simple at all!"


translate english epilogue_main_a87d627d:


    me "What will happen to me next?"


translate english epilogue_main_9db6b90d:


    "I whispered."


translate english epilogue_main_ab2d839e:


    message "Nothing to worry about."


translate english epilogue_main_7b4418d5:


    "It seems that it really heard me without the use of the internet. Terror chained my whole body, I closed my eyes and curled myself into a ball."


translate english epilogue_main_dfa8be82:


    me "Why, why are you doing this to me?"


translate english epilogue_main_4d3bcab6:


    "I started to lose it. Words were coming out of my mouth by themselves. Illogical, meaningless sets of words."


translate english epilogue_main_9ee3c724:



    nvl clear
    me "Why? Why me? What for? What for? Leave me alone! I haven't done anything bad!"


translate english epilogue_main_ae870164:


    "Several minutes after I found the courage to open one eye and take a look at the monitor."


translate english epilogue_main_148f12c7:


    message "You are the reason for everything."


translate english epilogue_main_3f769b22:


    "The message window was flickering coldly."


translate english epilogue_main_5f3254a2:


    me "And what’s next?"


translate english epilogue_main_a1f21fcf:


    message "Oh, you'll see that soon enough! :)"


translate english epilogue_main_76b2fe88_4:


    nvl clear


translate english epilogue_main_74902b45:


    "Everything started fading to black in my eyes, noise filled my ears, and I started to feel dizzy. I felt that my very soul was escaping its physical shell. The events of the last few days became hazy, as if they'd all happened to someone other than me. Then the memories of the camp started to vanish, as if somebody was using an eraser to thoroughly rub out words written with a pencil. Moment later, I felt and sensed nothing, as though I was plunged into a state of cosmic bliss."


translate english epilogue_main_f7590cd3:


    "If anyone saw me at the moment, they would notice that I was smiling..."


translate english epilogue_main_a20cefa7:


    "..."


translate english epilogue_main_529298f6:


    me "Eh... I'm kind of stuck here."


translate english epilogue_main_6f3ba371:


    "I hit the report spam button, closed the window, switched to the browser and glanced at the clock."


translate english epilogue_main_612c456e:


    "Time to get going or I'm gonna be late..."


translate english epilogue_main_a20cefa7_1:


    "..."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_0da63856:


    "There are moments when reality becomes unimportant, insignificant, unworthy of attention."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_6693cd84:


    "There are moments when your spiritual torment overshadows everything else."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_092e6505:


    "And even if the world ended – you would not notice.{w} If a knife were to pierce you – you would not notice.{w} Even boiling for eternity in the cauldrons of hell would seem like just a minor inconvenience."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_92427898:


    "After all, there are problems more important than that…"


translate english epilogue_un_bad_ab4e3f76:


    "When I opened my eyes, I realised that something is wrong."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_089c801c:


    "It took a while for clarity of thought to return."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_2638c66a:


    "Finally I realised that I'm not in a bus, but…{w} in my old apartment."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_7c7bf187:


    "Well, that was to be expected."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_724c6d60:


    "As if I'd spent a whole week preparing for an exam and, at the last minute, had spectacularly failed."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_c9575f91:


    "And the result of this failure was my return to the real world…"


translate english epilogue_un_bad_95da6ae5:


    "However, now it didn’t seem any more real to me than the Sovyonok pioneer camp."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_f7d76256:


    "No wonder. Reality is what you can hear, feel, touch and taste.{w} And all that was really there."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_85abf9cd:


    "That world was real to the smallest detail. Sometimes it seemed more like it was my past life that was a fiction."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_f527260f:


    "And now I have to remember how to exist here…"


translate english epilogue_un_bad_459b2ee7:


    "Though why?{w} I felt like a man who'd been thrown out of the car at full speed without even noticing it."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_fd341608:


    "And was left, lying on the roadside with broken arms and legs while the car disappeared into the night, taking with it the last traces of hope."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_b99b2263:


    "Lena…"


translate english epilogue_un_bad_6f0311f7:


    "Her image surfaced in my fevered brain so clearly that I wanted to cry unbearably."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_ae8f3acd:


    "No – I wanted to shout, tearing out clumps of hair, smasing my fists on the wall while making inhuman screams."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_f7554966:


    "However, my soul was empty."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_c0d3b99f:


    "I tried in vain to find at least the echoes of pain, guilt, or pity for her, but nothing came."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_18791a54:


    "I was just lying here and staring at the ceiling..."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_53f73d1e:


    "I was not at all interested in how and why I came back."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_5e02e068:


    "After all, who cares about the process of selling your soul to the devil, all the legal formalities of the contract, signatures, stamps and seals?"


translate english epilogue_un_bad_db394f22:


    "What is more important is the result.{w} And this is the result I got."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_5e75b8df:


    "No, it's not that I was sent back to reality!{w} If I had gotten to the destination on that bus, it would hardly have changed anything for me."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_53be3572:


    "In this case, the result is what happened to Lena.{w} And the reason is my actions.{w} I was absolutely sure about that."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_a3b352cb:


    "After all, she could not just do that for no reason...{w} No, Lena is not like that!{w} So it's all my fault!"


translate english epilogue_un_bad_7f92c544:


    "It is hard to live, knowing that you were the reason for someone else’s death."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_1b453803:


    "As if I personally held the knife, calmly and carefully slit open her wrists and watched her die.{w} And then just ran away..."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_bd552dae:


    "Of course, I couldn't do anything in that situation, but I still felt that I'd behaved like a coward."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_1f993547:


    "No, even worse…"


translate english epilogue_un_bad_0c858154:


    "Although, does it really matter what the best definition of my actions is?"


translate english epilogue_un_bad_c763d1a6:


    "I cursed myself for remaining so calm while thinking about this situation."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_d14867bb:


    "After all, I should be mourning Lena and blaming myself...{w} But now nothing is up to me.{w} If I was not able to back then... "


translate english epilogue_un_bad_f7620350:


    "I started shivering, my body was trembling and it was getting hard to breathe."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_7a23b79f:


    "Self-preservation instincts overtook guilt for a while, and I staggered to the kitchen to drink a sedative."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_8325eee3:


    "They can always be found in the cupboard of every antisocial person like me."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_06a8cbb9:


    "Once I'd taken half of the tablets that were in the packet, I returned to the room and turned on the computer.{w} Remaining in silence was unbearable."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_561abd10:


    "I played the first random song and soon realised that it was probably the most depressing piece of music I had on my hard drive."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_2233adb0:


    "However I didn't want to turn it off – the background noise helped dampen my thoughts."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_5fa296f2:


    "I had to decide what to do with my life next."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_d453809f:


    "I was sure about one thing – everything that happened in the camp, my appearance in it, my unexpected return, I didn't care about any of it."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_a36af85e:


    "And not just that, I didn't care about the context or the reasons for those events either."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_6fb09a75:


    "The only thing that mattered was Lena."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_081d7480:


    "I horribly stumbled over the word 'was'.{w} Indeed, she's gone."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_cc0ad615:


    "Of course, it's possible that it was just a dream and she never existed in the first place."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_810ea4a2:


    "But then again, our real world could just be someone's raving delusion as well."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_0403a983:


    "Why not?{w} If people suffer from losing their loved ones {i}here{/i}, why should I think of Lena’s death {i}there{/i} as just the result of my sick imagination?!"


translate english epilogue_un_bad_ff643764:


    "I saw it all with my own eyes. I felt the shock, fear and fright..."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_88638ccf:


    "Damn it!{w} For me it's not that it {i}was{/i} reality, it still {i}is{/i} reality."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_9dedbadc:


    "Is and will be!"


translate english epilogue_un_bad_e2eb86dd:


    "And I'm sure I'm not daydreaming!"


translate english epilogue_un_bad_e27cd146:


    "Though it would be better if I'd dreamt that..."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_59ef3021:


    "The dreadful howl of guitars boomed from the speakers.{w} It sounded like a requiem.{w} A requiem for me..."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_cb6f7baf:


    "And now I have to live with this sense of guilt?{w} No, I won't take it!"


translate english epilogue_un_bad_034f1df0:


    "My mind wasn't exactly a paragon of stability, but...{w} Not even a man with a stable mind could withstand shocks like this."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_167e249d:


    "And I already feel that I'm going mad!"


translate english epilogue_un_bad_14cf330d:


    "I tried to suppress all these thoughts.{w} No, not to forget, just to give myself some rest."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_6ff084a7:


    "Just for a minute..."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_41d75612:


    "But it didn't work – pain wracked my body again and again.{w} I was already starting to feel it physically.{w} However, physical pain is always weaker than mental..."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_04d0ffcc:


    "I fell to the floor, clasped my knees and began rocking back and forth in a fetal position."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_d629c94e:


    "Blood pounded in my head so heavily that it felt like my skull could shatter any moment now."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_ddf2c20b:


    "I hit a table leg, and a little candle rolled out from under a pile of papers."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_a52bd6cd:


    "A little one, 20 centimetres long, it was bent at an almost 90 degree angle, but still retained its shape. The wick protruded from one end."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_210e40a9:


    "I searched for a lighter and lit up the candle."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_510f67d0:


    "Let it be in the memory of Lena..."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_55f5fa34:


    "Maybe in another world she is feeling better than..."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_ce617998:


    "…"


translate english epilogue_un_bad_be1b0bed:


    "I sat on the floor and watched, as the wax slowly dripped onto my fingers."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_a54003ea:


    "I felt no pain at all – probably my nervous system was so exhausted that it was unable to transmit the pain impulses to my brain."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_ef0a06ae:


    "The fire calmed me a little – I just watched the flame and did not think about anything."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_160075f5:


    "Finally, at least some peace of mind ..."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_ce617998_1:


    "..."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_f07d7c82:


    "The candle was half-way done."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_bf7d5546:


    "Suddenly I imagined that my life is this very candle."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_f97deac3:


    "Not just mine – any person's life."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_7d4f29f6:


    "All that we have been given from above is its full length."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_a017ae8e:


    "But anything can happen – the wind may blow, the holding hand may tremble, or the wick may burn out...{w} And a life will end before it should have."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_2ebac29f:


    "But after all, each candle can be different!"


translate english epilogue_un_bad_550851ec:


    "Such as this one – 9 cents; one twice as thick – 20; and huge ones, as thick as the handle of a shovel – 1,85."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_986feabd:


    "I wonder, did Lena's candle burn out ahead of its time, or was it just smaller than the other ones?"


translate english epilogue_un_bad_d3c73c95:


    "Though I doubt there can be one smaller than mine..."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_0a488632:


    "I rotated the candle in my hands."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_06a3d48f:


    "How interesting is that – I can blow out the flame any moment, and that's it..."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_1c8c0f19:


    "But in the meantime, life is not wax, you can’t combine two small candles to make one of medium size."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_fe0373f7:


    "I would love to give the remains of mine to Lena."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_038be31f:


    "To anyone who needs it more than I do!"


translate english epilogue_un_bad_317fb567:


    "Why would I need it? I do not feel pain from the heated wax, its flame does not give me any warmth, it hardly illuminates the room."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_d887153f:


    "To put it bluntly, a waste of ropes, wax and oxygen..."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_7bf48038:


    "I blew out the candle."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_87239164:


    "This action evoked absolutely no emotions in me."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_aed890bf:


    "I slowly stood up and headed to the bathroom."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_ce617998_2:


    "…"


translate english epilogue_un_bad_a61ee024:


    me "Cut down the road, not across the street...{w} Everyone else cuts across, but you're going right down the..."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_50614f77:


    "The image of Lena appeared before my eyes."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_efd90378:


    "She was smiling."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_8c835c15:


    me "We'll definitely meet again...{w} I'm so sorry..."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_9ee997b0:


    "Warm water, shadows and dying dreams have finally brought me some peace."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_16861ec1:


    "It really might be that I never actually went to that camp."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_487e661d:


    "Or that I never actually came back."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_1c0fe513:


    "But does it really matter now..."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_cb89588c:


    "I almost physically felt Lena's embrace."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_c4d43861:


    me "Everything will be alright...{w} We'll catch the bus together and ride it to the place...{w} Where nobody will find us...{w} Where we'll be happy together..."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_7e153b32:


    "My strength left me and I started to sink into the water that was already spilling over the edge of the tub."


translate english epilogue_un_bad_8c835c15_1:


    me "We will surely meet...{w} Forgive me... "


translate english epilogue_un_bad_ce617998_3:


    "..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_ced219ed:


    un "Wake up!"


translate english epilogue_un_good_2e7081b6:


    "Consciousness slowly returned to me."


translate english epilogue_un_good_451af48e:


    "It's like I'm falling from a cliff so high that clouds are drifting nearby."


translate english epilogue_un_good_6188d36b:


    "The ground is coming closer, but I’m not afraid that I'll die. My fall slows down and my body is smoothly immersed into the warm ether..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_456fff17:


    "I opened my eyes."


translate english epilogue_un_good_9e2c1e5b:


    un "You'll sleep through your whole life like that!"


translate english epilogue_un_good_ed8bfd35:


    "Lena looked at me seriously."


translate english epilogue_un_good_0bd39427:


    me "Ah? What? We’re there already...?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_79937daa:


    un "Where's “there”?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_211eccb4:


    "I looked around."


translate english epilogue_un_good_5efc1f6b:


    "A bench, the square, Genda..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_aedb5b04:


    "But how?{w} I was on the bus, going to the district centre."


translate english epilogue_un_good_576a105f:


    un "Why you are looking at me as if you've seen a ghost?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_8bb49e0e:


    me "But we...{w} Why am I still here?!"


translate english epilogue_un_good_a5d4a4e2:


    "For a second I felt terrible fear."


translate english epilogue_un_good_0113bcd7:


    "Will I never get out of this place?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_973d03cf:


    me "We were...{w} On the bus... Together..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_5f6db029:


    un "On the bus?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_ef4c9ffe:


    me "Yesterday..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_77a0ecbc:


    un "Yesterday?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_18b26cc6:


    me "Yes, yesterday! Don't you remember?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_d6dd39b3:


    "Lena started thinking."


translate english epilogue_un_good_5bd0cf6d:


    un "Yesterday...{w} I don't remember anything like that.{w} Maybe you just had a bad dream."


translate english epilogue_un_good_7bef23f0:


    "Considering that all that has happened already seems like a hallucination, this must be a dream within a dream then."


translate english epilogue_un_good_5f1d7a74:


    me "Well, let's take it slowly..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_54beb87a:


    "I tried to think logically."


translate english epilogue_un_good_b23cd5f9:


    me "The session ended yesterday, all pioneers left, but we stayed...{w} And then we took a bus and headed to the district centre."


translate english epilogue_un_good_a3e6cada:


    "Lena surely looked perplexed."


translate english epilogue_un_good_5a05f88f:


    un "Are you kidding me?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_5d17104b:


    me "I am not kidding anyone!"


translate english epilogue_un_good_be6c71e6:


    un "Today is the last day."


translate english epilogue_un_good_56a8dc53:


    me "Wait...{w} So, how much time have I spent here?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_71c0ad20:


    "Lena started to count off on her fingers."


translate english epilogue_un_good_45719f1b:


    un "Looks like... seven days."


translate english epilogue_un_good_1163b74b:


    me "Not eight?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_0262d06c:


    un "It's seven, definitely seven!"


translate english epilogue_un_good_7b2a2cf9:


    "I gave an exhausted sigh and covered my face with my hands."


translate english epilogue_un_good_90cfa1fe:


    "Well, that's another riddle in the long list of this camp’s mysteries."


translate english epilogue_un_good_85181956:


    me "Well, ok...{w} Though I have a feeling that we won't manage to leave today either."


translate english epilogue_un_good_b672514d:


    un "Why?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_4d730f88:


    me "Sixth sense."


translate english epilogue_un_good_8d11582d:


    un "You're acting a bit strange today."


translate english epilogue_un_good_5b132458:


    me "I suppose, I have my reasons..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_9d577beb:


    un "Want to tell me?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_8f838576:


    "I gazed at her attentively."


translate english epilogue_un_good_e86e77ad:


    me "I do."


translate english epilogue_un_good_5ce3e082:


    "Sure, why not?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_d2bb6bf4:


    "When I had a real chance to break free from this camp, everything failed..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_87127cb1:


    "So what do I have to lose now?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_0ee8c6fb:


    me "Now where do I start...?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_9e69a9ba:


    un "Start from the beginning."


translate english epilogue_un_good_a3854fdc:


    me "Yes, of course...{w} Well, I was born, I studied, married...{w} Err... well, ok, I haven’t gotten married yet..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_a20e9f2e:


    un "You still have time."


translate english epilogue_un_good_dce47469:


    me "Yes, but...{w} Well... In a few words, like, I'm not from this world."


translate english epilogue_un_good_97c2c800:


    "From the look she gave me, it was clear she didn't understand me at all."


translate english epilogue_un_good_1072a05d:


    me "I came here accidentally. Even I don’t know how."


translate english epilogue_un_good_7887dd77:


    un "So what does your world look like?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_c2b423ab:


    "Lena asked seriously."


translate english epilogue_un_good_d1d836af:


    me "It's... Well...{w} It's virtually the same, but 20 years ahead of... your world."


translate english epilogue_un_good_fb5752ef:


    un "Do you already have space flight?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_f2fa462b:


    me "Well, if it comes to that, you have it as well.{w} However, we haven't made any great achievements in that field yet."


translate english epilogue_un_good_6b84b606:


    un "Sounds interesting!"


translate english epilogue_un_good_bac480a2:


    "I was unable to tell if Lena was taking me seriously or was just pretending to do so."


translate english epilogue_un_good_632121f6:


    me "I used to live in a completely different place as well. Far away to the north, judging from the landscape. In a big city."


translate english epilogue_un_good_94abe78c:


    un "I've never been to the big cities."


translate english epilogue_un_good_e8e0a840:


    me "Maybe that's for the best."


translate english epilogue_un_good_9790301a:


    un "Will you show me your house?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_96768537:


    "It seemed like she was taking this conversation as seriously as I was."


translate english epilogue_un_good_7e5baac7:


    me "Well, I'm not even sure it exists in this world..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_8d8e7fcf:


    un "Oh come on!"


translate english epilogue_un_good_e49a9950:


    "Lena pouted."


translate english epilogue_un_good_481c2e78:


    me "Well, sure, I will..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_df776ecb:


    un "So how did you get here?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_cf4b3576:


    me "One evening I took a bus, route 410 and... woke up here.{w} I don't know anything more than that."


translate english epilogue_un_good_39b2719c:


    un "The 410 route! That's the one that stops just outside the camp!"


translate english epilogue_un_good_57ebfa1e:


    me "Yes, but my 410 travels in another place... and time."


translate english epilogue_un_good_1c2133a9:


    un "Are you planning to return?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_78a5a750:


    "Lena said, and I noticed a note of unhappiness in her voice."


translate english epilogue_un_good_ad816568:


    me "I have no idea how to..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_cf0505aa:


    un "And if you knew?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_f078db34:


    me "You're asking tough questions."


translate english epilogue_un_good_be29202a:


    un "What's wrong?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_72d6612e:


    me "Nothing, but...{w} You see, I only just recently started to adjust to being here.{w} The first hours in this camp were such a shock for me that... I don't know..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_5f555b1e:


    un "It's okay, you still have time to think about it."


translate english epilogue_un_good_b1d14b10:


    "Time to think?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_5540c8a2:


    "It seems that even if Lena believed me, she considers this whole situation just a typical inconvenience and nothing more."


translate english epilogue_un_good_59c33efd:


    me "Anyway, it's not up to me.{w} Possibly even if I do want to stay...{w} You see, the one who brought me here can take me back as well."


translate english epilogue_un_good_c17e95b3:


    un "I believe that any event in a person's life has a reason.{w} Therefore, you are here for some reason."


translate english epilogue_un_good_1b2ffe6d:


    me "Maybe..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_5db9f7be:


    un "And if you haven't returned...{w} You must be needed here."


translate english epilogue_un_good_da6af767:


    me "Well, I can't rule out that interpretation."


translate english epilogue_un_good_9a80266d:


    mt "Hey! Time to pack your stuff!"


translate english epilogue_un_good_9719a190:


    "The camp leader's voice sounded from afar."


translate english epilogue_un_good_7ef75530:


    un "Hear that?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_2bf6ead1:


    me "I don't have much to pack..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_c09b5abb:


    un "But I do!{w} So, meet you near the bus!"


translate english epilogue_un_good_86be10c0:


    me "Would you like me to help?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_8fa9fd07:


    un "Thanks, but there's no need."


translate english epilogue_un_good_22f7b476:


    "Lena smiled and ran off towards her cabin."


translate english epilogue_un_good_6c54000c:


    "I remained sitting on the bench, trying to cope with the shock."


translate english epilogue_un_good_c391d6da:


    "My thoughts were still in chaos, one theory replacing another."


translate english epilogue_un_good_094c98fd:


    "On one hand, me being unable to get out of this camp isn't all that odd compared me finding myself here in the first place, but..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_a33f4f66:


    "What now? What am I supposed do?{w} Is there any chance that I can leave camp if I try again?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_675b9b96:


    "Anyway, what's the point in being nervous?{w} By now I know perfectly well that absolutely nothing is up to me."


translate english epilogue_un_good_70c222fc:


    "Maybe I just have to sit back and enjoy the ride?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_ef2764bc:


    "I couldn't help smiling."


translate english epilogue_un_good_b2d4b2d6:


    "Especially now, when I have an additional reason not to be in any hurry to leave.{w} And that reason is Lena."


translate english epilogue_un_good_3ed77c37:


    "Maybe she's right and I am here for some reason."


translate english epilogue_un_good_4a181a23:


    "In the end, even if I can narrow down the possible explanations for my situation to a reasonable minimum, there would still be a thousand and one."


translate english epilogue_un_good_ce005bce:


    "And if I keep exhausting myself analysing them, I'll just go mad."


translate english epilogue_un_good_251ac201:


    "Maybe it’s time I make a choice?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_72f1add5:


    "Maybe this world is not so bad after all.{w} Especially since for the first time in a long time I have something to live for."


translate english epilogue_un_good_994914a4:


    "It's still a vague something, but still I have it, it exists!"


translate english epilogue_un_good_8ae8f091:


    "And now I have the power not to simply hold it, but to develop it into something bigger!"


translate english epilogue_un_good_88e5892d:


    "With such thoughts I stood up and started walking to Olga Dmitrievna's cabin in order to pack my humble belongings and leave the Sovyonok pioneer camp forever."


translate english epilogue_un_good_ce617998:


    "..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_752fc388:



    nvl clear
    "..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_2000e780:


    "One may think it's strange (and that’s exactly how it seemed to me) but eventually we reached the district centre. I eventually got tired in the bus and fell asleep. When I woke up I ran up and down the aisle of the bus, gasping for air, but soon I realised that this long week is over!"


translate english epilogue_un_good_a8aed4e9:


    "At last I managed to break free from the camp. All the time I spent there seemed like so much longer than 7 days… And now everything is over."


translate english epilogue_un_good_33d7cf72:


    "Soon after that events moved with frightening speed."


translate english epilogue_un_good_b7912630:


    "No time left for self-analysis, or 'seeking answers'. Moreover, from time to time I completely forgot about the camp."


translate english epilogue_un_good_6383c486:


    "Like anyone who found themselves in a completely strange environment, I was completely lost. I had no papers, not even a simple birth certificate, and no skills to earn a living – professions such as computer specialist or call centre operator were not in demand."


translate english epilogue_un_good_b54c638a:



    nvl clear
    "Lena returned to her normal life. She had to graduate from school and get ready to enter university. The pioneer camp was in the south of the USSR, just as I'd assumed. Lena lived in a town with population of about 100,000. It was easy to get there by bus from the district centre."


translate english epilogue_un_good_c7376b62:


    "There was nothing special about the town. One big factory, rows of five-storey houses, wooden huts on the outskirts, a grocery store that closed at 7 p.m. and a supermarket, a true Eden for a shopaholic, with choices including rubber winter shoes, women’s sheepskin coats and men’s musquash hats."


translate english epilogue_un_good_02306dd9:


    "Before I would already be trying to run away from a place like this, but now it was my home. Cases of starvation were rare in 20th century Europe. I managed to find a job. I was employed as a turner's assistant in a factory and was also given a room in a hostel."


translate english epilogue_un_good_e8a877a1:



    nvl clear
    "Over time, this initially difficult and strange job started to bring a certain satisfaction. Partially, of course, that came from having the ability to buy food. Time passed and I climbed up a career ladder, becoming the head of a whole shift."


translate english epilogue_un_good_6bd80c6f:


    "My colleagues were amazed at my talent and persistence and so was I. Lena graduated from school and I spent several nights with a calculator, designing diagrams of expenses and income, and at last made up my mind to propose to Lena."


translate english epilogue_un_good_8de1f0df:


    "I don't remember now if it took a lot of time for her to think, if she suggested we sign a marriage contract, or if she protested because of the lack of a dowry, but in a short time both of us moved into a communal apartment room near the factory that cost two thirds of my salary."


translate english epilogue_un_good_ce390941:



    nvl clear
    "Thanks to free Soviet education for everyone, or maybe thanks to my wife's persistence, eventually I became a part-time student at the local polytechnic university."


translate english epilogue_un_good_467cd7ed:


    "At first I protested, saying that a fair proletarian had no need to act like the lousy intellectuals, but then I came to conclusion that a diploma would make my life easier."


translate english epilogue_un_good_d5213709:


    "It wasn't difficult to study thanks to my knowledge from my last attempt at receiving a higher education. Time passed and the country started to change. Of course I knew it would happen but still, the changes came out of the blue."


translate english epilogue_un_good_5f973fa2:



    nvl clear
    "You could compare it to being caught in an avalanche in the mountains. You can prepare all you like, but it will still bury you anyway. The factory was privatised and then closed down."


translate english epilogue_un_good_7676e0eb:


    "Moonlighting as a private driver in the 'Kopeyka' rattletrap I inherited from my father-in-law was not really a profitable business. I was even ready to apply for a camp leader position in Sovyonok, when Lena's distant relative died and left us a one-room apartment somewhere in Central Russia."


translate english epilogue_un_good_c490afc8:


    "After a family council we decided to move. We greeted the early 90s in a cramped kitchen in a khrushchovka, watching “Swan Lake”. Thanks to random side jobs I saved up some money and we decided to move to a bigger city. And of course, I chose my birthplace..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_b16966f7:



    nvl clear
    "We decided to sell the flat and used the money to invest in business. For some time we lived in luxury, buying mink fur-coats and expensive foreign cars, dining in restaurants and taking trips to other countries. Like many others during that time I had the luck to somehow make it big, starting from the bottom."


translate english epilogue_un_good_082d8313:


    "My business was construction material retail. It was a profitable market at the time because people made excessive money that they wanted to invest in luxurious homes."


translate english epilogue_un_good_200309d6:


    "Maybe such life could have gone on, but the 90s were called “rakish” for a reason. After encountering rackets and corruption I was left with an empty refrigerator, an empty wallet and the bitter taste of blood in my mouth."


translate english epilogue_un_good_f5d9692f:



    nvl clear
    "That was the time I tried to recall my 'man-from-the-future' status. Betting places that were impossible in the Soviet era popped up all over and I rushed to gamble on everything I knew. However, I faced new disappointments, as matches were won by completely different teams. Even the 1994 World Cup champion wasn't Brazil."


translate english epilogue_un_good_353ba4d9:


    "When I was just watching football on TV everything went as it should, but whenever I spent the last of my money to make a bet even underdogs began phenomenally beating favourites."


translate english epilogue_un_good_ea090535:


    "As well as that, I tried to pursue the career of a political advisor. However, you don’t get accepted into a high position like that without special connections or anything that would make people interested. I don’t know how long I would have gone through this torment if not for an event which changed everything – me and Lena had a child."


translate english epilogue_un_good_c402b437:



    nvl clear
    "In a hurry I started to search for any possible way to earn enough to provide for my family. I remembered some of my father's old friends and through them, by pretending to be a distant relative of myself, I gained a place as a junior data analyst in a bank. At the same time I made a new attempt to obtain my degree (or to be precise to {i}finish{/i} it)."


translate english epilogue_un_good_0c3a6b1b:


    "Time passed slowly. The money was just enough to fill our stomachs. I almost lived at work for days, trying to find some time for my exams. Lena stayed at home with the baby. That was when I started writing... I remember it as if it was yesterday. It was just after midnight and I was sitting in the kitchen in front of my old, worn-out i386, wildly killing monsters in 'DOOM II'."


translate english epilogue_un_good_fa74f193:


    "I wanted to sleep badly but computer games at least slightly distracted me from the infinity of dull days. When I completed another level I was suddenly immersed in thoughts about everything I'd gone through during the last few years. It was all too much for one person. That’s when I decided to write down everything that had happened to me."


translate english epilogue_un_good_65ff89ca:



    nvl clear
    "I launched the word processor and wrote down about two hundred words, with the clear intent of continuing it tomorrow. However, I didn't remember it tomorrow, nor even a week later."


translate english epilogue_un_good_a55760f5:


    "About a month later Lena, who was typing something on the computer, reminded me of my unfinished book. I reread it and deleted it, terrified. At that moment I started to doubt if I could ever do it. After all, it was an entire epic novel and I wasn’t even able to string two sentences together."


translate english epilogue_un_good_a0fb86f8:


    "In addition, it's not easy to write about yourself... Creative work put on the back-burner for now. I celebrated the arrival of the year 2000 as a certified specialist with department head duties. While moving to another apartment I found my old i386 among the trash that was to be thrown away and I remembered my intention of writing a book about my life."


translate english epilogue_un_good_b64fc8f9:



    nvl clear
    "I laughed. How stupid. However, after some time I opened my laptop and made a sort-of draft of a short story about a young man without a definite occupation or aspirations, who finds himself on a different planet. The style, orthography and punctuation, as well as the idea itself, were matched well to such a silly plot."


translate english epilogue_un_good_06d5c1a8:


    "I showed the story to my wife. She laughed but said that it was well-written and advised me to continue."


translate english epilogue_un_good_62204972:


    "About a year later, the drawer designated for holding my literary works was full. I found that very odd because I was spending entire days at work, sometimes even during holidays, and I tried to spend all my available free time with my family. However, that's what happened."


translate english epilogue_un_good_16103041:



    nvl clear
    "Around that time I decided to publish my short stories. As with any other beginner's work, most of mine were rejected, but a couple of them were accepted (including my first work). I was over the moon. Of course I was paid nothing but my works will be read! Meaning that someone will find them interesting."


translate english epilogue_un_good_d17d0576:


    "Time passed. We had a second baby now. During my spare time I slowly wrote a novel. No, not about my life, or the pioneer camp. I decided not to touch upon those themes ever again. Everything that happened years ago seemed to be the will of God, whose charity should not be tempted."


translate english epilogue_un_good_bc5da8f3:


    "Who can tell what would have happened if I hadn’t woken up in a bus near the Sovyonok camp gates?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_d7be6fd0:


    "A year later the novel was completed. After I'd annoyed almost all known publishers, I managed to reach an agreement with a small company. The editor, an elderly man wearing a ragged tweed jacket and thick spectacles which almost rubbed against his magnificent grey moustache told me:"


translate english epilogue_un_good_d813e73f:



    nvl clear
    "'Your level is average, young man... Average, yes. But the idea itself is interesting... interesting, yes. Well, you need more practice. And, er... More reading... Yes.'"


translate english epilogue_un_good_d13fddf7:


    "I remembered these words for the rest of my life. I dispensed the copies that were sent to me as a part of my royalty agreement among my friends and colleagues. Lena, who read my novel only after it was published, told me that she really liked it. Mostly out of a desire to not upset me, I guess."


translate english epilogue_un_good_78ec671a:


    "Time passed... The calendar days were unstoppably approaching that day when I was pulled out of my usual world and thrown into this life, starting from the mysterious pioneer camp and now ending up here. Now I am a successful writer (at least according to the number of copies my books have sold), I have a wonderful wife and two children. My life has turned 180 degrees."


translate english epilogue_un_good_e0db8497:



    nvl clear
    "Midnight tonight is the start of something new. {i}Tomorrow{/i} is the day that I was awaiting for so many years."


translate english epilogue_un_good_2cd0045b:


    un "What are you thinking about?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_83704a72:


    "I opened my eyes and saw Lena."


translate english epilogue_un_good_8e609a05:


    "She put a cup of tea on the table near an armchair."


translate english epilogue_un_good_72199a1c:


    "Firewood was gently crackling in fireplace and a snowstorm was roaring outside."


translate english epilogue_un_good_932e1068:


    "I wrapped myself up in a plaid blanket and looked at Lena."


translate english epilogue_un_good_f07f7371:


    me "Do you know what day it is?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_6b22e1e1:


    un "No, what day?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_e152372b:


    me "Do you remember what I told you back there in the camp?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_049b021f:


    un "No."


translate english epilogue_un_good_13821bda:


    "No wonder. During all these years I'd never brought up the topic of my mysterious arrival in this world."


translate english epilogue_un_good_1814dbd5:


    me "Do you remember how I told you that I am not from this world?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_d6dd39b3_1:


    "Lena paused."


translate english epilogue_un_good_9ebd484f:


    un "Well, something like that... yes..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_3ed0a2cc:


    me "So, today is the day when, many years ago, I got on the 410 bus and woke up at that pioneer camp."


translate english epilogue_un_good_ffd733f0:


    un "So, it's an anniversary?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_561828ec:


    "Lena smiled."


translate english epilogue_un_good_ca6a2d01:


    me "Yes, sort of..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_58a9940e:


    un "Is it a sad celebration for you?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_0d7f2c30:


    me "No, not at all!"


translate english epilogue_un_good_4013090d:


    un "And I remember almost nothing about that time..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_e68e962b:


    me "Maybe that's for the best..."


translate english epilogue_un_good_dd47136a:


    "I added some firewood to the fire and took the mug from the table."


translate english epilogue_un_good_429c57e7:


    me "Maybe I'll write a novel.{w} You will read it and remember."


translate english epilogue_un_good_b63153d6:


    un "Do you think that's a good idea?"


translate english epilogue_un_good_aed0e1bf:


    "Lena's expression became serious."


translate english epilogue_un_good_1b89c45a:


    "Indeed, I once promised myself that I would never write about it."


translate english epilogue_un_good_2141272e:


    me "Maybe it's not.{w} After all, everything that happened is just for us."


translate english epilogue_un_good_e5f761b0:


    un "That’s exactly what I think."


translate english epilogue_un_good_82c3c74a:


    "I sighed and looked at the fire."


translate english epilogue_un_good_b5944be5:


    me "You know, life is like a candle. Someone’s got a short one, someone’s got a long one. And it can burn out at any moment."


translate english epilogue_un_good_76bc0c24:


    un "Then our life is like this fireplace."


translate english epilogue_un_good_d76f93fa:


    me "Yes, perhaps."


translate english epilogue_un_good_5c7f770a:


    "I looked at her and smiled."


translate english epilogue_un_good_1064aa29:


    me "I'll sleep for a while longer."


translate english epilogue_un_good_9271b549:


    "Lena kissed me and fixed her gaze on the fire in a dreamy manner."


translate english epilogue_un_good_18bde327:


    "My eyes closed and my whole reality compressed itself down to the crackling of the firewood."


translate english epilogue_un_good_b130e182:


    "I started falling slowly, somewhere far away."


translate english epilogue_un_good_da5a6c7c:


    "No, it was not a dream. More like warm ether, gently enveloping my entire existence."


translate english epilogue_un_good_ce617998_1:


    "..."


translate english epilogue_us_f08a51bb:


    "It felt like I hadn't slept at all."


translate english epilogue_us_b10d729b:


    "It happens all the time. You just close your eyes and fall asleep, the hour hand makes several turns, the morning comes and you wake up but it feels like you just blinked."


translate english epilogue_us_f8bebe71:


    "I yawned so wide that I almost broke my jaw and jumped up because of the pain."


translate english epilogue_us_ab939c0c:


    "Something was wrong..."


translate english epilogue_us_2a6b0fba:


    "Though not 'something' - everything was wrong!"


translate english epilogue_us_7c5d345f:


    "I was back in my apartment."


translate english epilogue_us_d3ab1684:


    "But...{w} But how can that be possible?"


translate english epilogue_us_b97b6ee6:


    "I began to panic and I started to run around my room in the hope of calming myself down."


translate english epilogue_us_32fd8672:


    "Physical tiredness can often overcome an emotional one."


translate english epilogue_us_2c5d0412:


    "My head was empty, fear and terror took over my whole being, and some kind of a song was floating in my mind – maybe a prayer, or maybe just an incoherent jumble of thoughts designed, if not to calm me down, then at least to distract me from my panic."


translate english epilogue_us_1645c72d:


    "It was about half an hour before I collapsed on the floor, exhausted, and fixed my eyes on the ceiling."


translate english epilogue_us_80b0da80:


    "It seems like I had not gone anywhere. The old chandelier looked down at me unkindly with its dusty lamps, the cracks in the plaster were in the same places, and the unstuck wallpaper hadn’t slipped down even a little."


translate english epilogue_us_8d04f2aa:


    "Was it really a dream...?"


translate english epilogue_us_69c49704:


    "But it can't be!{w} It just can't be!"


translate english epilogue_us_afbfd5dd:


    "I spent an entire week in that pioneer camp."


translate english epilogue_us_164fbde5:


    "I was definitely there. I remember everything perfectly, from my awakening aboard the bus right up to the departure...{w} Neither dreams nor hallucinations can be that real."


translate english epilogue_us_ca2a0b33:


    "Somehow I stood up, went to the kitchen, filled a glass with water and returned to the room."


translate english epilogue_us_d0a7feb4:


    "The blood was still hammering in my temples, but at least the terror of the first few minutes was gone.{w} Or had just taken a break."


translate english epilogue_us_c3ffb486:


    "I concentrated on the last thing I remembered. It was the departure from the camp."


translate english epilogue_us_7136c5b9:


    "The night, the bus bouncing over the bumps, the dirty, murky glass, beyond which almost nothing was visible and the pioneers..."


translate english epilogue_us_2ce6d3ca:


    "I'd been absolutely positive that I would never return.{w} Or just didn’t think about it."


translate english epilogue_us_8dcc331d:


    "Anyway, I was prepared for our arrival at the district centre in a few hours and was already considering options for my further actions."


translate english epilogue_us_d8532661:


    "Or not?"


translate english epilogue_us_0babffab:


    me "Damn it!"


translate english epilogue_us_0e363452:


    "I roared and pulled on my hair with all my strength."


translate english epilogue_us_5058105d:


    me "I can't remember!"


translate english epilogue_us_60547951:


    "The last hours in that world merged into a monotonous mirage, as if a drunken Renoir was completing his painting with a roller instead of a brush."


translate english epilogue_us_3302407b:


    me "But it's not that bad.{w} Wait a minute, why would it be bad? On the contrary, everything is fine! I would even say perfect!"


translate english epilogue_us_d0f0488f:


    me "I've broken free from that goddamn world and returned home. The most important thing now is not to end up there again.{w} It might happen, surely it could!"


translate english epilogue_us_ce617998:


    "..."


translate english epilogue_us_f896d7c0:


    me "But it might not happen as well!{w} Indeed, I have nothing to worry about now, everything will be fine! Obviously I was just seeing things. Exactly, I was seeing things!"


translate english epilogue_us_4d149f2f:


    me "It doesn't matter that everything felt that real, something like that just can't happen. It can't! I claim with all due confidence that it just can’t. Modern science claims it's impossible. Not allowed!"


translate english epilogue_us_f4546a9f:


    "I laughed loudly."


translate english epilogue_us_33c6265f:


    "An inner voice tried to stop the verbal diarrhea spouting from my mouth, but it didn't succeed."


translate english epilogue_us_27fabe99:


    "It feels like my speech and thoughts are separating to exist on their own independant from each other."


translate english epilogue_us_4a73860c:


    "My brain prompted me to calm down and try to analyze the situation, while my tongue simply tried to ease the stress by throwing new and new meaningless words out into the air."


translate english epilogue_us_94206733:


    "Finally I was somehow able to pull myself together. I pulled the curtains open and looked out the window."


translate english epilogue_us_a5c5546b:


    "The night city looked exactly the same as it did a week ago."


translate english epilogue_us_450bbc84:


    "The view brought my mind back to reality, at least to some extent."


translate english epilogue_us_533137c4:


    "After all, if everything is now normal and nothing suspicious or supernatural is happening, then wasn't it just a dream?"


translate english epilogue_us_94950be4:


    "Essentially, there are only two options now."


translate english epilogue_us_06d20129:


    "I can agree that it was just a dream and calm down.{w} Or I can trust my own feelings and accept that the camp, the bus and the pioneers were real."


translate english epilogue_us_193a19e2:


    "Either way, whatever I choose I won't get any answers."


translate english epilogue_us_adf47948:


    "It's funny, I was looking for these answers for a whole week (or at least pretending to) and found nothing, but I broke free from that weird world anyway. And what now?"


translate english epilogue_us_62a5f438:


    "The enigma remains and additional questions have surfaced."


translate english epilogue_us_2b19ebd4:


    "In the end, I was exhausted and fell onto the bed. In a few seconds I was snoring blissfully..."


translate english epilogue_us_ce617998_1:


    "…"


translate english epilogue_us_54d920bf:



    nvl clear
    "Much time has passed from the moment I came back from Sovyonok. And a lot has changed in my life."


translate english epilogue_us_bd3a1548:


    "The first week I was racking my brains trying to summarise in detail everything that had happened, creating graphs and diagrams, writing to forums discussing paranormal phenomena. I even planned to visit a psychic."


translate english epilogue_us_9462ce27:


    "In the end it resulted in nothing, just as one would expect. It's no wonder. I was just a human being but these events obviously were the affair of a supreme mind."


translate english epilogue_us_6101364c:


    "If a caveman found himself in the early 21st century, even he would understand more than me."


translate english epilogue_us_7ec6a1be:



    nvl clear
    "Well, at first he would think that a cell phone that transmits someone's speech dozens kilometres away by the will of God is a miracle."


translate english epilogue_us_29d72188:


    "But one can get used to it."


translate english epilogue_us_e0d7c1dc:


    "Maybe if he completed secondary and higher technical education he would even be able to understand how mobile communications work."


translate english epilogue_us_82144eab:


    "It's a basic, exaggerated example. Just as unreal as everything I experienced."


translate english epilogue_us_65950373:


    "I'm unlikely to ever understand how it worked or who was behind it. And I doubt that I could get used to it, if it were to happen again."


translate english epilogue_us_9bdf285f:



    nvl clear
    "But one question troubled me ever since - why? Why me?"


translate english epilogue_us_7b47c1ee:


    "What did I (or did I not) do to deserve this bad (or good) luck?"


translate english epilogue_us_5535f094:


    "Sure, in sci-fi novels wonders often occur to quite ordinary people, but that was just a matter of chance."


translate english epilogue_us_716452f4:


    "But I was absolutely positive that these events have occured for some reason. Just like a random sci-fi hero who travelled a thousand years forward in time, leaving him in the wrong time and place."


translate english epilogue_us_6a21d9ba:



    nvl clear
    "But in the future no one knew him. Everyone thought that he was just a madman."


translate english epilogue_us_9087af0c:


    "But in my situation? They were expecting me at the camp (at least the camp leader was). How should I respond to that?"


translate english epilogue_us_7d414027:


    "Maybe I was picked out at random to be studied later on? Even so, the question 'why' not only still stands, but rather, becomes even more important."


translate english epilogue_us_ce617998_2:


    "..."


translate english epilogue_us_4284aa16:



    nvl clear
    "After not finding any sufficient explanation I returned to my usual existence."


translate english epilogue_us_28ca60d9:


    "But now I wasn't just sitting at the computer 24/7, wiping the F5 button free of dust – new interests came into my life (but what they were I couldn't tell myself), and suddenly I wanted to get a high education."


translate english epilogue_us_e0d94309:


    "Not to find a job and not because 'it's necessary', just because I remembered how much fun I'd had during the first year of education."


translate english epilogue_us_ddf05860:


    "Chatting with course-mates, days of light-hearted youthful fun, plenty of the energy that I'd lacked so much over the last few years."


translate english epilogue_us_9b73f6c1:


    "A truly great man once said 'Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking'. It's hard to argue with that logic."


translate english epilogue_us_6a62e6c6:



    nvl clear
    "An ordinary man will not sit around because he is lazy, but because a given subject is just of no interest to him."


translate english epilogue_us_b4927a3f:


    "For instance, I'm not interested in knitting. So does it mean that I'm a slacker if I don't make a couple of woollen sweaters per month?"


translate english epilogue_us_67291156:


    "But feeling too lazy to open a book – that's something I can understand. Although I like reading, when I start thinking that I have to get through a huge novel, page by page..."


translate english epilogue_us_68cd3f08:


    "And even if it is interesting, even if it absorbs me so completely that I can't turn away, that part will only come later. For now all I need is to get a book from a shelf and open it. But I feel too lazy..."


translate english epilogue_us_83bbcd46:


    "I don't know what exactly influenced me, but about a half of my time (instead of the five to ten percent of it from before) I was occupied with something useful – I read, wrote, studied something new, and engaged in sports (at least, I exercised in the morning)."


translate english epilogue_us_01e63747:



    nvl clear
    "Sometimes I thought that it was the influence of the camp."


translate english epilogue_us_6b3df02c:


    "One can't rule out that possibility - for all seven days there I was participating in social activities, verbal communication with others in amounts that before would have caused terror and severe introversion in me."


translate english epilogue_us_c9700033:


    "On the other hand it's not so easy to change one's personality in a single week."


translate english epilogue_us_9deeccfb:


    "Especially for someone as stubborn as me."


translate english epilogue_us_ae21b9f8:



    nvl clear
    "But it is easy to point them in a new direction, show them a guiding line."


translate english epilogue_us_cfcb2a60:


    "However I'd never believed that it would be possible with me."


translate english epilogue_us_7d323ccc:


    "Anyway, I enjoyed these changes so much that I tried not to think about their causes."


translate english epilogue_us_ae7018a0:


    "What the hell, nobody would worry about the 'why' if he managed to hit the jackpot by betting his last pair of trousers."


translate english epilogue_us_ce617998_3:


    "..."


translate english epilogue_us_b60d6130:



    nvl clear
    "In summer I reenrolled at university and studies started in autumn."


translate english epilogue_us_f8eaaeec:


    "Time passed. I eagerly attended lectures and seminars, and studied for tests and examinations with a level of enthusiasm that I wouldn't haven't expected from myself."


translate english epilogue_us_792db99f:


    "I managed to become a part of the group with surprising ease. Although I was older than most students it didn't trouble me."


translate english epilogue_us_cae314c1:


    "Maybe it’s because of my natural immaturity or changes in my personality, I didn't know for sure. Most likely the answer is somewhere in the middle."


translate english epilogue_us_6135d2ed:



    nvl clear
    "The joy of communicating with people, lost many years ago, returned."


translate english epilogue_us_aafbc9f6:


    "It was easy to get along with others, their problems didn’t seem so distant and trivial to me. Normal life, which before I had considered just a grey, depressing mass, started to shine with new colors."


translate english epilogue_us_71461a28:


    "Sometimes it seemed to me that I'd turned into a doll, became one of a billion identical tin soldiers standing in straight rows on a shelf in a toy shop."


translate english epilogue_us_e2123de9:


    "But in this shop, apart from the glowing showcase that sparkled with fancy writing describing new season's offers and Christmas discounts, was a storage, where all the defective products were thrown: a teddy bear without a paw, a firefighters’ truck in need of a mechanic, a transformer who looked more like a microwave than a mighty robot, jigsaw puzzles which assembled into trippy post-modernist pictures…"


translate english epilogue_us_bfbc90e1:



    nvl clear
    "My place used to be among these broken toys."


translate english epilogue_us_b863937a:


    "And while some of them could take refuge in charity drives or an orphanage, my only fate was being dumped and recycled again."


translate english epilogue_us_1be16bf7:


    "So I couldn't help enjoying such changes in my life!"


translate english epilogue_us_ce617998_4:


    "..."


translate english epilogue_us_be1991b7:


    "It was the last lesson of the hardest subject this term."


translate english epilogue_us_ead34c7c:


    "Most students didn't like it."


translate english epilogue_us_18d7148a:


    "Because of its difficulty and the hard-to-understand teacher, I suppose."


translate english epilogue_us_31f9553d:


    "But I found a kind of pleasure in dealing with tables, graphs and diagrams."


translate english epilogue_us_65f71ceb:


    "Counting the figures by pieces, I arranged them in columns and lines in the right order, summing up, subtracting, dividing and multiplying, and using them to get a precise picture of any event."


translate english epilogue_us_9f752038:


    "No number could avoid my attentive gaze. All of them would be captured, calculated, analyzed. Each of them would get an index number and a place in their proper cell."


translate english epilogue_us_f15dbc2c:


    "After its arrival, every digit will be assigned a bunk, work uniform and off-duty clothes and will be sent to perform its designated task."


translate english epilogue_us_620a5afb:


    "Some will be digging a trench from 9 to 5, some will march off to face the trends, and some will be trying to hit a linear regression on the shooting range."


translate english epilogue_us_bb1b122e:


    odn "What are you thinking about?"


translate english epilogue_us_ec822f80:


    "Reluctantly, I stopped writing and gazed at my classmate."


translate english epilogue_us_51f07f25:


    me "Taking notes on the lecture, as you can see."


translate english epilogue_us_6f6e3c30:


    odn "Oh just screw it!{w} Just read the workbook afterwards!"


translate english epilogue_us_a2c7fb06:


    me "I'll read the workbook as well."


translate english epilogue_us_d93f9cb9:


    odn "I'm always astonished by you."


translate english epilogue_us_baaee44b:


    me "What's so astonishing?"


translate english epilogue_us_41e93016:


    odn "You're planning to gain a first-class diploma, aren't you?"


translate english epilogue_us_21b742e8:


    me "Never thought of it..."


translate english epilogue_us_096e8101:


    odn "Don't tell me you really find it interesting!"


translate english epilogue_us_ef73bda8:


    "I remembered that just a moment ago I'd imagined myself emblazoned on a banner borne aloft by a regiment of digits and couldn't help smiling."


translate english epilogue_us_56f957c4:


    odn "You won’t even need all this stuff!"


translate english epilogue_us_93d43576:


    me "Everything will be needed.{w} At least for general development."


translate english epilogue_us_a5b0bb2a:


    "The classmate grinned sarcastically."


translate english epilogue_us_38f2115a:


    me "I bet you never read even a single book in your whole life."


translate english epilogue_us_d6011e93:


    odn "So what?"


translate english epilogue_us_f13d64cb:


    "He asked challengingly."


translate english epilogue_us_fcfd9bb3:


    me "Just stating a fact."


translate english epilogue_us_c7273c00:


    odn "And you are always somewhere up in the clouds."


translate english epilogue_us_69ed5808:


    "He was right about that. Although I'd regained part of my lost social skills, I often slipped out of touch with reality, dreaming of something else."


translate english epilogue_us_33265fad:


    me "You say it like it's a bad thing!"


translate english epilogue_us_39ec8d69:


    odn "And there’s nothing wrong with not reading books either!"


translate english epilogue_us_6ba8578f:


    me "Human beings can't have only material needs."


translate english epilogue_us_ef353f7b:


    "I said philosophically, mocking him."


translate english epilogue_us_da783828:


    odn "Oh, you're such a downer, yawn!"


translate english epilogue_us_ce617998_5:


    "..."


translate english epilogue_us_5c98c047:


    "The lecture was approaching its end and I began to plan out the rest of the day."


translate english epilogue_us_26180779:


    "Need to buy some groceries and later finish a project and send it to the client. And then I got to write down notes..."


translate english epilogue_us_44324923:


    "And then in the evening I can just read or watch something."


translate english epilogue_us_75613726:


    "Unless someone phones or writes to me. There are no urgent matters so I can spare some time for my mates."


translate english epilogue_us_21b43907:


    odn "Oh, five whole minutes to go..."


translate english epilogue_us_5620292c:


    "I looked at my phone and realised that it is exactly a year after I returned from the Sovyonok pioneer camp."


translate english epilogue_us_c2222e39:


    "My soul felt warmer from such thoughts, and I smiled blissfully."


translate english epilogue_us_f6b9bef5:


    "It’s not often anymore that I recall those events."


translate english epilogue_us_4510141f:


    "Obviously one can't just forget something like that, those moments of something bizarre and extraordinary that are engraved in my memory forever."


translate english epilogue_us_da6f1a84:


    "Normally even the happiest moments fade and just reminiscences of them remain, nothing more. But the week spent in Sovyonok was different."


translate english epilogue_us_c7712fd2:


    "I remembered everything in perfect detail: the terror of the first minutes after waking up in the bus. The first day – hard, full of surprises and amazing acquaintances. Cheerful and carefree pranks with Ulyana, just take that trick with the ghosts for instance."


translate english epilogue_us_3b043f92:


    "The best Soviet comedians would envy it!"


translate english epilogue_us_1133bb6a:


    "And the pioneers had such expressions!{w} They were dying laughing!"


translate english epilogue_us_88f6794d:


    "It sure would be nice to meet Ulyana in real life."


translate english epilogue_us_5fdf8a75:


    "Well, she is not always perfect, she's hyperactive, and she doesn't have any idea about good manners, but..."


translate english epilogue_us_ad5fa5b0:


    "One doesn't meet such a sincere, carelessly cheerful and energetic person very often."


translate english epilogue_us_957cd999:


    "Maybe she gave some of that energy to me..."


translate english epilogue_us_732f5a0a:


    "It makes the fact that she had to stay behind even sadder."


translate english epilogue_us_66623e13:


    "Of course it's just a dream, a figment of my imagination."


translate english epilogue_us_59330073:


    "Although you still can worry about book and film characters.{w} One laughs and cries with them and feels their pain."


translate english epilogue_us_41ee4507:


    "Same thing for me – it seems that if I had acted differently, this story would have had an even more joyful happy end."


translate english epilogue_us_e8ee1985:


    "However, I'm sure that Ulyana is happy in that world."


translate english epilogue_us_10bf53a2:


    "I just can't imagine her being upset for longer than five minutes. Her optimism will help her to find a way, even in the most difficult situations."


translate english epilogue_us_5432fef5:


    "I wonder what she will look like when she grows up..."


translate english epilogue_us_ce617998_6:


    "…"


translate english epilogue_us_78903e24:


    "The bell rang. My classmate stood up and looked at me keenly."


translate english epilogue_us_320bd80d:


    odn "Okay, see ya... Can I crib notes from you later?"


translate english epilogue_us_22448110:


    me "If you had been writing down your own during the lecture you wouldn't need any."


translate english epilogue_us_0c8f943d:


    odn "So can I?"


translate english epilogue_us_9f5895ba:


    me "Okay, fine."


translate english epilogue_us_31844f25:


    odn "Cheers!"


translate english epilogue_us_3e06fe65:


    "He smiled and left the lecture hall."


translate english epilogue_us_0912f764:


    "Slowly I packed all my exercise-books and textbooks up into my backpack and looked around the empty hall."


translate english epilogue_us_c11e20a5:


    "For a moment I could almost smell the knowledge in the air, like sea salt in the air on the deck of a ship."


translate english epilogue_us_d5ee5f01:


    "Thousands and thousands of students came here to study, to learn something new or to forget something they used to know."


translate english epilogue_us_4f2c8f9f:


    "Some slept through the lectures, some wrote them down attentively, just like me, but nobody was completely indifferent."


translate english epilogue_us_36afd483:


    "Those who didn't care stayed home, pulled the curtains across the windows and fixed their eyes on a monitor."


translate english epilogue_us_a3f5dd2b:


    "I sighed reluctantly and left the lecture hall with the firm intention of not wasting this day."


translate english epilogue_us_303f415b:


    "The bell rang. My classmate stood up, said his goodbyes and left."


translate english epilogue_us_7de17a9f:


    "I started packing my exercise books and textbooks into my backpack when I suddenly heard someone's voice in front of me."


translate english epilogue_us_ec6b06a5:


    usg "Excuse me, is this the 34th lecture hall?"


translate english epilogue_us_446ad0da:


    me "There's a sign on the door."


translate english epilogue_us_e87f24be:


    usg "No there’s not!"


translate english epilogue_us_a7b9d37d:


    "Girl's voice sounded offended."


translate english epilogue_us_974f3678:


    me "Someone must have removed it."


translate english epilogue_us_faab6aa2:


    usg "So is it the 34th?"


translate english epilogue_us_fc30fd2b:


    me "Yeah."


translate english epilogue_us_18a6d4fc:


    "At last I closed the backpack and raised my head, intending to stand up."


translate english epilogue_us_053ad9b8:


    "The girl looked terribly familiar."


translate english epilogue_us_04dca07f:


    me "Haven't we...?"


translate english epilogue_us_41fdb5dd:


    usg "Yes, I thought the same."


translate english epilogue_us_f2f12dc1:


    "She looked very surprised."


translate english epilogue_us_94093acc:


    me "But I don't remember where I could've met you."


translate english epilogue_us_6c0a1771:


    usg "Neither do I..."


translate english epilogue_us_8cc9c861:


    me "What year are you in?"


translate english epilogue_us_7aad28e6:


    usg "First year."


translate english epilogue_us_b8aea2a0:


    me "Oh, still pretty much green..."


translate english epilogue_us_fb117d69:


    "The girl smiled."


translate english epilogue_us_080a02d2:


    usg "Everything is still ahead of me!"


translate english epilogue_us_c49f13e1:


    me "As if I'm already past everything..."


translate english epilogue_us_48cc1cb9:


    usg "And what about you?"


translate english epilogue_us_dd578b4d:


    me "Fourth."


translate english epilogue_us_cfefc74e:


    usg "So, is it difficult to study?"


translate english epilogue_us_8f48e6be:


    me "For the first year it is."


translate english epilogue_us_05e57566:


    usg "I knew it!"


translate english epilogue_us_1e8379d1:


    "She said in an upset manner."


translate english epilogue_us_04f0c0cd:


    me "But it gets easier with time...{w} It's always easier when you get used to it."


translate english epilogue_us_638e6427:


    usg "Sometimes I'm too lazy to do things..."


translate english epilogue_us_3685e98e:


    me "Yeah, that also happens."


translate english epilogue_us_da4ba352:


    usg "Do you still have any stuff from the first year?{w} If you share it, it'll be easier for me to prepare for examinations."


translate english epilogue_us_123037fe:


    "Obviously I had nothing, my first year was finished a long time ago."


translate english epilogue_us_934f55fc:


    "But I suddenly felt a strong desire to ask for her phone number, so I lied."


translate english epilogue_us_14b5f47a:


    me "Yes, maybe...{w} But I'll have to check."


translate english epilogue_us_463c9a51:


    usg "That's great!"


translate english epilogue_us_5274a2e2:


    "We exchanged our telephone numbers."


translate english epilogue_us_96f1754d:


    me "My name is Semyon.{w} What should I call you?"


translate english epilogue_us_f46d0d3c:


    usg "Ulyana."


translate english epilogue_us_fcd06166:


    "And then I realised who this girl reminded me of!"


translate english epilogue_us_8a86e6b2:


    "Exactly, she's Ulyana, just around five years older!"


translate english epilogue_us_919cb1ad:


    "For a moment I was lost for words."


translate english epilogue_us_9f328817:


    us "What? It's an ordinary name!{w} That was Lenin’s name!"


translate english epilogue_us_89c17322:


    "She said, pouting."


translate english epilogue_us_f5b985ac:


    me "No... Just...{w} Have you ever been to a pioneer camp?"


translate english epilogue_us_4af695ee:


    us "When I was a kid...{w} Why are you asking?"


translate english epilogue_us_cf8568cf:


    "In the blink of an eye, all the events that happened in Sovyonok flashed in front of my eyes."


translate english epilogue_us_63854d93:


    "So, it wasn't a dream!"


translate english epilogue_us_cba25f57:


    us "Although they were just summer camps, not “pioneer” ones..."


translate english epilogue_us_903a86f3:


    "Ulyana added."


translate english epilogue_us_9445daad:


    me "So you weren’t wearing a uniform?"


translate english epilogue_us_c3110504:


    us "The one with a red neckerchief?{w} Of course not! Fashion police alert!"


translate english epilogue_us_56d4e39c:


    "She laughed loudly."


translate english epilogue_us_3649081a:


    us "But why are you asking?"


translate english epilogue_us_8f44567c:


    "I was about to tell her everything, but then realised that she will just consider me a psycho."


translate english epilogue_us_6b2b31a6:


    "After all, this girl was much older than the Ulyana I remembered."


translate english epilogue_us_ae985c6d:


    "Maybe she just looks like her..."


translate english epilogue_us_3cd4f58f:


    me "I had a dream...{w} And I think I saw you there.{w} A kind of deja vu."


translate english epilogue_us_d1a9fc56:


    us "Deja... what?"


translate english epilogue_us_ec20dd52:


    me "It's when one sees something for the first time but believes that he has seen it before."


translate english epilogue_us_abc2ab7a:


    us "Well, now that you mention it..."


translate english epilogue_us_ce43a5b5:


    "Her face became serious."


translate english epilogue_us_78382c80:


    us "I think I've seen you somewhere as well.{w} Definitely!{w} Maybe it's that thing you just said..."


translate english epilogue_us_e8c05531:


    me "An interesting coincidence, don't you think?"


translate english epilogue_us_2170a31a:


    us "I don't know...{w} Anyway! I'll give you a call! See ya!"


translate english epilogue_us_5de584b6:


    "She laughed and ran out of the room."


translate english epilogue_us_0dcbddab:


    "Appearance, behavior, way of talking... She's definitely that exact Ulyana!"


translate english epilogue_us_894a40f8:


    "So, does that mean the dream is coming true?"


translate english epilogue_us_23b134c2:


    "I can't help but enjoy it!"


translate english epilogue_us_9e9cd5d5:


    "And, above all, I'll see this forever cheerful girl again for sure!"


translate english epilogue_dv_9bc20c27:


    "It seems I'm getting old..."


translate english epilogue_dv_2be57040:


    "The day was over and the hangover should have been long gone, but I still felt sick and dizzy."


translate english epilogue_dv_6be0ab43:


    "Despite how hard I tried I was unable to open my eyes. I just rolled over."


translate english epilogue_dv_99485000:


    "I wonder what awaits me in the district centre?{w} How am I to live?{w} Maybe it's not all that bad?"


translate english epilogue_dv_df8947d0:


    "Well sure, I don't know where to begin, but on the other hand this world doesn't seem hostile. I know a lot of things here, everyone speaks Russian..."


translate english epilogue_dv_cdc9d191:


    "So, maybe nothing bad is going to happen...?"


translate english epilogue_dv_bf9b8fdd:


    "Suddenly I felt very sick."


translate english epilogue_dv_910fe671:


    "Damn it, I thought it was all gone by yesterday evening!"


translate english epilogue_dv_098084b9:


    "I managed to reach the toilet, moving instinctively."


translate english epilogue_dv_80b1d831:


    "After some time, when my dirty business was done, I returned to the room."


translate english epilogue_dv_7d131181:


    "And then I realised..."


translate english epilogue_dv_7b407504:


    "I'm back in my old flat!"


translate english epilogue_dv_04cada73:


    "However, it's not so old..."


translate english epilogue_dv_bdfdf404:


    "It seems that nothing had changed during the week of my absence."


translate english epilogue_dv_e99eda04:


    "The dust layers haven't even grown thicker."


translate english epilogue_dv_49074c47:


    "The keyboard position, monitor incline and the stain from a cup of tea on the table stung my eyes."


translate english epilogue_dv_47eb912e:


    "Theoretically, a man in my condition shouldn’t notice such details!"


translate english epilogue_dv_55584c51:


    "But the entire room drew my attention to the most minor of details as if it was twinkling with different colors."


translate english epilogue_dv_46f98924:


    "The socks were thrown around in exactly the same manner as they had been before. The blanket sat rumpled on the unmade bed as it was before, the dirty window showed the same view of the street like a cracked kinescope."


translate english epilogue_dv_76d36664:


    "In vain, I tried to become terrified or at least scared."


translate english epilogue_dv_185107f9:


    "Maybe it's shock effect, post-traumatic stress disorder or something like that?"


translate english epilogue_dv_dc9713bf:


    "After all, several hours ago I wasn't even thinking of returning to the real world."


translate english epilogue_dv_ce3c1db8:


    "The pioneer camp, the girls, Alisa, the mythical district centre where I would have arrived if I hadn't woken up in my flat. All that had started to seem real to me."


translate english epilogue_dv_3b4fb89e:


    "Maybe my fantastic vacation to Sovyonok was just a dream?"


translate english epilogue_dv_bb1b5b1b:


    "My feet started to rack up circles around the room.{w} I held my hands behind my back and started to think everything over."


translate english epilogue_dv_05941cbe:


    "Only one thing is clear, I've returned as suddenly as I arrived {i}there{/i}."


translate english epilogue_dv_b0e545e2:


    "Without any reason or logic."


translate english epilogue_dv_c2f030da:


    "Maybe there was some sort of explanation, but it's beyond my (or human) comprehension."


translate english epilogue_dv_54e489ca:


    "Whether it was a trick by interstellar forces, or a supreme mind, or government experiments (I believed the last one to be the least likely) they left no clues."


translate english epilogue_dv_94c0ae0c:


    "If I was unable to find answers in the camp, it would be foolish to expect things to become clearer {i}here{/i}."


translate english epilogue_dv_f55be16f:


    "It's like searching for evidence in a house that's been burned to ashes."


translate english epilogue_dv_077e08fa:


    "Even if a crime was committed, all the evidence was destroyed by fire."


translate english epilogue_dv_be44e243:


    "Maybe if I had the skills and equipment of a criminologist I could find something, but..."


translate english epilogue_dv_dea456b1:


    "The memories of the week spent in the camp are all I've got."


translate english epilogue_dv_9362d886:


    "But it wasn't a dream. I knew it for sure!"


translate english epilogue_dv_5bfae656:


    "My hangover was absolutely real. My feelings and emotions were genuine, not just the stuff of dreams."


translate english epilogue_dv_a78cb617:


    "Therefore I've been there, I spent a week in the Sovyonok pioneer camp with the camp leader and the pioneers...{w} with Alisa."


translate english epilogue_dv_a2226b0b:


    "Memories of her made me sigh."


translate english epilogue_dv_42975286:


    "It would have been great to leave with her."


translate english epilogue_dv_78c33026:


    "Wait a minute!{w} What's wrong with me?!{w} I should be glad I returned home, to the real world!"


translate english epilogue_dv_db34fc11:


    "Or shouldn't I...?"


translate english epilogue_dv_0b94b031:


    "For now I just couldn't evaluate the situation reasonably."


translate english epilogue_dv_2f3f1dc7:


    "I couldn't understand whether I wanted to stay there or to enjoy my long-awaited return."


translate english epilogue_dv_d091ab38:


    "I noticed a five-ruble coin on the table. I took it and began to toss it up without any purpose, counting the number of heads and tails."


translate english epilogue_dv_97ffd138:


    "A long time ago, maybe even in school I heard that in an infinite number of coin tosses the probabilities are not equal to 50 percent each."


translate english epilogue_dv_b79ab5f5:


    "Maybe it's because a coin doesn't have a perfect shape and weight or because of some other reason."


translate english epilogue_dv_0906061c:


    "However, after some time I counted 70 heads and 71 tails."


translate english epilogue_dv_a3037b78:


    "So the theory of relativity lies...{w} But I'm not the man to judge it, I don't know much about it."


translate english epilogue_dv_6766bb1d:


    "I recalled my childhood, when I had heard the word 'tails' for the first time."


translate english epilogue_dv_b5103a20:


    "For some reason it always made me think of 'squirrels'."


translate english epilogue_dv_0dc3131c:


    "Maybe there is some logic in this – a squirrel does indeed have a tail."


translate english epilogue_dv_31eac3c5:


    "Now this theory seemed strange to me, but at the same time I couldn't find any conclusive evidences to disprove it."


translate english epilogue_dv_ba47df6c:


    "So, does it mean that squirrels come out more frequently than heads?"


translate english epilogue_dv_736afd2f:


    "But one must consider that a squirrel has a head as well, so..."


translate english epilogue_dv_80525988:


    "I yanked on my hair and sighed, exhausted."


translate english epilogue_dv_73fcc8eb:


    "Now's not the time for thinking of such rubbish!"


translate english epilogue_dv_51221043:


    "On the other hand, what is now the right time for?{w} What can I do? What is under my control?"


translate english epilogue_dv_4c4bbb47:


    "If I hadn't bothered trying to find answers during the week there, what would be the point of thinking now?"


translate english epilogue_dv_bc27a2ca:


    "Maybe I should just try to go back to my ordinary life...?"


translate english epilogue_dv_6ce763b8:


    "The words 'ordinary life' were painful to me."


translate english epilogue_dv_3ceed523:


    "Why did I choose that specific word?{w} I could have said 'past', 'former' or something else?"


translate english epilogue_dv_0b941e37:


    "I guess because it was what I was used to - that's the most obvious answer."


translate english epilogue_dv_1e1bd7d8:


    "As they say, what you get used to becomes second nature to you."


translate english epilogue_dv_87ae0d50:


    "Instantly all of the last week's events floated before my eyes."


translate english epilogue_dv_1614d0af:


    "Did I really want to stay there so badly?"


translate english epilogue_dv_b3b1bf62:


    "Was just one week enough for me to get used to Olga Dmitrievna picking on me all the time, Ulyana's pranks and joking around, or Alisa's cheekiness and mockery?"


translate english epilogue_dv_612f35d1:


    "I had no answer to this question, but it's obvious that I already miss it."


translate english epilogue_dv_07307489:


    "Although I'm sure I'll never return there."


translate english epilogue_dv_da4fdd9d:


    "Obviously, I can't tell whether the force that brought me there might want to entertain itself again.{w} And again, and again..."


translate english epilogue_dv_06277978:


    "It is possible."


translate english epilogue_dv_eccd0d95:


    "But for now I have what I have – an adventure that I'll remember for the rest of my life."


translate english epilogue_dv_b8699e2f:


    "Damn it, how many people get to experience something like that?{w} Even books, even dreams about such things are unthinkable!"


translate english epilogue_dv_e7a9c5b6:


    "The main thing is that it wasn't Dr Moreau's evil island, but a normal Soviet pioneer camp with normal pioneers."


translate english epilogue_dv_41392bfa:


    "And its commonness was overlaid by the astonishing origin of my arrival there."


translate english epilogue_dv_4f464055:


    "Anyway, it wasn't the worst experience of my life.{w} Perhaps it was one of the best!"


translate english epilogue_dv_1a6feebe:


    "Obviously it's sad that everything just ended halfway through, but every story has an end."


translate english epilogue_dv_aa9a36c1:


    "It's good that it has ended that way.{w} Who knows what else could have happened?"


translate english epilogue_dv_ce617998:


    "…"


translate english epilogue_dv_4bbd270b:



    nvl clear
    "Time passed. The events that took place in the camp now seemed more like a fascinating novel I once read."


translate english epilogue_dv_5faded9b:


    "No, I haven't forgotten them. I could recall them in the finest detail."


translate english epilogue_dv_2a6f7dd3:


    "I remember how as a child I used to lie under a blanket with a flashlight and read a fascinating book about space flight until dawn."


translate english epilogue_dv_ba6313e4:


    "Sometimes I was unable to get up to go to school. My parents always used to scold me for that, but with every night approaching I would carefully turn every page, trying to absorb every minor detail of the story."


translate english epilogue_dv_b9465d76:



    nvl clear
    "I had similar feelings about that pioneer camp. Reality (if I can consider it such) now seemed more like a book."


translate english epilogue_dv_84be21a5:


    "I didn't think it was bad at all. In the end, the main thing is to remember, and it is not important whether these memories take the form of a slide show, photos, video, or audio."


translate english epilogue_dv_a20cefa7:


    "…"


translate english epilogue_dv_0775f137:



    nvl clear
    "Now each bus made me feel both fear and hope."


translate english epilogue_dv_41f919cf:


    "At first I circled around the 410 route without purpose. Several times I fell asleep on the same seat."


translate english epilogue_dv_c066fcc3:


    "But nothing happened. Not even a trace of something supernatural."


translate english epilogue_dv_a3314542:


    "As times went by, I stopped these idle trips."


translate english epilogue_dv_ce617998_1:


    "…"


translate english epilogue_dv_32ab7558:



    nvl clear
    "Something changed in my life, it just couldn't do otherwise!"


translate english epilogue_dv_d3186f16:


    "A couple of weeks after my return from the camp I took up my guitar that was lying lonely and gathering dust in a corner."


translate english epilogue_dv_77eccfd0:


    "Striking a couple of chords, I remembered Alisa – for me her image was inseparable from this instrument."


translate english epilogue_dv_56c6309a:


    "At first it didn’t work out very well - maybe I just had no talent for music. I started reading teach-yourself books and watching video lessons."


translate english epilogue_dv_f6f2a4ed:


    "On the other hand, all the effort wasn't a burden any more. I just played the chords and polished my skill."


translate english epilogue_dv_30a27c7e:


    "And as with any kind of activity, including music, practice makes perfect."


translate english epilogue_dv_3e81ec24:


    "About half a year later I realised that I'd achieved some results. At least I could now smoothly play parts of my favorite songs."


translate english epilogue_dv_07a11c4d:



    nvl clear
    "Satisfied with my progress, I put a couple of advertisements on music forums, intending to form my own band."


translate english epilogue_dv_47a62878:


    "I still had no idea what kind of music I wanted to play; my tastes varied from something really heavy to anime soundtracks."


translate english epilogue_dv_ede9ef2c:


    "At first it seemed impossible for me."


translate english epilogue_dv_c41adf0a:


    "I would have to communicate with strangers! And what if we are just too different? And anyway, how do I explain to others what music I want to make?"


translate english epilogue_dv_2510a2ef:


    "But it all worked out much easier."


translate english epilogue_dv_41b1dc0a:



    nvl clear
    "The potential candidates turned out to be not so frightening and our tastes were mostly the same."


translate english epilogue_dv_367522a6:


    "After all, we shared the same goals, so issues stemming from a lack of understanding could be resolved."


translate english epilogue_dv_03fe9757:


    "And soon we had a band."


translate english epilogue_dv_7c51a82e:


    "Suddenly I discovered my talent as a composer."


translate english epilogue_dv_6e2dd77c:


    "Having spent entire days and nights on the note editor and sequencers, I started composing okayish things. At least in the opinions of the other band members and pals I showed my songs to."


translate english epilogue_dv_2e540bca:



    nvl clear
    "Quite soon we gave our first concert."


translate english epilogue_dv_1ab31e80:


    "A D-list club not significantly more spacious than my bedroom, three and a half viewers who weren't exactly sober, I was hellishly anxious and the sound equipment was constantly malfunctioning. But all of that didn't bother me because I was happy."


translate english epilogue_dv_dc28a178:


    "Since this was just the first step to success!"


translate english epilogue_dv_b6db561e:


    "However, it was a long time before we were invited again."


translate english epilogue_dv_ac45d183:


    "With great difficulty we managed to record three tracks and publish them on the internet. The reviews were far from ecstatic, but it didn't bother me much. It was just a beginning."


translate english epilogue_dv_b178ebc9:



    nvl clear
    "Maybe some considered our music just a leisure activity or a brief fixation, but for me it was serious."


translate english epilogue_dv_74103c40:


    "After all, it was me who founded the band and all the music was mine as well."


translate english epilogue_dv_78c27567:


    "I felt a personal responsibility for the fate of my creation. Every spare moment I spent on improving my performance technique and after a year I could already confidently say that I wasn't the worst guitarist in the world."


translate english epilogue_dv_1a44fbb5:



    nvl clear
    "Then some sort of popularity came."


translate english epilogue_dv_425eb152:


    "We were giving concerts almost every week and were finally getting paid. It wasn't important that it was just five hundred roubles per man, the fact that our work was in demand and someone was ready to pay for it (even though we were usually a warm up for other bands) was what mattered."


translate english epilogue_dv_ce617998_2:


    "…"


translate english epilogue_dv_6e06d90f:


    "I was sitting before my monitor, torturing a guitar."


translate english epilogue_dv_5d68b7b8:


    "The date of an upcoming concert was thickly circled on the computer desktop calendar."


translate english epilogue_dv_b8653b2e:


    "The very thought of that gave me goosebumps."


translate english epilogue_dv_42802d30:


    "It will be the first time we will be headliners.{w} And we'll have an album presentation as well."


translate english epilogue_dv_89bb111d:


    "I wonder how many discs would be sold?{w} Of course the CD era is already over, but there are still some who appreciate it."


translate english epilogue_dv_78b39126:


    "And maybe some will buy it just to support the band."


translate english epilogue_dv_67aef320:


    "I looked at the date once more.{w} Yes, it is exactly a year since I returned from Sovyonok."


translate english epilogue_dv_299e685a:


    "My smile reflected in the darkened monitor screen."


translate english epilogue_dv_ed82539c:


    "I wonder whether Alisa would like my music if she existed in this world.{w} Don't think so!"


translate english epilogue_dv_1c7acd8a:


    "She preferred Soviet rock classics.{w} But who knows..."


translate english epilogue_dv_1e250ea6:


    "I played a couple of complicated guitar parts and concluded, with a feeling of satisfaction, that the sound of my guitar surpasses by far that of the Soviet 'Ural' guitars, and my skill has overcome that of the guitarists of the same era."


translate english epilogue_dv_663b0360:


    "I wonder whether I would’ve achieved all this without those fantastic events?{w} Unlikely..."


translate english epilogue_dv_4e2974c6:


    "Nothing strange about that. Lots of people rethink their life after stepping close to the edge."


translate english epilogue_dv_82a1b7c9:


    "Sure, nothing dangerous happened back then, but a psychological shock is a good substitute for grave danger."


translate english epilogue_dv_3c4da4a0:


    "I rehearsed my part once more, put the guitar into a case, packed all my stuff and headed to the exit."


translate english epilogue_dv_199c3750:


    "It was cold outside, just like {i}that{/i} day..."


translate english epilogue_dv_e801f24b:


    "Slowly I approached the bus stop for the 410."


translate english epilogue_dv_55024429:


    "Such a coincidence, I am going to the club on this very same bus."


translate english epilogue_dv_11dda01e:


    "With a sinking heart I counted down the seconds."


translate english epilogue_dv_a0a306c4:


    "Soon the bus arrived. It idly opened its doors and swallowed up a few passengers."


translate english epilogue_dv_fbe14004:


    "It was a winter night just like {i}back then{/i}.{w} Cars flashed by outside with their headlights igniting the city as it got ready to sleep."


translate english epilogue_dv_688e4dad:


    "The closer we got to the downtown area, the more people there were in the streets."


translate english epilogue_dv_ca09470b:


    "Some of them were chatting merrily, some were perusing magnificent boutique windows and some were hurrying somewhere, paying no attention to anything."


translate english epilogue_dv_25cb0d1d:


    "This day I had no wish to return to that camp.{w} Any other time maybe, but not today!"


translate english epilogue_dv_535c0d02:


    "I must play the concert, and the rest can go to hell."


translate english epilogue_dv_9b124b7d:


    "I had a clear aim and nothing else mattered!"


translate english epilogue_dv_ce617998_3:


    "…"


translate english epilogue_dv_3ddfa4cf:


    "The club was considerably bigger than the one we played our first concert in, but at the moment it was empty.{w} The sound check was going on."


translate english epilogue_dv_633c3b22:


    "I couldn't hear the drums through the monitor loudspeakers, which I desperately tried to tell the sound guy about."


translate english epilogue_dv_d28a96c6:


    "Sound tuned, gadgets installed, set-lists all prepared. Ready to rock?"


translate english epilogue_dv_ab38f79d:


    "But it is a special day. We are not doing the warmup. The other guys are doing the warmup before our concert.{w} Thus, our entrance is last."


translate english epilogue_dv_2dc1b4a6:


    "As I listened to the first band, I noted that they have a lot of improving to do."


translate english epilogue_dv_e867ef2d:


    "On the other hand, we were no better not so long ago."


translate english epilogue_dv_3561335d:


    "As the time got closer to the start of our performance, my tension grew enormous."


translate english epilogue_dv_b07e6f10:


    "Come on, I was literally shaking with anxiety!"


translate english epilogue_dv_4daf3bc3:


    "I decided not to listen to the other band and to wait calmly in the dressing room."


translate english epilogue_dv_d6ae003b:


    "Judging by their expressions, my mates were in the same mood."


translate english epilogue_dv_00e13f2c:


    "We were silent.{w} Actually, we had nothing to talk about."


translate english epilogue_dv_8986e3df:


    "Our parts were learned and perfected long time ago."


translate english epilogue_dv_a7cff533:


    "Only nervousness could hinder us, but we already have some experience so everything will be fine.{w} At least, I comforted myself with this thought."


translate english epilogue_dv_ce617998_4:


    "…"


translate english epilogue_dv_da0729f4:


    "And now, finally, the time has come!"


translate english epilogue_dv_40b909bb:


    "I don't remember how we entered the stage and greeted the audience."


translate english epilogue_dv_a65dc811:


    "My consciousness turned on when the first chords of our first song came from the speakers."


translate english epilogue_dv_58bfcc73:


    "While sitting in the make-up room I'd desperately tried to warm my ice-cold fingers, but now they ran from string to string without the slightest mistake, as if they were charmed."


translate english epilogue_dv_15afa28b:


    "A thought flashed across my mind – why didn't I still make a single mistake?"


translate english epilogue_dv_76c871e1:


    "When I played all these parts at home or during rehearsals I never thought about it, everything seemed a matter of course."


translate english epilogue_dv_e30e3163:


    "But now, when I stood in front of an audience it felt different."


translate english epilogue_dv_a8ba8d2a:


    "Somewhere deep in my mind there was a thought that soon my finger would slip and...{w} Thank goodness the thinking didn't interfere with my playing!"


translate english epilogue_dv_9819f44a:


    "Our performance was nearing the end and now it was the time for the difficult solo I'd been learning for so long."


translate english epilogue_dv_e621a17f:


    "By that point my nervousness had vanished and I played through it perfectly, even better than during the rehearsals."


translate english epilogue_dv_ed12c375:


    "Finally our performance was over and the concert hall burst with applause."


translate english epilogue_dv_552e80e1:


    "I smiled awkwardly (at least I thought so) and bowed several times with the rest of the band."


translate english epilogue_dv_4ff24831:


    "They shouted 'Encore!' to us. Even without them shouting I would have been glad to play something else, but we'd run out of songs as we were just a newly-formed band."


translate english epilogue_dv_ce617998_5:


    "…"


translate english epilogue_dv_485788f0:


    "Euphoria prevailed in the dressing room as we congratulated and hugged each other. The sounds of opening champagne bottles echoed in the halls."


translate english epilogue_dv_6ab4e9e3:


    "All our discs had been sold, which made me even happier."


translate english epilogue_dv_1e7ce85a:


    "Finally I managed to become something too!"


translate english epilogue_dv_a744e489:


    "It's impossible to predict the future of our band, or of the whole affair with music."


translate english epilogue_dv_7c912a9c:


    "But one thing was clear - I have finally found something I am interested in and can dedicate my entire life to."


translate english epilogue_dv_701ac863:


    "As well as that, I can see that it may be able to make people other than me happy too."


translate english epilogue_dv_2e76ca17:


    "I was probably now the happiest man on the Earth!{w} At least it was surely the best moment of my life."


translate english epilogue_dv_ce617998_6:


    "…"


translate english epilogue_dv_abdb027b:


    "The club is empty, instruments are packed, and I am to waiting for the others so we can go home."


translate english epilogue_dv_290d0099:


    "I glanced at the stage where I'd been standing just an hour ago."


translate english epilogue_dv_46ed0349:


    "Once again, joy, pleasure and excitement gripped me."


translate english epilogue_dv_b9afffc3:


    "This won't be the last time I appear on that stage, for sure."


translate english epilogue_dv_d3215206:


    "And maybe even grander stages like concert halls and Olympic stadiums are in my future. Who knows?{w} Anything is possible now!"


translate english epilogue_dv_1e17703e:


    "After saying goodbye to my mates I ran to the bus stop and luckily caught the 410 bus."


translate english epilogue_dv_748039c5:


    "Nobody was inside. I took a seat behind the driver, just like back then. Some familiar tune could be heard from the radio."


translate english epilogue_dv_5ef8eb1d:


    "Maybe one day my songs will also be played on the radio."


translate english epilogue_dv_6570bb77:


    "In some way, these trips were similar to the events that took place a year ago."


translate english epilogue_dv_76a32943:


    "I mean at the moment everything is as expected, achieved by means of hard work, and the planned result is fulfilled."


translate english epilogue_dv_9a35ddf5:


    "But I am returning as a another man{w} A man who has changed, in a way."


translate english epilogue_dv_674125ad:


    dvg "Hey!"


translate english epilogue_dv_1b10feb5:


    "I turned around and saw a girl standing nearby."


translate english epilogue_dv_cf74f4a4:


    "Her tone wasn't too polite but it wasn't hostile either."


translate english epilogue_dv_c2b1de8c:


    dvg "I liked your performance!"


translate english epilogue_dv_73aab3cd:


    me "Thanks..."


translate english epilogue_dv_6b60c623:


    "The darkness of the club prevented me from clearly seeing her face, but I was sure that it was extremely familiar to me."


translate english epilogue_dv_bd0cee6c:


    me "And you..."


translate english epilogue_dv_1d56b639:


    "I stepped forward."


translate english epilogue_dv_531bb64d:


    "Exactly!{w} It was Alisa!"


translate english epilogue_dv_e3137c54:


    "I froze on the spot, unable to speak."


translate english epilogue_dv_6a3ab760:


    dvg "What about me?"


translate english epilogue_dv_5b8f2192:


    me "Nothing...{w} I just thought I'd seen you somewhere."


translate english epilogue_dv_ba143499:


    "I decided not to jump at her with questions about a pioneer camp."


translate english epilogue_dv_6fa8d283:


    "After all, it's possible that this girl merely looks like her.{w} Or something like that..."


translate english epilogue_dv_6827cc68:


    "Anyway, it was obvious that she was seeing me for the first time.{w} Or at least was pretending to..."


translate english epilogue_dv_0f19819d:


    dvg "Well, generally it’s true."


translate english epilogue_dv_ae3e36fe:


    "She peered."


translate english epilogue_dv_5a477656:


    me "My name's Semyon."


translate english epilogue_dv_0c70048e:


    "Forcing an artificial smile, I offered her my hand."


translate english epilogue_dv_9cd81f75:


    dvg "I actually know that."


translate english epilogue_dv_c0d3e816:


    me "How?"


translate english epilogue_dv_5c2b6b63:


    dvg "Read it on the internet."


translate english epilogue_dv_021e0faf:


    "Yes, of course."


translate english epilogue_dv_339fce09:


    me "And you are...?"


translate english epilogue_dv_be5fc071:


    dvg "Alisa..."


translate english epilogue_dv_1ebb64bd:


    "She replied somewhat confusedly."


translate english epilogue_dv_04cf27b7:


    "So I was right!{w} But how right was I...?"


translate english epilogue_dv_2ec84ac1:


    me "Listen, did you ever go to a pioneer camp as a child?"


translate english epilogue_dv_ed23c5e1:


    dv "N... no...{w} Why are you asking?"


translate english epilogue_dv_e1ab806a:


    me "Just...{w} It just seemed that I'd met you there."


translate english epilogue_dv_98abf1e8:


    dv "How could you have met me there if I've never been there?"


translate english epilogue_dv_ec2c2a7c:


    "She laughed."


translate english epilogue_dv_85d7f47f:


    dv "Yes, all of you musicians are somehow strange!"


translate english epilogue_dv_7bd57e71:


    me "No doubt."


translate english epilogue_dv_98885eac:


    dv "Well... I just wanted to say that your music is not too bad."


translate english epilogue_dv_0c7cecbc:


    "Alisa turned to leave."


translate english epilogue_dv_dadc6a74:


    "I felt that I need to do something, say something."


translate english epilogue_dv_48603599:


    me "Will you come to our next concert?"


translate english epilogue_dv_8e1cb694:


    dv "When?"


translate english epilogue_dv_37503a95:


    "To be honest I had no idea myself."


translate english epilogue_dv_e56b5b6f:


    me "Soon..."


translate english epilogue_dv_26dbb3bd:


    dv "Yes, maybe...{w} Send me a message!"


translate english epilogue_dv_3b03af3a:


    me "Yeah, sure..."


translate english epilogue_dv_1cf7fbad:


    "We shared our contact details with each other."


translate english epilogue_dv_b256ad93:


    dv "Then I’ll see you again, probably!"


translate english epilogue_dv_f57169e1:


    "She waved her hand and went out."


translate english epilogue_dv_1e45c266:


    "Obviously I have no idea if she was that very same Alisa I met in the camp."


translate english epilogue_dv_9835dc5e:


    "Any number of theories were nullified by an absolute absence of facts."


translate english epilogue_dv_c0c56290:


    "But at that moment it was the last thing that concerned me, as I was filled with emotions, both from the concert and meeting Alisa."


translate english epilogue_dv_b44b240b:


    me "After all, nothing's preventing me from calling her and then we’ll see..."


translate english epilogue_dv_7bdf75da:


    "I smiled, shouldered my guitar and started walking to the 410 bus stop with my mates."


translate english epilogue_sl_d4b0f999:


    "There are dreams that you don’t want to wake up from."


translate english epilogue_sl_63d02893:


    "It's like one is floating down a warm river towards a place far beyond the horizon, blissfully watching the vain world, hidden behind the clouds."


translate english epilogue_sl_f9b4fc62:


    "The past is left behind, its echoes do not tear your soul.{w} And the future is right here, you just have to reach out."


translate english epilogue_sl_410a9fd5:


    "It doesn't matter what is awaiting you there, the very process of immersing yourself in this fairy world of serenity and happiness is itself much more important."


translate english epilogue_sl_aa0f75b6:


    "I've always believed that the universe was once in this state and one day it will return to it again."


translate english epilogue_sl_38f385ca:


    "Our life is just a blink of an eye, just a second in comparison to the universe, the birth and death of stars is a minute and those of galaxies are hours."


translate english epilogue_sl_9c9a7284:


    "But even all of that, all put together, will not even be a day."


translate english epilogue_sl_bd631aa1:


    "Nobody thinks how to live each specific second so does it really matter what each drop in a stormy river, running beyond the horizon of existence, does?"


translate english epilogue_sl_1f69fba6:


    "I opened my eyes and stretched blissfully."


translate english epilogue_sl_1210b0d8:


    "I had no desire to stand up as I felt like I was in perfect bliss, muffled in a blanket."


translate english epilogue_sl_590f6c27:


    "After all, I don't have to go anywhere.{w} As usual, actually..."


translate english epilogue_sl_be7b0f0b:


    "And I don't have any plans."


translate english epilogue_sl_003b132f:


    "So why shouldn't I just sleep?"


translate english epilogue_sl_bd93e9e9:


    "I rolled over and stared at the old worn wallpaper covering the curved wall."


translate english epilogue_sl_0a1ee678:


    "I wonder how long ago the last time they renovated this room was?{w} And why does here have wallpaper instead of bare wood anyway?"


translate english epilogue_sl_433cc26c:


    "Vague warming bells began ringing somewhere deep in my mind."


translate english epilogue_sl_771e1b84:


    "I threw the blanket away, jumped up and furiously began to look around."


translate english epilogue_sl_9b6e0d96:


    "Yes, I was in my flat again."


translate english epilogue_sl_2f2ad9f9:


    "At first I was paralysed."


translate english epilogue_sl_18a8a5cb:


    "The shock was so strong that my brain was unable to process what was going on."


translate english epilogue_sl_ea18891a:


    "I just stood and gazed on the screen of the monitor on the table opposite me."


translate english epilogue_sl_047fe1ee:


    "I couldn't think. I even forgot to breathe."


translate english epilogue_sl_3c6ecad1:


    "Finally my mind began to clear."


translate english epilogue_sl_fb89f263:


    "What happened anyway?{w} I fell asleep on the bus, going to the district centre?{w} Yes, something like that..."


translate english epilogue_sl_aa71a533:


    "And Slavya was sitting by my side.{w} And now I'm back here..."


translate english epilogue_sl_9762c4e5:


    "Seems like during the week I spent there in the camp, I had gotten so used to the fact that I'd never return to my previous life that now I just have no idea how to react to all this."


translate english epilogue_sl_a44e9759:


    "After all, at first my main wish was to get home..."


translate english epilogue_sl_b4b3948b:


    "But in the end, everything was like in a bad movie. At last, I had come back, but I am still shocked."


translate english epilogue_sl_af8879d8:


    "No, I felt no fear.{w} I was rather interested... and upset."


translate english epilogue_sl_29f47261:


    "After all, I'd already made up my mind to start a new life with Slavya, leaving all my problems behind – insults, suffering, self-examination, unfinished affairs and plans for the future."


translate english epilogue_sl_57794fd0:


    "Obviously that life could not be worse than this one, at least."


translate english epilogue_sl_5c585492:


    "But there’s no returning to it now..."


translate english epilogue_sl_e0b5fc71:


    "On the other hand if someone had told me a week ago that I would be sent into a different world just like that, in the blink of an eye, I would not have believed him."


translate english epilogue_sl_21b9702d:


    "So what makes such a fantastic event happening again so impossible?"


translate english epilogue_sl_d390fb44:


    "Moving my legs with difficulty I went to the kitchen, got a glass of water and returned to the room."


translate english epilogue_sl_b6e3af01:


    "The ice-cold liquid with a disgusting aftertaste of bleaching powder revived me to some degree."


translate english epilogue_sl_e5e5f203:


    "Now I have to decide what to do next."


translate english epilogue_sl_41ef88b1:


    "Suddenly I realised that I could not bear the silence."


translate english epilogue_sl_80b426bb:


    "After turning the computer on I launched a random song in the player and managed to calm down somewhat."


translate english epilogue_sl_a0bf71cd:


    "And seriously speaking – what can I do?{w} Recently I realised that absolutely nothing is up to me."


translate english epilogue_sl_a90c22ac:


    "By someone’s will I was pulled out of my usual world and then sent back."


translate english epilogue_sl_35575ac5:


    "No answers were found during the week in the camp."


translate english epilogue_sl_c9372110:


    "What's the point in speculating now...?"


translate english epilogue_sl_d4e2d25c:


    "I must forget everything that happened, like a bad dream!"


translate english epilogue_sl_32fbcaae:


    "Maybe those were just hallucinations, I don't really care now."


translate english epilogue_sl_9e130725:


    "The only thing that prevented me from completely forgetting this short period of my life was Slavya."


translate english epilogue_sl_6d445c91:


    "I recalled her smile and all the time we spent together."


translate english epilogue_sl_4ef0184b:


    "From the meeting on the very first day to the night in the forest and our departure from the camp."


translate english epilogue_sl_51bc49e7:


    "My heart furiously jumped inside my chest, spreading oppressive pain all throughout my body."


translate english epilogue_sl_36b7144d:


    "I liked her at first sight.{w} So gentle, caring, understanding..."


translate english epilogue_sl_98add8a2:


    "Just like that anime heroine – what was her name? The one who helped an antisocial fellow like me deal with depression."


translate english epilogue_sl_264c0834:


    "And if you think about it, there are no such people in real life!"


translate english epilogue_sl_5aa379da:


    "Slavya asked nothing in return, needed no encouragement, never expected to be understood or praised for her work."


translate english epilogue_sl_0a40af6e:


    "She just was being herself – a girl that cannot exist in real life."


translate english epilogue_sl_c52a2b6d:


    "If you think clearly, that's really exactly what she was."


translate english epilogue_sl_bcc4565b:


    "It seems like I've seen one single, week-long dream."


translate english epilogue_sl_057f727b:


    "About the pioneer camp, Soviet teenagers and their camp leader, about warm summer nights and gatherings around a fire, about light-hearted children's games and simple human joys, about one moment that lasted a week and the everlasting summer."


translate english epilogue_sl_dccb98b2:


    "But not just 'seen'.{w} I've been there, I was a part of everything!"


translate english epilogue_sl_d77755f6:


    "My eyes unwillingly filled with tears.{w} Not tears of pain or despair – tears of sorrow and bright melancholy."


translate english epilogue_sl_d1d01df5:


    "Even if everything is over, I experienced something that most people could never even dream about."


translate english epilogue_sl_dc042d8c:


    "Slavya's image flashed in my head, brighter and brighter."


translate english epilogue_sl_75314796:


    "I would love so much for her to return from that camp with me..."


translate english epilogue_sl_b649e1a2:


    "Maybe I have nothing to offer her now, but my entire life is still ahead of me."


translate english epilogue_sl_4d7ca51b:


    "I guess I learned a lot of useful lessons from these events."


translate english epilogue_sl_0b2cd74c:


    "I couldn’t help thinking that it all seems too perfect, like it was written according to some simple plan."


translate english epilogue_sl_ad88d4c0:


    "A loser hero, a fantastic incident and a wonderful transformation..."


translate english epilogue_sl_eab34488:


    "I guess it's not possible.{w} Not in this life..."


translate english epilogue_sl_a1f94223:


    "Will I become the person I was before only a day or a week later?"


translate english epilogue_sl_e3775951:


    "Well, it's the most realistic course of events."


translate english epilogue_sl_84316324:


    "One thing's for sure, I'll never be able to go back..."


translate english epilogue_sl_ce617998:


    "…"


translate english epilogue_sl_dfcf3261:



    nvl clear
    "About a month has passed since I returned from Sovyonok. Or, to say it more correctly, since I woke up."


translate english epilogue_sl_65020c5a:


    "I returned to my usual life as a loner, surfing the internet for days, going outside only to shop. As expected, it began to suit me again."


translate english epilogue_sl_5b8761f3:


    "Well, obviously, moments of melancholy and depression occurred, a person like me just can’t do without them, but they lasted no longer than usual. Except those times when, while sleeping, I returned to that summer, that mysterious camp..."


translate english epilogue_sl_c49c4047:


    "But after awakening I tried to banish these thoughts as soon as possible. After all, what's the point in dreaming of becoming a wizard?"


translate english epilogue_sl_7bbf60a6:



    nvl clear
    "Even if miracles happen (and I was proof that they do!), they happen completely independent of us. The word 'sweet' doesn't give you a sweet taste, regardless of how often you pronounce it. "


translate english epilogue_sl_9a22d402:


    "But nevertheless, something has changed in my existence. Formerly I didn’t think ahead, didn’t really care how long I would live, whether one week or 40 years, but now I looked forward to it with optimism."


translate english epilogue_sl_5c734fc5:


    "Not like I tried to change anything or to become a different person, but the world now seemed more understandable. Not simple, not friendly, no, not friendly at all, but just understandable."


translate english epilogue_sl_d59449dc:


    "Before I just couldn’t cope with some events or facts, though I kind of realised that they were there for a reason. Now I started seeing life is something simpler – what happens, happens for the best!"


translate english epilogue_sl_e1feb5f7:



    nvl clear
    "Or at least it happens and I can live with it. And if I can't, I'm powerless in that case. I guess I started smiling more often, or at least I didn’t carry that look of deep universal frustration 24/7."


translate english epilogue_sl_a49c2c8d:


    "Even my acquaintances (on the internet, obviously) noticed some change in me. And their opinions agreed that these changes are good."


translate english epilogue_sl_cffd8fe2:


    "Now I think, I'm ready live on. Thanks to Sovyonok and its inhabitants.{w} Without them I wouldn’t be able..."


translate english epilogue_sl_ce617998_1:


    "…"


translate english epilogue_sl_76b2fe88:


    nvl clear


translate english epilogue_sl_61db16fc:


    "It was the beginning of January."


translate english epilogue_sl_0d80cbdc:


    "The city had barely recovered from the New Year hangover, the streets were almost empty during the day. Not to mention the nights, when the only stranger walking down the street seemed extremely busy with some business, rushing somewhere for a reason that couldn’t wait."


translate english epilogue_sl_f357f57f:


    "I had no such reason, I just decided to have a little walk – it's necessary to get some fresh air sometimes."


translate english epilogue_sl_6c6bdb78:


    "A winter's night is the best time to be alone with yourself."


translate english epilogue_sl_8cf56a1b:



    nvl clear
    "I always thought that true solitude can be felt in a crowd rather than in a burning hot desert, boundless plain, or on top of a mountain covered with snow."


translate english epilogue_sl_761bb15b:


    "In the stream of people, words, thoughts and aspirations everyone had their own aim and direction."


translate english epilogue_sl_2ffddc18:


    "And I was the only one strolling among them, deserving no attention from others."


translate english epilogue_sl_c5c605e3:


    "Maybe they're like vectors, moving in different directions? They never meet at cartesian coordinates."


translate english epilogue_sl_e35f54cf:



    nvl clear
    "It's the same thing here – these people are walking, running in one direction and I'm dragging along in the other."


translate english epilogue_sl_6ec15f5e:


    "But did I feel lonely?{w} Before – yes. But now - highly unlikely."


translate english epilogue_sl_ad5015f4:


    "In the bright, blinding lights of the city, the noise of cars and the swirling crowds I enjoyed a heavenly symphony of silence!"


translate english epilogue_sl_c26cab4f:


    "But now the situation is slightly different, there is just me in the street, so I am alone not only within my own self, but within the whole world."


translate english epilogue_sl_804dc10a:



    nvl clear
    "Being a sand grain in a desert is not the same thing as being a water drop in an ocean!"


translate english epilogue_sl_cc6ceeaf:


    "In the crowd nobody noticed me, nobody paid any attention but now everyone who peeks out the window or see me while driving past will think: 'Why can't he just stay home?', 'Maybe he has some urgent matter?', 'Suppose he's mad?', 'Or is he just drunk?'..."


translate english epilogue_sl_87c3c17d:


    "I never liked standing out from the crowd when it is not appropriate, so opposing society was never an option for me."


translate english epilogue_sl_1e8b6cba:


    "But now it was different."


translate english epilogue_sl_c230e647:



    nvl clear
    "As if I tried to tell everybody: 'Look! I can be happy too! You need your TV and your hot chocolate, but I just need the snow, the night, a dark room and a dull monitor screen! Look! And I'm not any worse off than you!'"


translate english epilogue_sl_53d3760b:


    "I felt sadness in my heart but it was a serene sadness."


translate english epilogue_sl_bb50df60:


    "Do I really need the things that they have and I do not?"


translate english epilogue_sl_7d88b51c:


    "Maybe I have something much more valuable?"


translate english epilogue_sl_ce617998_2:


    "…"


translate english epilogue_sl_950f1be7:


    "I didn't notice how I came to the bus stop of 410 route."


translate english epilogue_sl_7535addf:


    me "This brings back memories..."


translate english epilogue_sl_8da3fa57:


    "I sat down and rummaged in my pockets, trying to find cigarettes.{w} However the packet was empty"


translate english epilogue_sl_a54cf057:


    me "Fine..."


translate english epilogue_sl_fd5a0f69:


    "I crumpled it up and threw it into the bin."


translate english epilogue_sl_a81c77bf:


    me "Maybe I'll get healthier!"


translate english epilogue_sl_a97808f5:


    "A lonely star was shining in the sky."


translate english epilogue_sl_264e6e2b:


    "Today I read on the internet that, according to the calculations of scientists, one of the most beautiful astronomical events has already ceased to exist and we'll see it only decades later."


translate english epilogue_sl_e61de771:


    "Maybe this star has already exploded as well and now it is only a beautiful image in the night sky? Somewhere near a lost planet on the edge of the galaxy."


translate english epilogue_sl_7ad4fe45:


    "However, why does one or another thing exist?"


translate english epilogue_sl_28b32374:


    "Is it simply because it’s just there, has shape and can be touched?"


translate english epilogue_sl_c62c06d1:


    "Or is it because we believe that it exists?"


translate english epilogue_sl_604959ba:


    "At first thought the answer is simple.{w} But on the other hand..."


translate english epilogue_sl_13a6a7c7:


    "Even if this star is gone we can still see its cold light."


translate english epilogue_sl_21b7ddca:


    "Maybe it helped someone to get out of a snowy winter forest, gave someone hope, or a bit of warmth to someone else."


translate english epilogue_sl_19248a5c:


    "Could a simple astronomical object, that exploded God knows when, do all this?{w} Can billions of people believe in something that doesn't really exist?"


translate english epilogue_sl_311843a1:


    "But belief itself never made any object real.{w} At least none that I've ever heard of."


translate english epilogue_sl_ce617998_3:


    "…"


translate english epilogue_sl_8844dc3d:


    "The snowfall grew stronger, now it was a real snowstorm.{w} Midnight."


translate english epilogue_sl_d1e598ce:


    "Will my carriage turn into a pumpkin in few moments?"


translate english epilogue_sl_f2165086:


    "Maybe the return from Sovyonok is the end of my own version of the 'Cinderella' tale?"


translate english epilogue_sl_ced18126:


    "Even so, is it really a bad end?"


translate english epilogue_sl_9f4f4f69:


    "Why, any tale contains at least a bit of truth."


translate english epilogue_sl_f7a557f1:


    "I remembered Slavya, stood up, shook off the snow and went slowly into the night."


translate english epilogue_sl_1eaf8011:


    "I felt no sorrow, had no regrets."


translate english epilogue_sl_aabe0924:


    "Maybe all this is just another episode of that tale, that warming dream, which I wanted so much to continue."


translate english epilogue_sl_498f7c4e:


    "Why can't it repeat, if it happened once already?"


translate english epilogue_sl_8ebdfc5e:


    "And what if I meet Slavya in reality...?"


translate english epilogue_sl_a20cefa7:


    "…"


translate english epilogue_sl_8074d8af:


    "I was about to leave but suddenly someone emerged from the solid white veil and ran under the bus stop roof."


translate english epilogue_sl_96af921b:


    "It was clearly a girl as she had a long ponytail hanging out of her hood."


translate english epilogue_sl_81772974:


    "She stood with her back to me so I couldn't make out her face."


translate english epilogue_sl_501a8b3a:


    slg "Excuse me, has the last bus already left?"


translate english epilogue_sl_454f3f2b:


    "She asked without turning to me."


translate english epilogue_sl_14528e2c:


    "Where can she be heading to so late?"


translate english epilogue_sl_0a4debed:


    "The 410 must be the most cursed route in this city."


translate english epilogue_sl_6e4ac050:


    "Not only does it sometimes takes people away to another reality, but it can’t even arrive when you want it to."


translate english epilogue_sl_451ccc51:


    me "There is one more bus coming, just after midnight, I think."


translate english epilogue_sl_d722e8b7:


    slg "Thank you."


translate english epilogue_sl_839f9131:


    "The smile was clear in her voice."


translate english epilogue_sl_58d296bc:


    "For some time I just sat silently, examining the girl."


translate english epilogue_sl_09bca910:


    "Finally she spoke:"


translate english epilogue_sl_ffb89fb4:


    slg "Where are you going so late?"


translate english epilogue_sl_a945e3a8:


    "Is it really that interesting for her?"


translate english epilogue_sl_68e9d064:


    me "Just having a walk..."


translate english epilogue_sl_f2f10b4d:


    "I answered thoughtfully."


translate english epilogue_sl_9eb3ac16:


    me "And you... are you here for something important?"


translate english epilogue_sl_a8743c64:


    slg "Well, not really...{w} Just going home."


translate english epilogue_sl_591089ca:


    me "Where do you live?"


translate english epilogue_sl_9a483b3c:


    "I couldn't help asking."


translate english epilogue_sl_f9bd2f63:


    slg "Far away..."


translate english epilogue_sl_99a29ab7:


    "She said vaguely."


translate english epilogue_sl_64f7f202:


    me "And I live nearby."


translate english epilogue_sl_a7590312:


    slg "It's a good area."


translate english epilogue_sl_c75aa891:


    "I would say there couldn’t be a worse one."


translate english epilogue_sl_263611b4:


    me "I didn’t have too many options..."


translate english epilogue_sl_13f66e78:


    slg "You don't like it?"


translate english epilogue_sl_24cdca72:


    me "Don't know, I got used to it by now."


translate english epilogue_sl_837a1356:


    slg "I think that people can be happy anywhere they want!"


translate english epilogue_sl_907b6d20:


    me "Perhaps..."


translate english epilogue_sl_2612f632:


    slg "Well, think of it!{w} People live even at the North Pole... in stations, I mean.{w} And in the Sahara desert! And in many other places. It's the people themselves that are the most important!"


translate english epilogue_sl_a82636de:


    me "It's difficult to disagree with you."


translate english epilogue_sl_76f34f02:


    "My comment sounded so philosophical that I unconsciously smiled."


translate english epilogue_sl_f55284f9:


    slg "You don’t sound too honest to me."


translate english epilogue_sl_724d66a5:


    me "Now why would you say that, madam?"


translate english epilogue_sl_8baa587f:


    "She laughed quietly."


translate english epilogue_sl_de9d3a74:


    slg "I think you're a good person!"


translate english epilogue_sl_b4d548da:


    "Now she turned and..."


translate english epilogue_sl_7f9ddde9:


    "I realised why her voice, stature and everything else seemed familiar to me."


translate english epilogue_sl_5d2bdfb2:


    "Slavya stood in front of me."


translate english epilogue_sl_d7bb50f0:


    "For a moment I lost the ability to speak, but just for a moment."


translate english epilogue_sl_30204e6b:


    "Of course it could just be a girl who looks like Slavya from my dream.{w} Or am I experiencing the strongest deja vu..."


translate english epilogue_sl_7c085c9f:


    "This city is not a pioneer camp, I am not wearing a uniform, and it's not summer now."


translate english epilogue_sl_a32736d4:


    "Trying to convince myself that it's just an illusion, I decided to ask a question."


translate english epilogue_sl_82ad3926:


    me "Have we met before?"


translate english epilogue_sl_6ac4a2e6:


    "She carefully inspected me and smiled."


translate english epilogue_sl_38e86f4c:


    slg "I don't think so...{w} but your face seems familiar."


translate english epilogue_sl_40a6ca02:


    me "You... had you ever been to a pioneer camp as a kid."


translate english epilogue_sl_73927ac0:


    slg "Of course not!"


translate english epilogue_sl_ce3666e5:


    "She laughed."


translate english epilogue_sl_c7fd5288:


    slg "When I was born, they'd already been disbanded. "


translate english epilogue_sl_0d9f82ca:


    "Oh, right..."


translate english epilogue_sl_2d02b5b6:


    slg " Although...{w} I had a dream recently…"


translate english epilogue_sl_60f3d758:


    "She thought for a second."


translate english epilogue_sl_83d4403a:


    me "Me too.{w} I mean, about the pioneer camp."


translate english epilogue_sl_fe5d4dde:


    slg "Maybe that is where we've met."


translate english epilogue_sl_e26e8716:


    "The girl said seriously."


translate english epilogue_sl_fd914013:


    me "Possibly."


translate english epilogue_sl_4c079f2d:


    slg "By the way, my name is Slavya. Actually, my full name is Slavyana but everyone calls me Slavya. You can do that too!"


translate english epilogue_sl_b4002489:


    "I was about to tell her that I know, but then I stopped short."


translate english epilogue_sl_b54dd65c:


    "After all, is it that important to know why Slavya from my dream is standing right here, right now in front of me at this frozen stop of the charmed bus number 410?"


translate english epilogue_sl_a4217a2f:


    "After all, there are dreams that you don’t want to wake up from!"


translate english epilogue_sl_94f8232c:


    me "And mine is Semyon..."


translate english epilogue_sl_e62d08e6:


    sl "What a lovely name."


translate english epilogue_sl_6170b881:


    me "Starts with an 'S' too."


translate english epilogue_sl_8b01f8be:


    sl "Yeah."


translate english epilogue_sl_8b7f6f51:


    me "So, you live far away, don't you?"


translate english epilogue_sl_af4e649f:


    sl "Well, not really..."


translate english epilogue_sl_7cfc34fb:


    "She named the district."


translate english epilogue_sl_f14fd67f:


    me "I thought it would be somewhere in the south."


translate english epilogue_sl_70f37a53:


    sl "Why?"


translate english epilogue_sl_e902ce8b:


    me "Don't know...{w} Maybe because you look like a pioneer."


translate english epilogue_sl_90481d5f:


    sl "Oh you and your pioneers!"


translate english epilogue_sl_c954d69f:


    "Slavya laughed."


translate english epilogue_sl_ee42356b:


    me "Maybe we wouldn’t ever meet if not for them."


translate english epilogue_sl_70f37a53_1:


    sl "Why?"


translate english epilogue_sl_cfc2bc6d:


    "Her expression became serious."


translate english epilogue_sl_e8b9f9a3:


    me "Just... a joke...{w} Listen, do you agree that the world exists because we believe in it?"


translate english epilogue_sl_17172b5c:


    sl "That's like some kind of subjective idealism..."


translate english epilogue_sl_bbc1f2e4:


    "Slavya thought for a bit."


translate english epilogue_sl_eb6cea32:


    me "This school of philosophy became close to me recently."


translate english epilogue_sl_5095dd33:


    sl "Well, I don't know...{w} I am not that good with these subjects."


translate english epilogue_sl_e15fe545:


    me "What are your subjects then?"


translate english epilogue_sl_d1046a49:


    "She smiled."


translate english epilogue_sl_719e7c45:


    sl "Different ones."


translate english epilogue_sl_7f708c46:


    me "No doubt!"


translate english epilogue_sl_d1aa5e5c:


    sl "But it’s just been few minutes since we met!"


translate english epilogue_sl_79ac6bd7:


    me "But seems like it’s been much longer."


translate english epilogue_sl_1cc42161:


    sl "For some reason I've got the same feeling..."


translate english epilogue_sl_cc1284f3:


    "An awkward pause followed."


translate english epilogue_sl_644f4e1f:


    "The snowfall has eased but there was still no bus."


translate english epilogue_sl_d86d06b8:


    "I looked at my watch and assumed that it won't arrive at all."


translate english epilogue_sl_6a9e8821:


    "Slavya seemed to feel even colder by now, as her cheeks grew more red and her hands were now moving frenetically, trying to warm her body."


translate english epilogue_sl_161b1e49:


    me "Seems like the 410 bus is done for today."


translate english epilogue_sl_1555b86b:


    sl "I guess..."


translate english epilogue_sl_1e8379d1:


    "She said sadly."


translate english epilogue_sl_732bddc6:


    me "If you want..."


translate english epilogue_sl_8fe9063e:


    "I started, after pulling myself together."


translate english epilogue_sl_e07c37b3:


    sl "What?"


translate english epilogue_sl_beb50f2a:


    me "You can stay at my place..."


translate english epilogue_sl_4f36139c:


    sl "But we've just met."


translate english epilogue_sl_0467a4c4:


    "She laughed."


translate english epilogue_sl_bd3e21d9:


    "She didn't seem frightened even a tiny bit."


translate english epilogue_sl_6b12c510:


    me "Yes, I understand, but it's so cold outside..."


translate english epilogue_sl_d03f0acf:


    sl "Aren't you afraid?"


translate english epilogue_sl_c93fe8e6:


    "Slavya looked at me playfully."


translate english epilogue_sl_10f87319:


    me "Me? Should I be?"


translate english epilogue_sl_b71c6525:


    sl "Who knows... Who knows..."


translate english epilogue_sl_58f5f795:


    me "I just suggested it, don't think anything of that sort..."


translate english epilogue_sl_c99f65be:


    "I started to make excuses."


translate english epilogue_sl_1ee2e52a:


    sl "I understand!"


translate english epilogue_sl_ec2c2a7c:


    "She laughed."


translate english epilogue_sl_0cc7ab77:


    sl "If you don't mind, of course..."


translate english epilogue_sl_7ec51fd8:


    "Even though it seemed impossible, she flushed even more."


translate english epilogue_sl_71f4991e:


    me "Should we go?"


translate english epilogue_sl_c1235c80:


    sl "Let's wait a bit longer, maybe it will arrive."


translate english epilogue_sl_71d3b8c8:


    me "Okay."


translate english epilogue_sl_ce617998_4:


    "…"


translate english epilogue_sl_42acf572:


    sl "So what do you do in your spare time?"


translate english epilogue_sl_ac2505d0:


    "Slavya asked after a while."


translate english epilogue_sl_cebb61ed:


    me "I... well...{w} Work at home, kinda."


translate english epilogue_sl_03bc366f:


    "I just couldn’t tell her that I do 'nothing'."


translate english epilogue_sl_36ffb439:


    sl "Sounds good!"


translate english epilogue_sl_75f4e79a:


    me "Why?"


translate english epilogue_sl_d74e7a4a:


    sl "Don't know...{w} You have a lot of free time, you don't have to go anywhere! And so on..."


translate english epilogue_sl_b78c6e26:


    me "And you?"


translate english epilogue_sl_b620325b:


    "I asked, trying to change the subject somehow."


translate english epilogue_sl_c42d7da0:


    sl "I'm studying."


translate english epilogue_sl_606db6d9:


    me "Getting an ethnographer's degree?"


translate english epilogue_sl_01f26b1d:


    sl "What is that?"


translate english epilogue_sl_38a71a20:


    "Slavya asked seriously."


translate english epilogue_sl_a52d1d58:


    me "Never mind..."


translate english epilogue_sl_5bca72ca:


    sl "I'll be an ecologist."


translate english epilogue_sl_f19cb2e9:


    me "Well, a career to be proud of..."


translate english epilogue_sl_ac8018d5:


    "We chatted about random things and the bus was still nowhere to be seen."


translate english epilogue_sl_8231d531:


    "It was past one already.{w} Time passed by so fast."


translate english epilogue_sl_e3127a21:


    "I guess Slavya understood my thoughts."


translate english epilogue_sl_ad3d2e0c:


    sl "Shall we go?"


translate english epilogue_sl_06ab0532:


    "She smiled."


translate english epilogue_sl_a6a0a962:


    "I stood up and headed slowly towards my house."


translate english epilogue_sl_312acdec:


    "She carefully held onto my arm and looked into my eyes."


translate english epilogue_sl_ae697d22:


    sl "You know, I'm sure that this year will be better than the previous one!"


translate english epilogue_sl_a20cefa7_1:


    "…"
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