ЧАСТЬ 1. Проба пера. Зоя
…The writer does not read publicly an unfinished draught copy; the savage does not say the words designating things mysterious, it is doubtful to it adjusted…
Nabokov «Despair»
«…писатель не читает во всеуслышание неоконченного черновика, дикарь не произносит слов, обозначающих вещи таинственные, сомнительно к нему настроенные…»
В. Набоков «Отчаяние»
1. Roses with thorns. Розы с шипами.
They have got acquainted casually, but this meeting was not such accident. They searched everyone. Perhaps, there will be no it, she would find another and on the contrary he would meet another, there will be no it. Very much can be. But the case has reduced them. And further everyone has made from its part everything that acquaintance has outgrown in attachment. They did not speak about feeling. It was their silent mutual agreement.
In a city where she lived, in a resort corner of the earth as in any resort at the height of summer the carnival – a carnival of colors reigned, natural paints, light, elegant people, nothing anxious and taking life easily. Dresses of all colors and shades as it is necessary on a carnival, dazzled on beaches which were stretched by an infinite strip of whitish sand along the rolling rustling hills hissing on hot stones, and also on approaches to beaches – in the hilly sandy folds covered with fur-tree needles, in prickly thickets of bushes, in very tall pine wood.
Red, green, violet, yellow, snow-white fabrics, dark blue, crimson, lilac, gold, a combination of colors; slippers, bedroom-slippers, hats, caps with a peak; straw features, bikini, terry towels, beach handbags – ripples in eyes.
Man dug in hot sand, over hot and jumps and sand fall from him like a water stream. He runs and with running start flops in water, lifting a cloud of splashes. And the naked girl with the rubber goose, irrigated from head to foot its fountain, all in drops, turns away, without falling nearly, and is blocked by a hand as though water is hot and can scald. And the dark blue seagull flies by in the distance, the sharp lowered wing dissecting air. Young men play volleyball a white ball, and a ball, falling in sand, is lost track. The girl carefully tries water, and its varnish the casting foot plunges into foam on an ankle and turns green.
Then the carnival by the evening passed in a city, and on streets procession at which did not exist neither heads, nor a tail, – it as circulation, became isolated in a ring rushed. Paints slightly turned pale, evening dresses prevailed: lilac, beige and olive, silvery. Purple of a decline have faded, and like a salute volley street illumination flashed.
People here shared to two signs: on the visitors having a rest, and on aboriginals where those who has arrived for a long time joined also, lived constantly and worked in a city, built your life more or less comfortable.
He was among visitors, only has arrived not to have a rest – in business trip. He lived in hotel but as any cheerful person was weighed upon the loneliness and did not love the hotel room, avoided to remain there in the evenings, left all the same where. Often dropped into restaurants he also looked after, as was able, for women.
It did not say about him «a beauty’, but all the same something was pleasant to women in him, of it was convinced time and again. Probably, it was congenital gentlemanliness – with the woman he was underlined polite, attentive. Because of natural shyness in a youth he shunned girls, was not able to pay compliments, look after, to conduct conversation tete-a-tete, and therefore has been compelled to write down in a writing-book variant of the acquaintances obtained from all possible sources. Diligently he wrote down them and learnt by heart.
She lived here for a long time, years ten, can more, has arrived from village, was learnt on the dressmaker and worked now in studio. For those years that she has spent here, she has learnt not to notice fun having a rest, has got gradually used to a rough carnival celebration which did not cease in a summer time minu