Chapter 2 (google translate)
Autumn day played with its faded colors. Smears of colorful leaves, the gray sky hiding the sun, the smell of dampness in the air - all this accompanied me in my expectation.
Ahead there was a mesh of fence, blocking the sleepers from the adjacent territory and the city, and several roofs of warehouses and shops. Behind all the same, separated by a fence stood spreading massive trees. Their wet foliage played with bright yellow, red and brown colors. I stood on the platform of the station, trying to hide under a visor between two dusty lamps and a sign with the inscription "Brumaltown" hanging from it. Another cigarette smoldered in my hands, dispersing the bluish smoke. I smoked when I was nervous.
A chilly day, filling my gut with chill, made me look for ways to keep warm. I wrapped myself in a raincoat, but only the smoke from the cigarette warmed, striking my nose with the smell of tobacco. Though now my bad habit came in handy. And still it was worth throwing the cigarette out faster until a guard or controller passed by, ready to write a fine for smoking in the wrong place. Well, the platform was empty waiting for the train.
When I finished smoking, I peevishly looked around - if anyone was coming - and quickly threw the goby onto the rails.
“Uh, they didn’t notice,” I breathed with relief. I did not want to pay a fine of one hundred dollars.
This year, my family came together for the first time in a long time. Eunice, the youngest of the four, came last. This exciting event made me go to meet such a rare guest in these parts.
The train arrived a few minutes late, which gave me the opportunity to think a little about my problems. For the past week, protecting family values has demanded a report from me. But I was not in a hurry, making it clear: even without this paper work, it’s full of business. The deadlines were running out every day, and on top of the documents they demanded more and more insistently. There was no way to deal with the faceless bureaucratic machine, and I just pretended to be extremely busy. In any case, all these pieces of paper did not concern me much. My job is counseling. And above it knew no worse than me.
Finally, in the distance, the nose of the train appeared, looming with the warm yellowish light of the headlights. Usually at such times the fog was shrouded all around, but, fortunately, the air was crystal clear, making it possible to enjoy the autumn before the rains came to these parts. I sighed, understanding what tonight would be.
“It's good that I was able to come. Without her, there would have been a real nightmare, ”I thought, looking at the incoming train.
The train stopped with a loud clang, opening its doors. It seemed completely alien to this place: massive, angular, with a huge bell between the tiny windows of the driver's cab. A muffled sound came from the car, informing passengers of the name of the station.
Unlike the old wooden station, whose floorboards creaked, the gigantic violet-orange color with the railway symbol looked new. And even though the composition was covered with dust, and the train itself looked like a tin can in places with relief and inserts made of ordinary metal, where corrosion showed through the paint, this did not at all plead its novelty, regarding the kind of wooden platform.
As soon as the doors opened, people began to hurry out of the cars. Among them were locals who returned from work and tourists who wanted to see the town about which there were legends. In this small mosaic I caught my eye with a familiar figure.
“I don't have to meet, Leo!” Eunice said displeasedly, coming up to me. - I have not been a little girl for a long time!
Despite the discontent, the sight of the sister said otherwise. She was clearly happy about the care on my part. As soon as Eunice came up, I immediately smelled a strong smell of perfume. Apparently, she wanted to hide behind him the fatigue from the trip and the excitement with which she was waiting for a meeting. I did not dare to criticize this suffocating and tasteless smell. Noting that the sister was off the road, and wrinkles and swelling were spread under her eyes with a treacherous net, I quickly waved my hand:
- Come on. Everyone is waiting for us.
We went down the wooden stairs, which sounded like a subtle creak, and passed several shops.
The railway passed behind them, circling the poorest district of the city. Not surprisingly: the city was located quite far from major highways and highways. The lion's share of supplies - what was earlier, what is now - was made by train. That's why the station was rebuilt in the industrial zone during the reconstruction of the city.
Once in the old car, we headed towards the parental home. Our area, located in the northeast, was considered prestigious. Far enough from here. The path came through the whole town. As I drove away from the station, I noticed nostalgia in the eyes of my younger sister. Eunice almost never visited Brumaltown, living with her family on the other side of the country. Her income was low, and she could not always come to such family gatherings, often limiting herself to calls once or twice a week. Moreover, albeit a small, but still “family” demanded a lot of strength from her sister.
Eunice sometimes could not cope with her wayward and lively daughter, which only added to her problems. Noisy, mischievous, as if in her uncle and aunt, Poppy was at times ugly at school, organized pranks, sometimes very offensive, and even frustrated her lessons a couple of times. No exhortations worked, and Eunice at times simply looked at her daughter’s actions through her fingers.
Poppy's father almost did not participate in raising his daughter, preferring work to family. Eunice justified this with expensive housing and high expenses, but I understood that this was not entirely true.
No, I do not argue, Noel loved Eunice, but over the years this love began to turn into a routine for both. In their relationship, the former spark went out. As a result, the whole household and daughter rested on her sister's shoulders. It is sad that from this her talents were wasted. She is, after all, an equally capable psychologist, as father used to say. But I was not FVP and did not want to interfere in her life.
The trip to the parents' house also turned out to be long and exhausting: fly by plane, and then transfer to the train. For everything - about six hours. Here Eunice appeared extremely rarely in her native land.
While we were driving, I myself involuntarily recalled the history of this place, which has become home for our family. I remember how we moved here during the restoration.
As far as I remember, the town of Brumaltown has never been large. Formed around a woodworking factory at the beginning of the century, he could hardly boast of city status in those years. The population at that time was from the strength of two thousand people, and all of them were workers of this very factory, and even their families, who were not afraid to move to the wilderness. Before the war, almost no one knew about this town. Even the names did not bother to come up with.
When the world plunged into bloody strife, the invaders from the south did not attach much importance to the small settlement of a dozen tiny shack houses and only destroyed the factory, having stolen everything of value that they could find in it. Compared to the capital and major cities, where after the armistice almost every building had to be rebuilt from scratch, the town of Brumaltown looked quite decent. This was written on the pages of textbooks and remembered during the celebration of McKirby Day.
When the war came to an end, the town was completely empty: the destroyed nature has now become very valuable, and all the states that have survived in the least have been equated with nature reserves. From that moment on, it was forbidden by law to use more than ten percent of natural resources per year. Here the factory bent, not getting a chance for a new life. Local, devoid of a single income, then willingly left their houses in search of a better life. But before the war ended, a new disaster came: the period of overpopulation of large cities came. The war, together with the fuel crisis, did their job and turned the great country into two bits with empty and contaminated lands in the center.
The migration of survivors of dead lands destroyed by biological weapons has increased population density to unimaginable limits. The stuffy, dusty megacities have become shelters for hundreds of thousands of afflicted. This led to a lack of housing and work. Consider the new Great Depression. It was then that many towns that had sunk into oblivion began to be remembered and re-populated.
So this town again found its inhabitants. Because of the cold winters, he was dubbed Brumaltown. I think it is justified. Unlike the capital, the town is far enough from the bay, and the climate here is much cooler and harsher. And if you take into account that the chilly wet air from the bay still reached, the winters here were felt very cold and snowy.
Since the rebirth, the town has grown. There was also public transport. Although the language didn’t turn out to be called developed: the bus route, and the three-lane railway station with a branch from one to the shipping docks of the shops — that’s all public transport. No airport, no taxi, no tram or metro.
The town was very small. If you wish, you can walk around it in a couple of hours. Therefore, no one saw the point in the dominance of transport.
I found those times when Brumaltown was not yet located on every map, and the inhabitants deceived that they lived in larger neighboring cities. True, then the population hardly exceeded 5-6 thousand people. Now in the town there were about 25 thousand inhabitants.
The town was obliged by the last round of popularity to the history of the Grasse family. I was then a very young child, so I could not track the development of this story. I could hardly then predict how the story of one girl would change the whole world.
Emma's notes, released a couple of years after moving to Brumaltown, influenced all orders in society, forcing a number of laws and conventions to be adopted. The fact that they had not advertised before, became unpleasant, but officially recognized: there is the Mehoni virus, it cannot be cured, and there is no getting around it. These diseases and the diaries of Emma stirred up the whole world and left no one indifferent!
After the scandal with the publication of records, society in many countries can only accept the fact that 8% of women in the world are sick with the Mehoni virus, which causes autoimmune necrosis.
Gradually, very scarce information about the virus and the history of Emma herself began to exaggerate in society, which allowed the inhabitants to put up with a constant number of patients. Emma lived the rest of her life in Brumaltown. She did not like to talk about where she lived with her family, wanting to spend the rest of the days alone. But rumors about Brumaltown still went around the country, glorifying the town at the level of local folklore.
There were also enough sights here: the Grasse family house, which became a museum, a small planetarium, and a monument to the same soldier McKirby. But rare tourists annually visited to look at the "town from the story of Emma."
Someone came from other countries to satisfy their curiosity: is the town really so terrible as it was sometimes described in urban legends by residents of larger neighboring cities. But there were far fewer foreign tourists compared to the inhabitants of the Northern States or Dixieland.
“How's Poppy doing?” I asked, remembering the lively and mischievous niece.
“Good,” Eunice smiled, continuing to look out the window.
The landscapes of childhood flashed before her eyes. The central square, small streets and low houses with a maximum of five floors evoked fond memories of Eunice, although she rarely visited the town. Her childhood passed here, and she appreciated this mischievous and fun time. Now he cannot be returned; years have taken their toll. They, like sand in a watch, flowed away, changing everything: only smiling smiling good eyes the color of moonlight reminded of a little brisk girl, and freckles scattered from cheek to cheek, framing red faces with their red stars, like a pink sky.
And yet, sometimes, the sister wanted, as before, to run along the old paths in the park, walk through the shops, and eat ice cream in her favorite cafe. It is a pity that this did not work: instead of a cute girl, a tired adult woman with her problems and concerns looked at Eunice from the reflection in the glass.
- Already in the fifth grade I went. She says she likes it, ”continued Eunice, not looking up from contemplating the view from the window. - So far, it’s not a hooligan.
In the meantime, I was thinking about the upcoming meeting. It was lonely, because only two such gatherings in the parental home I did not come alone. The younger ones, on the contrary, always came with their families, pouring salt into my wound.
The only consolation now: Eunice, too, this time alone. And the younger sister is very close to me. She is closer to me than the twins. Eunice understood a lot and often helped in difficult situations. It somehow brightened the upcoming evening. I even smiled sadly: "Only after becoming a widow do you begin to appreciate scandals."
Having arrived at a small two-story house at the very beginning of the street and parked at the sidewalk that separated the lawn from the road, I already wanted to help my sister with my luggage, when my cell phone rang.
- Good afternoon, are you Leo Berdnik? Asked a trembling male voice on the other end.
“Yes, I am listening to you,” I answered a little cautiously, having seen earlier that the call was from an unfamiliar number.
“They gave me your phone at the Everplace Hospital.” They said that you specialize in difficult cases with foster children and children under guardianship. That you are one of the few psychologists who take difficult cases with “pink” families, - the person who addressed was nervous. This made him speak very fast. Almost chattering. And I had to concentrate and listen very carefully so as not to miss anything from what was said.
“Let's meet in my office tomorrow,” I suggested, realizing that I could hardly help on the phone. Yes, and the very combination of the “pink” family inspired a lot of unpleasant memories. “Please write down my address.” When I finished dictating and hung up, I got out of the car.
There was nothing to help: Eunice quickly picked up a small suitcase on wheels from the trunk and ran into the house. Most likely, she was already embracing with her stepmother and father, enthusiastically talking about her household.
Sighing, I took out a cigarette again. The stepmother was against smoking in the house - so I have to do it nearby. While smoking, I decided to look around: a lot of houses were empty this year. This was indicated by tablets on the lawns with the inscriptions: "For sale." Well, yes, the children grew up, they need to be taught for something. Yes, and there is little work. If you want a lot of money, either ride to larger cities, or moderate your appetite.
The area was considered prestigious, located quite far from the industrial zone, but not so far from the center of the town. The houses here have always been famous for their comfort and spaciousness. Except for one, on the outskirts, they sold easily and found their customers at any time. A lot of neighbors were replaced in my memory. Families, although they valued this town, often settled here only while the children were growing. Over the past twenty years, the situation with overpopulation of cities has returned to normal, and the small outback was of much less interest to young people than large cities in the east or west of the country.
Of course, there were those who remained, living their years in the shadow of sprawling massive trees and surrounded by hedges. The silence of the town, its small size liked the old-timers, and savings or third-party incomes allowed these people to not cling so eagerly to work. There were those who returned after school. But for the most part they preferred the center with its cheap apartments. Yes, and I knew a little. Mostly young people left the town to study in college, and then did not return. Parents also left for them in search of new hobbies and new life goals.
The dank day did not want to end, which is why the cigarette smoldered slowly in my hand. This allowed to peer deep into the street for a long time with its yellow-green colors of autumn, which bright spots and drops diluted the gray background of the clouds. When the decayed and finally damp cigarette butt was thrown aside, it was time for me to go to my parents' house. I tried to get in as quietly as possible, but it didn’t work, and I was immediately greeted by the rumble of voices and the smell of food. As soon as I crossed the threshold of my parents' home, I immediately became the center of attention of my three nephews. They liked to communicate with me, because, unlike my parents, I did not condemn them and tried to help if they shared problems with me. I tried to smile so that the children would not see my confusion and longing that autumn evening. My nightmare began slowly.
***
The evening was lively. All the guests had fun talking, Eunice and Jay helped the stepmother set the table and cook dinner. Father told his grandchildren stories about his turbulent youth, and then we all laughed together, recalling various funny cases from our childhood. As I expected, Johan and his twin sister Jay came here with their families.
This half-brother this time brought his weather boys and his wife Lulu, and his sister took only the youngest daughter Sammy, who recently turned three years old. There was nothing surprising in this: the parental house could accommodate a very limited number of guests.
I was always surprised that the children of Johan inherited blond hair from him, while Lulu, his wife, was dark and rather dark. Most likely, in her family there were immigrants from Mexico, but I'm not sure about that. But the kids Jay went to their father with their bright red curls, because their mother had a completely faded, "mouse" hair color. But that only concerned hair. Surprisingly, if Johan’s children went to mother with facial features, taking only hair from their father, then Jay’s children, on the contrary, only inherited hair from their father, the rest was taken from their mother. “Well, castling!” I thought, looking at my nephews.
“Why didn't you bring the rest?” - Johan was very surprised at the sister’s decision to take only the youngest daughter. “You usually dragged the whole family.”
“Brought it if some had not cut off and brought all their horde!” - parried Jay, poking at his brother with a finger with a bright manicure.
Boy Jay, whom I remembered with eternal bruises and a band-aid on her nose, was now a well-groomed and beautiful woman. Yes, she did not look like a mother, unlike her brother, but she more than compensated for her appearance with character. So quarrelsome and restless. And yet this couple had something in common ...
After school, the brother and sister left, creating their own families and preferring to see each other only at such family gatherings. Why they did this, I did not know. In childhood, the two were very close. Literally everything was done together. Maybe Johan was tired of his sister’s eternal commands? Or maybe he just got bored with a maturing Jay over the years?
“Where am I?” - immediately grumbled brother. - Every year we come here. - Johan inherited from his stepmother blonde hair, the same dark eyes and nose, the tip of which bent down. My brother had to work hard to provide for his family. This was reflected in his character - from a bully he turned into a calm guy.
- Yes? - the sister did not let up, clasping her sides with her hands. - Last year I was only with my wife, the year before last ...
The twins, unlike Eunice, came every year, shaking the parental house with quarrels or noisy gatherings. Jay herself sometimes visited her parents, but she alone was quite quiet and even tolerable. Affected work in a bookstore.
- I also remembered! - Johan interrupted, glowing. - You would still remember how I stole candy from you in three years.
- By itself! - laughed Jay. - Drive my candy!
For a word, she did not climb into her pocket, and a good memory only helped her in a variety of squabbles. It is simply amazing that Jay had four children, and in some way incomprehensible to me, she coped with all of them. The half-sister obviously went to stepmother!
I remember how often I received because of these unbearable children. It was impossible to keep track of them in childhood, and they constantly broke something, climbed up somewhere and regularly messed up at school. Well, Eunice wasn’t a hassle. Probably because of this, she was very close to me. Or maybe the big difference in age affected?
There was still time before dinner, and the family members gathered together communicated with each other. The little one also had fun: the boys of Johan brought toy pistols and played, running around the house one after another.
- Injured! - shouted alone.
- Not fair! - answered the second. - Not injured! That you are killed! Aah! Zombie! The aliens have revived you!
- Fool! There were no aliens in the Wild West! - Catching up the younger, shouted Will.
- There were! On it were!
Soon the boys climbed to the second floor. I think they had something to play with there. Oh, and the stepmother will be angry if her now unbearable grandchildren break something! But I don’t have to follow them: adult parents, over there, are sitting at the table in the dining room. Sammy, meanwhile, went from room to room, tapping the pan with a spoon.
“Why did you get a jar from the kitchen?” I was surprised when my niece came up to me with a can on her head, hitting me in the pan, as if in a drum.
- I'm a jerk! - the girl grinned right away. - I'm leading a palad! And after me is an oestre! - a small puffy pen pointed to a small column of dolls tied to a rope. They all dragged along the floor on their leash. For a three-year-old girl, it was a parade, but I had completely different associations. But I decided not to sound like that. He grows up - he learns at history lessons.
Judging by the fact that neither mother nor the rest did not scold Sammy for the theft of utensils from the kitchen, they were not up to her. Looked around. Well, yes, Eunice talked with her father, Johan and Lulu discussed children's assessments, and Jay in the kitchen argued about something with her stepmother. Surprisingly, the stepmother, Bernice, did not respond to the loss. Maybe I didn’t notice? In the heat of heated debate she could.
I removed a can from my niece’s head, took a spoon and a pan, offering to watch a cartoon. Just walked the old "Wolf, dog and mouse." So many memories of this post-war cartoon. Yes, there was an allusion to “pink” families in it, but the cartoon was no worse from this. Even his father, a skeptic in life, a terrible bore and a rather gallful person, liked this cartoon. What can I say about me and Eunice who grew up on these heroes. Sammy said with displeasure that she wanted to lead the orchestra, but still sat next to me.
- Who took the can and pan? - squealed Bernice, leaving the kitchen.
With her nose bent at the end, dark large eyes and a very magnificent chest, her stepmother was like an owl. Especially now, going out in a dress with ruffles and the same openwork apron. Well, like an owl! You look at that, it will start to hoot. Which would be very comical with her tall, nasty, squeaky voice.
I handed out the utensils, pointing to my niece, absorbed in the action in the cartoon. Bernice immediately jerked up the dishes, grunted, and hid again in the kitchen. I could not resist this and smiled ... Yes ... The stepmother's children are great. Their taste for life is relentless. Only Eunice and I remained aloof with our problems. I envied the twins a little: their spouses supported them, loved and, most importantly, were with them. Not like that with Eunice ...
When the cartoon ended, it was the turn of the news. The clock was just seven in the evening. Sammy reached out to the remote in frustration, but I did not give her that. For once, I wanted to see the news block without comment. “The next fuel crisis is beginning,” the announcer said measuredly from the screen. - The Southern Independent Confederation delays fuel supplies for several days. The production of hydrogen elements fails, and the citizens of the North States of America are preparing to raise food prices, ”then they showed several interviews on this subject, where people bought food for the future. Someone complained that insurance and fuel are too expensive, and keeping a car is more at a loss. I knew that gasoline prices had already risen, even though the government was trying to contain this growth. True, the state could not restrain prices forever. And I understood that very well. Yes, right after the split of the north and south, a lot of effort was devoted to creating alternative fuels. Hydrogen blocks, nuclear engines, and electric motors appeared. But they received the main distribution in heavy equipment. Combines, trains, planes - all of them worked on hydrogen. Cars still required gasoline. No matter how many attempts there were to create a small and powerful hydrogen engine, nothing came of it. The technologies of electric cars of the past also did not take root - they were too expensive for the mass buyer after all the crises. Although biodiesel engines have recently begun to appear, the production of this fuel has proven to be more expensive than buying oil from neighbors.
It is good that Brumaltown was rebuilt very compactly after a new settlement. It is quite possible to live without constant trips by car: everything is at hand.
“To other news. The first tourist group visited Utah. According to experts, the level of biological pollution has decreased and returned to normal over the past fifty years, and now this territory can be equated to the reserve. However, according to experts, pollution levels are still high in neighboring states. Cleansing procedures can take several more decades. ”
I involuntarily recalled the lessons of history from high school, namely, as we were told about the horrors of biological weapons of the past. Yes, I did not find any war, nor those times when the south and north were one. But I knew those who caught. Then, eighty years ago, there was a single country, and not two flaps with dead lands between them. Millions died in that war. And the saddest thing is that not a single country in the world could survive. Everyone suffered.
Having finished this news, the announcer passed the floor to his charming colleague: “This year, additional funding was allocated to support the“ pink ”marriages. The state congress believes that it is possible to increase the percentage of new unions ”- continued this news by an interview with one of the WCC employees who complained that during the period of liberalization the percentage of cohabitation without official registration began to grow. Due to several laws, it was difficult to track such a thing, and the “defenders” only had to wash their bound hands. I smiled sadly at the latest news:
- Cancel the Epo and restrictions - get such an increase, which has not been since the beginning of the century!
Sammy heard this and, turning to me, asked:
- Uncle Leo, and what is Epo?
- The procedure is this. After the wedding they go through it, - it seemed to me that this explanation is enough.
I knew the essence of the procedure, but I did not see any reason to acquaint the three-year-old even with official information. What can we say about the real component.
“If you grow up, you will learn more,” I added.
- I know! - the niece jumped up right away, shaking her red curls. - Mom was talking! These are the cools!
I shrugged: courses so courses. I had no idea what Jay was saying to her children and what was not. I did not want to quarrel, and I was more silent and listening, occasionally assenting.
About what is the Epo, I did not want to think even more so. These memories were very painful for me, and I tried to drive them away from me as far as possible. But only from year to year it became increasingly difficult. It was too painful to recall that the consequences of this "procedure" killed my husband Ivy.
The fact that this procedure is necessary and is the key to a happy marriage was said to all representatives of the third sex - eno. Everyone was introduced to the official information. Someone took it, someone not. But as soon as the official union took shape, any eno had no choice. For each person of the third sex, there was always only one choice - either loneliness or Epo a year after the wedding. True, in some places the procedure was carried out before the registration of marriage. It really depended on the region and the family.
- Hey! - Over my head came a few clicks of fingers. “We are only waiting for you.” They set the table! - Eunice still knew how to rescue me from captivity of heavy thoughts.
I sighed and, getting up from the couch, wandered into the dining room, where there was just an empty space between my father and Eunice. To my misfortune, Derek and Matilda joined the family meeting, who were not our relatives, but considered themselves good friends of the family. They either came, or pretended to be very busy. Predicting their appearance from year to year became increasingly difficult, and each time I was afraid of a new awkward meeting.
The appearance of this couple in the house became tense: Derek is my ex-boyfriend, and Matilda was constantly jealous of him to me. And although our relationship came to a standstill many years ago, Matilda still did not trust me, considering her rival. It is amazing that a guy who used to wear a pink hoop and considered himself eno can get a wife who will also be jealous of him. I understood that the third sex had a choice: to be with a man or a woman, but I still wondered how Derek got along with his wife. Although, perhaps, the similarity of characters and interests helped them? Ivi used to come to the rescue, protecting from the barbs and rudeness of Matilda. But he was not with us. Now the title of my defender passed Eunice. She snapped a couple of times at lunges, forcing me not to speak badly about me with the rest.
“You also came off in college,” said Derek, kissing Matilda. “Or should I remind you of George?”
Blushing with anger and resentment, the woman fell silent, lost in thought: she remembered the last unsuccessful novel, which ended on the initiative of the guy. When peace reigned in the house, I began to think that tomorrow I would communicate with a very difficult client.
“Okay,” I decided, realizing that I wanted to stay with my family, “you can’t rush to conclusions for now. We need to talk with these people. ”
The rest of the evening went over a family dinner. We remembered both good and difficult times in our lives.
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