For the hunter, rain is a real disaster. Yermolai and I suffered such a disaster while hunting black grouse in Belevsky district. Finally, Yermolai suggested going to the Alekseyevka farm, which belonged to my mother, the existence of which I had not previously suspected. At the farm turned out to be a dilapidated outbuilding, uninhabited and clean, in which I spent the night. The next day I woke up early and went into the overgrown garden. Nearby I noticed an apiary, a narrow path led to it. Approaching the apiary, I saw a wicker shed next to it, and looked into the half-open door. In the corner I noticed the stage and a small figure on them.
I was already walking away, when suddenly a weak, slow and hoarse voice called out to me by the name: “Master! Pyotr Petrovich! ” I approached and was dumbfounded. In front of me lay a creature with a dry, like a bronze head. The nose is narrow, like a knife’s blade, lips are almost invisible, only teeth and eyes turn white, and strands of yellow hair are pulled out from under the scarf. Two tiny, dried handles can be seen from under the covers. The face was not ugly, even beautiful, but terrible with its unusualness.
It turned out that this creature was once Lukerya, the first beauty in our courtyard, a dancer and a singer, according to whom I, a 16-year-old boy, secretly sighed. Lukerya spoke about her misfortune. About 6 or 7 years ago Lukeryu was engaged to Vasily Polyakov. One night, she went out onto the porch, and she heard Vasin's voice. Asleep, she stumbled at the fallen from the porch. From that bottom Lukerya began to wither and dry, her legs refused. No doctor could help her. At the end, she was completely ossified, and she was transferred to this farm. But Vasily Polyakov forced, and married another.
In summer, Lukerya lies in a shed, and in winter she is transferred to a dressing room. She said that she hardly eats, lies, watches the world around her. She taught herself not to think and not to remember - this is how time passes faster. He will read the prayers that he knows, and again lies without any thought. I offered to take her to the hospital, where she would be well looked after, but Lukerya refused. Accustomed to the darkness, I clearly distinguished its features, and even could find traces of its former beauty on this face.
Lukerya complained that she sleeps a little because of pain in her whole body, but if she falls asleep, then she will have strange dreams. One day Lucerye dreamed that she was sitting on a high road in the clothes of a pilgrimage pilgrim. A crowd of wanderers walks past her, and between them is a woman, a cut above the others. The dress on her is not Russian and her face is stern, Asked Lukerya to the woman who she is, and the woman replied that she was her death. She began to ask Lukerya death to take her with him, and death replied that she would come after her petrovka. Only, it happens, a whole week will pass, and Lukerya will not fall asleep even once. Somehow, a passing lady left her a bottle of medicine for insomnia, but only that bottle had been drunk for a long time. I guessed that it was opium, and promised to get her such a bottle.
I could not help but marvel aloud at her courage and patience. Lukerya objected that many people suffered more than she. After a pause, I asked how old she was. It turned out that Lukerye was not yet 30. Saying goodbye, I asked if she needed anything. Lukerya only asked that my mother reduce the rent for local peasants, but for herself - nothing.
On the same day, I learned from the farm staff, that in the village of Lukeryu they called “Living Relics”, and there was no concern from her. A few weeks later I found out that Lukerya died, just after the petrovka. All day before her death, she heard a bell ringing from heaven.
