Love in a small town

Chapter 1 - first meeting
It all started from the moment I moved to another class... there I met Alesya... a year passed and we became best friends... before we met, we were quiet, exemplary girls... when one summer we got it into our heads to go to a disco ..and it would seem that there was something wrong with a harmless trip to a children’s disco..but that was just the beginning..........Our festivities began to drag on, new acquaintances appeared...each time the adrenaline took hold..but that’s all I was missing something... well, I didn’t have enough until one day.
On this day, my sister from Minsk “Yulia” came to see me. In the evening of the same day, the three of us, Lesya and Yulia, went to the disco... Everything was as usual, we danced.. and as soon as the disco ended we just went for a walk around the city... We they were walking and talking about something... a car passed us... it honked at us... and I just mechanically waved back... a minute passed before this car turned around and drove up to us... there were about five guys sitting in the car .. one of them asked for a number.. I ignored it, thinking that they would see that we didn’t want to communicate and would leave.. but that wasn’t the case. My sister Yulia said.. whatever she said, she shouted my number after which they didn’t say not a word left... we took a walk and went home... On the way we met our friend Dima, he was with a friend.. and since everything was on the way.. we all went home in the same place.. we walked and joked , joked. Dima insisted that I invite him to tea.. Julia and Lesya were talking with a friend... and when we were halfway there my phone rang.. I answered an unfamiliar number, the guy introduced himself as Pasha, they say, this is the one who asked today number.. I replied that I wasn’t very busy right now and asked to call me back.. when I got home Pasha called me again, we met, exchanged VKontakte IDs.. then he offered to go for a ride tomorrow, I refused because I found out that he was 23 years old and thought that he’s a bit old, and it was kind of weird to drive a car... then he tried to call me, but we, to put it mildly, insulted him by saying that he was old... and he was offended...
A couple of days have passed. We were sitting at Alesya’s house and then Nastya, Lesya’s sister, comes and says that she and her friend met the boys in a car.. Lesya and I felt kind of offended that Nastya was riding with the boys and we were missing the chance.. that same day we decided to call and make peace with Pasha, we understood that we would have to humiliate ourselves... but there was no other way out. We called, talked and agreed to go for a ride tomorrow, the three of us... the next day we went to the disco because we agreed that he would drive up to the disco and we saw him... he drove up and although it was kind of scary, there was no turning back and we sat down into his car, then we made a couple of circles around the city. Pasha said that he needed to go to the village... to give something to someone. we agreed, but at some point we regretted it. First we left the city.. it was scary but tolerable.. then we turned towards the forest.. it was even scarier but we held on.. but when we arrived in some village where there was no fire not a single lantern and drove up to a house where there was no light, it was an aisle, we sat and didn’t know what to do... out of fear, I started writing SMS to my mother, what if I sent something... Pasha got out of the car and said to wait, then my whole life flew by before eyes..but soon he returned, got into the car and we drove back to the city..at that moment I had one thought with Alesya, HUU GONE...we came to the city for a little ride and he took us home...and we agreed meet tomorrow.....(to be continued)

Chapter 2-Sasha.
THE next day we were already bolder and more decisive... Julia left, Lesya and I were preparing to meet Pasha... we put on makeup and got dressed. And then we went for a walk with him. As if from our first trip, I understood that Pasha had a crush on Lesya. And so I was the third wheel in the car. But Pasha, without thinking for a long time, took us to the ring to pick up some guy from work... his friend...
Lesya and I were sitting in the back seat and waiting for this friend... he came and sat in the front seat, greeted us, and we drove off. All four of us went to Pasha’s house, he needed to get something going.. Pasha went home and I, Lesya and Sasha, stayed in the car.. Sasha turned to us and we started getting to know each other, he immediately took a liking to such a cute, sweet boy.. he was 19 years old.. he asked how we met Pasha and so on... then Pasha returned to the car... and we went to Sasha’s house because he needed to change clothes... as soon as we stopped by Sasha’s yard, his first words were. AND HERE IS MY SWALLOW, as it turned out, it was his car OPEL VKTRA.. WITH NUMBER 0589.. the car was actually nice.. then Sasha went to change clothes.. and we were sitting with Pasha and Lesya in the car... he was cool even before that but when he came out of the entrance all so cool, something immediately clicked....then they decided in whose car we would go for a walk, and in the end they decided that we would go in Sasha’s car. Lesya and I got in with Sasha behind the wheel next to Pasha and drove to the stadium...travel to the stadium itself is prohibited but they found a way to get there...then Pasha and Sasha got out of the car...Sasha opened the back door and asked me to sit in it for five minutes in front..supposedly to hold some kind of button..but we understood that this was so that Pasha would sit in the back with Alesya and I would sit in front with him..so it was without firing, Pasha sat on the back of Alesya and I sat in front with Sasha .Then Sasha said that he would need to drive away for about 20 minutes .. Sasha took us to where Pasha’s car was parked, we got into his car and Sasha drove away .. the three of us drove around the city, then Sasha called and said one hundred he is already free and is waiting for us near the city bathhouses in the parking lot. We arrived. Sasha transferred me into his car.. closed the door and we drove off.

Love does not depend on whether it lives in a small or big city. It depends on the size and depth of human hearts. A very unusual charity project took place in Gatchina, proving that we have people with big hearts and kind souls.

On the afternoon of February 13 and 14, on Sobornaya Street, everyone could take part in a small photo shoot, the proceeds from which were planned to be donated to the treatment of little St. Petersburg resident Kirill Yudin, who is now undergoing expensive treatment in Spain. In two days, thirty-four families came to support Kiryusha, and a total of twenty thousand rubles were collected.

Elena has been taking photographs for seven years now: at first she took pictures for her own pleasure, and after the birth of her daughter, she took pictures as a professional.

“When my daughter was born, my picture of the world changed,” admits Elena. – I realized that I want to develop, do the work I love, I want my own studio. It is important to me that people have memories. And so it happened - I have my own home studio. I photograph mostly children, but adults also come to me.”

Elena had been thinking about doing a charity photo project for a long time, but, according to her, she lacked experience: shooting in a studio is one thing, and a large-scale event on the street is quite another. She has already participated in charity events, donating money for sick children. But then the boy Kiryusha appeared - not distant, not abstract, whose sad story greatly impressed Lena. I was also impressed by the amount required for his treatment - very large, because Kiryusha’s disease is rare, and he has to be treated in Spain.

“There are a lot of kind people,” says Elena. – The whole world collected money, trying to come up with different ideas for this. Not long ago, to help Kirill, a photo shoot was held in St. Petersburg, albeit in a studio. Then we managed to collect about five thousand rubles. I saw a similar project in a different way - I wanted it to be more soulful. I started thinking about my own decision.”

The last straw was the project of a colleague, a photographer from Vologda, who conducted a charity shoot for lovers.

“When I found out about this, everything immediately came together in my head,” says Elena. – The name arose naturally – “Love in small town" There are many young families in Gatchina; it is often called the city of mothers. I decided to shoot not in the studio, but right on the street.”

Initially, Elena planned to film in Palace Park, but due to some circumstances the filming had to be moved to Sobornaya. “It turned out to be even more convenient,” she says. – The city center is cleaner, and there are more people walking around. At first I thought I would limit myself to one day, then I decided to extend the promotion. And if nine families came on the first day, then on the second there were already fifteen.”

According to Elena, very different people responded to the call for action, posted on social networks - with different incomes and marital status, from different age categories. Mothers with many children, elderly couples with grandchildren, and high school students in love came to take photos. “This is what I wanted – for people to feel free, spontaneous,” admits Elena. “It probably wouldn’t have worked out that way in the studio.”

The project was also supported by those who themselves inevitably faced trouble. Several families arrived from St. Petersburg, and Elena found out that their children were in the hospital along with Kiryusha. Gatchina resident Nastya Tolstykh came to film, who is now struggling with the consequences of cancer.

As Elena says, some came simply to hand over money for Kiryusha without filming, which was also very nice. And how many warm words were said to the sick boy during these two days!

“Now people are wary of charity, and this, unfortunately, is sometimes justified,” says Elena Anikina. – Besides, everyone has their own problems, sometimes there is not enough time or money. We are all very busy, always in a hurry, in a hurry. We stop noticing the pleasant things that surround us. But each of us still needs a small miracle. These days it turned out that people opened up and were not afraid to be kind.”

The most important thing for Lena was that people believed in her and her idea, thereby supporting the child.

“In fact, I was very worried, feeling a double responsibility - to the little boy who needs money so much, and to those people who would come to me to film,” she admits. Despite some difficulties, everything went smoothly. I'm glad I got over it..."

On your page in social network On VKontakte Lena wrote: “Thank you very much to every family, every participant who wanted to help, who came and supported my idea, who helped Kiryusha financially and with their own good wishes. During these five hours there were so many smiles, so much kindness, so many warm words and wishes, so much joy and laughter - there was so much positive energy on Sobornaya that it probably spread to Spain to Kiryusha.

Baby, many people are worried about you, you will definitely get better, return home, live the life of an ordinary child and forget about hospitals and examinations!”

Elena Anikina is not going to stop there; she is sure that such projects will become a good tradition for Gatchina. According to her, in next year she will definitely repeat her experience, and perhaps not alone. Lena hopes that the city itself will be more supportive of such projects, especially since it is one of the main characters in her photographic works.

And one more good news: it is possible that Elena Anikina will hold her next charity event much earlier - already this year, during the celebration of the Great Victory.

“Of course, now we are all our own photographers, there are many opportunities for this,” she says. – But our veterans, our grandparents, due to their age, live in their own world, and they are often filmed only on their birthday or May 9th. But I really want really good, heartfelt photographs to remain in the family...”

Details of the “Love in a Small Town” campaign and stories of children who need help can be found on the pages of the social network “VKontakte”:

Charity photo project group: vk.com/lovingatchina.

Support group of Kirill Yudin (St. Petersburg): vk.com/ vizdoravlivaykirill.

Support group for Nastya Tolstoy (Gatchina): vk.com/club112147988.

Help group for Marusya Korotkova (Gatchina): https://vk.com/ clubpomozhemmashenke

In a supermarket, between the shelves filled with detective stories, memoirs, romance and historical novels, it is so difficult to choose something to your liking. However, this small book caught my attention. " Love in a small town“- the name itself struck me with its pleasant variety. Who cares, but I’m already tired of literature devoted exclusively to the life and everyday life of capitals. It is clear that not everyone will be able to read police chronicles of everyday drunkenness and stabbings that occur in the outback, but if you write about big cities, it makes sense to write only about rich people. The everyday work life of not very wealthy people is even more boring than in some “Ust-Perduysk”, because the road to work alone takes at least an hour, or even two or three! In addition, many of my Muscovite friends found love in small towns, so the name, in general, hit the mark.

The book tells the story of the fate of a certain Masha, a girl from, as they say, a dysfunctional family. Their mother worked, their father abandoned them, their stepfather drank and beat them. What awaited Masha? Vocational school, and then - work at a local city-forming enterprise, marriage with the same worker, life in a hostel or in a rented room, with in-laws or, at best, in your own apartment, but under the watchful eye of the husband's mother. Life in crowded conditions, where the sexual life of young parents takes place under the supervision of old people and under the noses of their own children. Early aging, obesity from cheap food and the habit of chewing some nasty stuff, turning on the TV and briefly distracting yourself from everyday life. Only Masha didn’t want all this for herself. She wanted beautiful life, and her instrument in this was to be her beauty. Masha becomes a stripper, but in a small town (although Novokuznetsk, described in the book, is not so small, but not a regional center) - this is practically a stigma for life. They hang out with strippers, but don’t marry them, although such work brings money and allows them not to see the hated faces of some household members. From time to time, Masha makes efforts to escape from such a life; she is drawn to theater and directing, however, she is too beautiful to achieve everything on her own and go to her goal like a tank. Men fly to her like flies to honey, alas, none of them treat her as a person, not as a thing. Only Oleg from her hometown is interested in her, he can communicate with her, and not just have sex, but he is not going to marry, especially a stripper. True, at the end the story takes a sharp turn - in Moscow Masha ends up with an oligarch who keeps her under house arrest (I strongly doubt that real life you can come out alive from the clutches of such a psycho), and this undermines her dreams of the capital. Moreover, Oleg remembers her again and understands that she is unusual, and this unusualness should be appreciated. The story ends well, and if it is based on real life, I hope Masha is happy now.

In addition to Masha’s existence, the author in his book tracks several more characters, very different (dancer Sema, the wives of a local businessman Marina and Ksyusha, stripper Alisa, Masha’s fans Vadim and Kirill, a simple girl named Dasha). Each of them makes their own choices in life. True, those who win are those who want to change themselves, do not ossify and do not believe that what they have been given in life is something unique and indestructible. For example, Marina turns from a bird living in a golden cage into a more realistic woman, and in this guise her husband likes her much more. But Ksyusha loses her “money bag” and her rear in search of love, not realizing that she should be simply grateful to her husband for her luxurious life. The wheel of life moves, and someone ends up on the horse, and someone is “carried off the stage.” And there are those who have nothing to lose, like a girl named Dasha. She dreamed of three children, and she will have them, no matter that she faces very serious financial difficulties.

On the one hand, it may seem that this book promotes prostitution, the search for a “sponsor” and informal communication (there is swearing in the book), but this is not entirely true. On the contrary, it does not show examples of successful prostitution, and striptease, if it does not imply sex, is still only a certain type of dance. I don’t think that a book that truthfully shows life’s phenomena can cause harm to anyone (especially since modern children don’t really like to read, and students are no longer children). The book very accurately captures the trends of life in small towns - a) everyone knows each other b) rumors spread instantly, and people love to discuss them c) a woman in a small town has minimal career opportunities - they are associated only with kinship and marriage and d) c Because of close distances and greater relaxation at work, people pay more attention to their personal lives.

This book allowed me to look differently at some things from my own past and observations made in the past. I understood why my path ultimately led me to a big city, although, like the heroine of the book, I found my love in a small town. The global conclusion, in my opinion, can be drawn as follows - with rare exceptions, women want to be happy in marriage. And those who find a couple do not rush to big cities (or leave together). You can live anywhere together, but alone it’s easier to get lost in a metropolis where no one cares about you.

I must say that I really liked the design of the book, especially the inclusion of pictures with selected quotes from the book. And quotes like this will interest those who like to philosophize:

“After all, people are strange creatures; all their lives they strive to get rid of all kinds of troubles and disappointments, to find stability and well-being, and having found it, for some reason they again go in search of new disappointments. Or maybe it’s nature that doesn’t tolerate emptiness, whether in the soul or in space, and strives to fill the gaps. Only she doesn’t have enough happiness for everyone, so she gives away what’s left, because pain and disappointment are also emotions. Why not a substitute! Or we don’t understand something, and the world of things surrounding us, whatever it may be, is only an addition to something much more important, something that cannot be understood or appreciated and can only be felt, like the heartbeat of a loved one. But how not to make a mistake, how to recognize this among all the deception and falsehood, the game, so as not to make mistakes, and is there a finish line? One way or another, we forget about this, because we live only by playing.”

However, you should not look for any special depth and spirituality in this novel, because it is about the life of ordinary people from the outback of Russia, albeit with different financial incomes. I was pleasantly pleased that the characters in the book didn’t watch much TV - by the way, when I lived in a small town in my youth, I did the same - I was more interested in live communication. The novel will appeal to those who want to stay informed modern life, as well as those who remember with nostalgia the past and the 90s. For in the outback much remains as it was then. Only the signs have changed, then there were bandits, now there are businessmen. But the main thing remains the same - a beautiful woman needs protection, you can’t get anywhere without connections, and change is one of the conditions for a happy marriage. Another valuable thing about this book is that it is not a copy of a foreign story. This is our domestic, Russian, albeit imperfect, reality. In my opinion, such books are needed. Hope, " Love in a small town"will find its fans in the Russian market, and it will have well-deserved success. She fully deserved it, just as the heroine of this book deserved happiness.

Copyright:

This review of the book is the author’s, constitutes intellectual property and is protected by the Law of the Russian Federation “On Copyright and Related Rights”, as well as international conventions. Quoting is permitted provided the name of the author (Renata Grin) is indicated, as well as an active link to this page. I would be grateful to readers for posting a link to the review on blogs and social networks!

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