The Forty-First.
Boris Lavrenev
Country: Russia
Timing: Civil War (1918-1922)
Russian revolution split people into two camps: the Red camp (mostly peasants, working-class, petite bourgeoisie), which was fighting for communist ideas, and the
White camp (mostly aristocracy, intelligentsia, upper bourgeoisie), which was fighting for the Tsar and/or constitutional monarchy. The Civil War broke out. Boris Lavrenev tells a beautiful story that
took place at that violent time.
One girl from the very bottom decided to stand up for the idea of equality physically joining the Red camp. She was a fisher with no fighting skills, so it took a while before they took her queries seriously. Still, being stubborn and firm of purpose, Maryutka (a kind of reference to Maria) enrolled at last. She joined the
squad of the
Crimson Yevsyukov.
The headquarters sent them to the South, to the desert, and there they lost in the battles 119 fighters, only 23 and Maryutka survived. The white squad (or, rather what was left)
ran to the East, the Crimson Yevsyukvov followed. Why crimson? Because the uniform of Commissars was black leather, when they ran out of black ink, they started to use all other colors – crimson, orange, blue, etc.
The Commissar Yevsyukov''s squad ran out of food, they needed camels and some food, so, when they saw a camelcade, it was in the nick of time. The soldiers attacked it, but someone shot them down. They knew that the peasants couldn''t do it, so there was a white
officer among them. Soon they found him. The Crimson Commissar ordered Maryutka to shoot him, because she was the best sniper in his squad. She was not only that, but also a strange girl – she counted every white officer she killed. And now, she said:
- Forty-first, fish''s cholera! – That was her favorite and only swear word.
She had never missed, but this time she missed. The squad knew he ran out of cartridges and took him alive. He was a tall, athletic, and young first-lieutenant and classic text-book aristocrat, Govoruha Jr. Even being tied and captured he domineered, conducting himself as if they were his servers. He almost didn''t speak, and most of the time looked beyond them, which infuriated the Commissar and the squad like hell.
Now they had the camels, the food, and the captive. Maryutka was appointed in charge of the captive, which aroused a wave of jokes in the squad, she didn''t like that and just ignored them.
- I am flattered to be the gorgeous Amazon''s hostage, - said the white officer.
She just growled something in response.
Maryutka studied him carefully, she had never seen such blue eyes, and she could never think that there may be such.
At night a disaster broke out – the Kyrgyz peasants took their stuff back, so the squad was left to die in the desert. They somehow made it to the nearest settlement. The Red squad was exhausted, while the white officer seemed fresh and full of life. Maryutka asked him how he did it, and he answered that his mind ruled the body, while in their case, the body ruled the mind.
The settlers had only one
boat, so it was decided that Maryutka, the captive and two other soldiers would go to the centre with report and for some assistance.
She was looking at the water, suddenly she cried out in joy, that the water is just the same color that the white officer''s eyes. They didn''t reach the centre - the boat overturned and Maryutka with the officer were drifted to some deserted island, only her rifle survived – no boat, no others.
She found a hut where they settled. He got fever and was almost unconscious for a week, she found food and was looking after him till he recovered.
When he did, they still didn''t know where they were, so the only thing to do was waiting ftold her that he was a student when the Civil War began, and his father told him it was his debt of honor to fight ragamuffins, but now he almost wished he just ran away, he just wanted peaceful life with no war and battles, he was just a human, who wanted to live and do not kill.
- You have dangerous eyes.
- Dangerous for whom?
- For the broads, they are getting straight into the heart. Blue-eyed demon you are.
He offered her to live with him in his Abkhazian villa with no war, but she refused, she wanted to finish the Whites first, and then think of her own life.
One day the boat going by noticed them, and they were glad to see them too, but it wasn''t clear whose boat it was – the White''s or the Red''s, so Maryutka took the rifle. When it got closer, Covoruha Jr. cried out it was his guys and ran towards them. Then happened something no one understood – there was a shot, Govoruha Jr. gave a lurch and fell down. Her bullet went out through his eye.
- My dear! What have I done! My blue-eyed one!!! – She cried over him.
From the boat the stunned people were looking at the scene.
Leningrad, November 1924
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