Vodoroten

Staying alone in the apartment, Varya left the lights on in all the rooms. The fear did not go away. The girl was afraid to look out the window, go into the bathroom. It seemed to her that Gennady was walking everywhere. Tired of her persecution, she sometimes just wanted to look at the beautiful view from the window. But as soon as I went to the window, Gena’s image was imprinted on the window like a self-portrait. The girl just had to use the bathroom, because there was a toilet there. Varya had to leave the door open, it helped to overcome fear. One day, the bathroom door slammed shut for unknown reasons, Varya felt sick from fear. She ran screaming into the room and sat down on the sofa. Varya interpreted all these incomprehensible phenomena as an accident, and a state of shock after experiencing memories. One day she was brushing her teeth, turning on the tap instead of water, evaporation came out of the gander. After dissolving, water droplets dripped from the mirror, and the folding body of Gena in underpants was clearly visible in the cracks. Varya threw down her toothbrush and ran out of the bathroom. – What happened? Another vision? A friend went into the bathroom. – Why did you let off so much steam? Do you wash yourself with boiling water? Opening the water, to the bewilderment of a friend, barely warm water poured out of the tap. – I do not understand anything. Okay, I am sorry.

Varya always slept facing the window. She liked the view from the window, and the always-shining lantern dispelled fear. Of course, the apartment was one-room, friends slept separately. Over time, they became friends, and Dasha managed to get something out of the depressed Varya. – Tell me, what do you see? What are you so afraid of?

– I know he did not leave. Something strange happened to him.

– How did you understand that?

– «I can see him. No one sees him except me.

– Honestly, you are scaring me. And he won’t come for me?

– Why? He does not need you.

– And you? Do I need you?

– I do not know. I do not know what these phenomena are. Maybe I am imagining it all. Maybe there is nothing.

– How do you see him?

– All these phenomena are connected with water. Most often, this happens when there are vapors. It appears in the form of dampness. Drops on the glass, damp mold, and fogged mirror.

– So your missing boyfriend is a molecule. After a short silence, Varya replied, «it seems that, yes. That’s the way it is.»

– You are scaring me. The friend looked askance at Varya. After these stories Dasha heard, it became creepy to be next to Varya in this apartment. Suggestion itself played a big role. From that moment on, Dasha also began to leave the door ajar when she washed in the bathroom and went to the toilet. And to stay alone for the night, without Varya, this was out of the question.

1. Rebirth

October came. Autumn turned out to be warm. A bright pattern of trees decorated the city. Early twilight enveloped the city; this did not prevent locals and students from taking walks along the embankment, or just strolling in parks and squares. In sparsely populated areas, as a rule, after dark, residents sit in their homes. The streets are dull and empty. Only occasionally does someone leave their house to get some fresh air or go to the neighbors.

The coast of Tsna plunged into an autumn dream. The smooth surface of the river reflected the bright moon, so that you could see the curly autumn foliage of the trees. A fallen leaf broke the dead peace. As soon as he touched the water, small ripples appeared. At the same moment, something very incomprehensible came out of the water. This something very incomprehensible came out so abruptly, leaving no drops behind. Standing up to its full height and stretching out, the creature looked at the moon. The autumn color of the moon passed through his transparent neon body. According to the biological description, it was a transparent person similar to a water molecule, having no sex, hair, eyelashes, and nails. One could even say that this person did not have eyes; there were depressions in this place that had the same transparent color of water and two glowing purple dots. Having a large consistency, this creature can be attributed to the male sex. Thanks to the moonlight, his body glowed with neon. The molecule walked confidently towards the village.

Varya celebrated her eighteenth birthday with her classmates in the class. Despite the persuasions of her friends and parents, Varya remained not old. – I am not up to it.

– Well, at least so. I thought our daughter would go into seclusion.

– Yes, you are right. It is good that she at least agreed to this.

In the evening Varya took a shower, forgetting about mourning for a moment. There were helium balloons hanging in the house. In the cut-off bottle, there was a bouquet of flowers, presented by classmates. Turning off the water and wrapping herself in a towel, Varya took a toothbrush and squeezed out the paste. After looking in the mirror, the girl took a few steps back and fell into the doorway left open. – What happened? Varya pointed to the mirror with tears in her eyes. The misted mirror displayed an inscription written with a finger – «happy birthday.»

– It is his handwriting. Seeing the obvious, the friend abruptly closed the bathroom door.

– «I’ve seen everything now. You cannot stay here. Get dressed, we are leaving.

– Where to? Think about it, how did he get here? Did I bring it in my bag?

– «You’re right. But you can’t stay here.

– You go, and I am staying. The friend did not know what to do better. Leave or stay. What she saw horrified her; there was no doubt that these marks on the mirror were not the work of Varya. The self-suggestion sown made itself felt, Dasha wanted to escape further from this horror. To relieve herself of responsibility, the girl called Varya’s mother. Zinaida arrived by taxi quickly enough.

– Do we have to do something about it? I will take you to a psychologist.

– Yeah. And take Dasha with you.

– You scared her with your horror stories. The man could not stand it, and was forced to leave his home in the middle of the night.

– It is still a long way to night.

– Okay. We will wait until morning. You will go to classes, and I will go in search of a psychologist. Yes, and we need to go to church, maybe it will help. Varya did not argue with her mother. Realizing that only she sees her delirium. Although Dasha saw the same thing. Only Varya did not know whether she believed her or not.

Varya was lying curled up. The windows were covered with thick curtains. – Of course you are scared. Look out the window all night. It is harmful. Varya listened to her mother’s lamentations in silence. With her arrival, the fear passed. The girl felt protected. With the arrival of night, the apartment was enveloped in darkness. Tightly closed curtains enhanced the effect of darkness. About two o’clock in the morning there was a bang of a loudly closed bathroom door. Zinaida abruptly jumped out of bed, Varya remained motionless, knowing whose handiwork it was. – What is it?

– It is a closed bathroom door.

– I closed it. I remember it perfectly.

– So I closed it badly. Varya replied in a calm tone.

– Yes, but to close it, you need to open it and close it with all you might. Zinaida reasoned.

– I know. Varya answered calmly.

– No. First, I go to church, then a psychologist. Varya grinned, but did not answer. The girl did not fall asleep after the door slam. Varya was not interested in the memorial service, and so on. The girl realized that this would not help. Her fiance does not want to leave her alone, and she decided to find out why. Going to church, a psychologist, to some extent made themselves felt. Dasha returned in the hope that the horror stories had stopped. Zinaida did not mention the horror story that she had to go through at night. – I hope this is a misunderstanding. She thought.

November was making itself felt. Early winter enveloped Tambov with a light snow fluff. Instead of early twilight, early night was falling on the city. – Let’s go for a walk.

– In this cold?

– You are funny. What a cold. It is fun outside. The first snow fell.

– And why not. The girls dressed and went outside. Their rented apartment was located on Internatsionalnaya Street not far from the railway station. On the parallel Krasnaya Street, a five-minute walk away, there was the Elite studio, where Varya and her friend studied hairdressing.

– Let’s go to the train station, there are ours.

– «Come on,» Varya said indifferently. Dasha managed to get Varya out for a walk for the first time in all these two months of their acquaintance. The evening at the closed fountain in a cozy company flew by unnoticed. In winter, the fountain did not work, but it continued to gather companies on its beautiful benches. Varya forgot herself, fear faded into the background.

– It is warm outside. The guy spoke, letting the vapors out with his mouth.

– Minus 1oC.

– It is warm.

Varya stood modestly, keeping to the side. No one pressed the girl, knowing her state of mind. Varya’s attention was fixated on large snowflakes. Too large flakes similar to feathers fell precisely between two large fir trees. – What did you see there? Varya pointed at the cereal with her eyes. – It is strange how it is. The first snowfall this year was fine and soft. Continuing to fall, he resembled a fine fluff.

– It is just an abnormal phenomenon. What are you inflating so much? The large flakes were left alone. The evening continued. Varya took her attention away from the snow for a minute. Looking again to make sure that it was just a weather phenomenon, Varya was amazed. The flakes flew apart in a spray of water. It was as if a large glass jar with water had broken. The molecules that fell on the snow quickly joined into one large pile, similar to a viscous liquid, transparent in color with glowing neon crystals. Varya did not advertise what she saw and continued to observe carefully. – Varya!

– Leave her alone. A man admires the first snow. What is the big deal?

The liquid was moving towards the fountain with funny jumping movements. It was like pouring from bucket to bucket. When she reached the fountain, she merged into the hole. – Colossal!