Part 1 - Chapter III. Changes

When Nea came to the house, I saw the bustle and people. Apparently all the neighbors came running. "That sucks! Nea thought. Grandfather Vadim gave her a little fish, so she made the sweetest face she could, and bravely squeezed into the yard. When she came in, the hum of voices died down and everyone stared at her.

- "What's going on here?" - Nea asked innocently.

Pava threw up her hands, mom froze in surprise, and Nea gave them a bunch of fresh carp.

- "Fish?" - she asked calmly.

And then, of course, her mother could not stand it.

- "What are you doing? Lost somewhere in the night! She left without telling anyone! How could you?"

- "I'm not missing. Got up early in the morning and went for a walk, met Constantine and grandfather Vadim. He taught us how to fish."

- "Why didn't you ask for it? We were worried!" – do not let the mother.

- "What could happen here? It's a three-yard village!" - the girl objected.

- "You should have warned me! I woke up and you were gone! No note!' - her mother was indignant.

- "I didn't mean to," – Nea said.

- "You're in for a serious conversation!" - mom said threateningly. – "Inside now."

Nea pushed her long hair back and proudly entered the house. She understood that this nothing is not over and about the search of the house to forget for today, but, anyway, she's really out of spite did not warn anyone, and now came the consequences, and absolutely no time. "But that's how the card fell," her grandfather used to say. Grandfather, which, as it turned out, Nea does not know.

Nea went to the kitchen, took out a decanter from the fridge and took a beautiful crystal glass from the cupboard (there were no simple dishes in grandma Pavlina's house). She slowly poured cold water, waiting for her angry mother to appear. Oksana was furious at the antics of her daughter, who had never behaved like this.

- "You're grounded!"- Oksana shouted from the doorway.

- "All right," - said the daughter.

- "You didn't hear?" – surprised mother, docility daughters.

- "I heard. The ban on drinking cold water is a punishment?" – and on anyone case in one gulp drank the remnants of cold water.

- "Stop being cocky!"

Nea sat down on a chair and looked at her mother.

- "You're not going anywhere for a week!"

- "Good," – Nea answered wearily, and was about to go into the room.

- "Where are you going? I'm not finished yet!"

- "What else?"

- "Give me your mobile!"

Nea silently took out his mobile and put it on the table.

- "And I forbid you to use the Internet!"

- "He's not here," – the girl said, pursing her lips.

- "Go to your room right now! You're not getting out of there until you apologize!"

- "Nicely. She'll apologize, I can now."

- "Now you're going to apologize insincerely!" - mom blurted out.

- "What makes you think that?" - Nea objected. – "I sincerely apologize! I really didn't think you'd scream like that. In Novosibirsk, we saw each other on rare evenings, you had no idea where I was or who I was with. Is a remote village more dangerous than a metropolis?"

Oksana frowned at her daughter, but did not answer.

- "The fish put in the fridge, and then rotten", – threw Nea and went to my room.

Nea lay on the bed and tried to read a book, but I could not get out of my head frightened look mom. "Why didn't I just apologize? I'm always acting like an insensitive doll. Oh, mother, forgive me!» After a couple of hours her mother quietly entered his daughter's room. Nea was lying on the bed, and next to it lay an unopened book.

- "Nea."

The girl sat on the bed and looked guiltily at her mother.

- "Why didn't you tell me you used to live here with your grandparents?"

- "I just didn't know how to tell you," - Oksana said softly. – "You were so angry..."

- "Mom, we've been here almost 24 hours. Did not have the words to tell me about it. I'd love to come here. It's still some kind of connection to grandpa."

- "Honey, I'm sorry. When I didn't find you in your bed this morning, I thought you ran back to town."

- "Mom, there's a cellular connection here too. You could have just called me."

- "Oh, God," - Oksana said and laughed, - " When I came here, I even forgot about civilization! I didn't think about the cell phone!"

Nea smiled, it seems the storm has passed.

- "Mom, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry about that. When I accepted Constantine and his grandfather's invitation, I was still resentful of you. Mother, I'm not a child! You can tell me everything! I understand!"

- "You need to walk c dog" - say the mother. - "They came for you."

- "Can I leave?" - Nea was delighted.

- "Yes. But I took Costa's word that he will to inform me in advance, when will invite you far any. Now he wants you to go swimming. There is a quiet backwater, not deep, where all the village children bathe."

-" Hurrah!"- Nea jumped.

- "Nea, I forbid swimming in the river, here is a fast current. Just the backwater. Your swimsuit is in the dresser. I took your stuff out this morning."

- "Mom, thanks!" – Nea snatched the swimsuit from the drawer and ran to change. 10 minutes later she has fun with Constantine fled and Shorty to the river. Halfway there they were met by the same boy from the dock. He frowned when he saw Nea. Did not even say Hello and asked Costa's:

- "Who's that? I thought we were going alone, as usual!"

- "Jeremiah, this is Nea. We met on the ferry and we live next door. She came to the village for the first time, and she has no other friends yet. We have to show her around!" - Constantine said cheerfully.

Somehow, it's even amazing that Nea and Costa became friends so quickly. They had a feeling that they knew each other for a long time. They talked to many of the common themes that are understandable only to them. They had the same tastes in music, went to the same cartoons, movies, attended the same holidays in Novosibirsk, and maybe even saw each other briefly.

Jeremiah sat frowning and did not participate in the conversation. When Constantine spoke to him, he muttered something unintelligible, and if asked Nea, he pretended to be deaf. Nea did not pay attention to him, you never know what his problems.

They swam, played with the dog, Costa got the food he put grandma: fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, sprats, butter and tea in a thermos. The children ate with appetite, wrapped in a towel from the river wind. Constantine chatted cheerfully and talked about the school, the corner of his eye he noticed that Jeremiah is not like usual. He was sullen and silent, therefore, Costa did not dare with him to speak about the break-in at grandma's Pava. With some inner instinct he realized that it was not worth it. He didn't know why he had such an idea, but it stuck in his head.

"So, Nea," – said Constantine. - "In the evening I need to help my grandmother to water the garden, and they missed me very much. So today we will have a festive welcome dinner. But tomorrow morning, around eight, be ready. We'll go get the colored clay. We can create a color picture right on the shore of the river! Be cool. Then you will need to run to dinner. And after lunch we'll ride a bike. Can you ride a bike?"

Jeremiah suddenly cheered up, it is unlikely that the city girl knows how to ride a bike. Here it is from her and get off. But to his amazement, Nea replied," Yes! I used to ride with my grandfather in the Park next to the house. Only I didn't take it from the glitch. Maybe grandma Pava has a Bicycle?"

- "Very well," - Costa rejoiced. – "If she doesn't, I'll ask grandpa to fix my old bike tonight. So you will not be left without transport. Let's go for a drive around the village and I'll show you around."

They walked along the road merrily and told funny stories. Only Jeremiah wasn't laughing, he was walking darker than the clouds. When the children reached the intersection, Constantine cheerfully waved his hand to a friend and said:

- "Bye, Jeremiah. I'll meet you here at 8: 00 tomorrow morning. Take your bike."

And went on with the Nea, began to talk about his father. But Jeremiah did not go home, he walked a considerable distance from Costa and his new girlfriend. Jeremiah was going to talk to his friend when this annoying girl went home. Soon Constantine turned to his house, and Nea added step and hastened to itself home. Jeremiah walked silently to the fence and called out to his friend.

- "Jeremiah?" - he was surprised. – "Why didn't you go home?"

- "Costa, I don't understand. Why are you bringing that girl with us? She only spoils everything!"

- "What the hell is this?" - Constantine protested. – "Nea doesn't know anyone here! She's a normal girl. With her and go fishing and you can climb the mounds. What were you thinking?"

- "While she was gone, we were best friends!" - Jeremiah was angry. – "And now you're going fishing with her, and you didn't even call me."

- "So this, traditional fishing with my grandfather. We always go together, and this time my grandfather was also interested to call Nea. He was acquainted with her grandfather and grandmother. Imagine, they used to live here! Great, right?" - Costa exclaimed, still not understanding why his friend was not pleased.

- "She'll ruin our summer!" - Jeremiah stubbornly bent his line.

- "You know, she might ruin it for you, but she won't ruin it for me" - Costa was angry. - "I'm pretty bored together. We have the same thing every summer. And here there was an interesting girl, you need to be friends with her until the other guys from the village met. They don't treat you well, and Nea doesn't know you, and that's good! We'll have our own company this summer!"

Jeremiah pursed his lips, turned around and left. Constantine did not understand whether he would come tomorrow, and was afraid to ask. He even felt a little guilty. Meanwhile, Nea came home and just found grandma Pava and mom for a heart-to-heart conversation.

- "I don't know, Pavlina, maybe You're right. Maybe you should tell Nea. Not all, of course, but..."

- "Trust me, tany Casa, it's better we tell her ourselves than let the local gossips do it. I think that Vadim has already shared with her his thoughts on fishing."

Nea could not resist and quietly went into the kitchen. She didn't understand, again for secrecy from her mother and grandmother Pava. And why she's drawn to Mama's Casa. What kind of name is that?

- "Ah, Nea! Back already?" – saw grandma Pava. – "Sit down with us to drink tea."

Nea, silently sat at the table, but the tea is not poured. She looked attentively at her mother and Pavlina.

- "Mother," - began Nea, - "is it true? Did grandpa take you away from your own mother and marry someone else? Is he a bigamist?"

Grandmother Pava threw up her hands.

- "I told you."

- "Nea, how can you think that about grandpa?" - mother was indignant. – "It's not like that, honey."

- "But the resemblance to the face!" - the girl exclaimed. – 'We have the same hair, eyes..."

- "It's not like that, Nea. I remember my mother very well. She was an unimportant woman. She did disgusting things. She hated me and hated dad, too. We left her when I was 7 years old. She never looked for me and didn't want to look for me. This woman remained in other village, in the Central Russia," – with heat Oksana spoke. - "I can not forgive her for bullying me, and I am very grateful to my mother Marina, she became my real mother. My real mother Marina never raised her hand to me, loved me more than life and from her I learned more affection than from my own mother."

- "Yes, Nea. Mom's telling the truth. I saw it all with my own eyes. I am your mother's own aunt," - confirmed Pavlina. – "In those old days, I was the eldest in the family and your grandfather and I were supposed to get married. To tell you the truth, I loved him very much, but my sister came between us. Gaar loved it, and we can not change anything there. They got married and had a daughter. And then my sister started doing terrible things, became angry, vindictive. Why something hated Oksana. Your grandfather and mother left her, he divorced and moved away from her madness. I couldn't stay at home, because now all the hate fell on me. I followed your grandfather, too, hoping that maybe now we can get married. But when I got here, he was madly in love with your grandmother. I did not interfere with his happiness, but the way back I was not, and I have stayed here... forever... I couldn't get married, because they never fell out of love with Gaara. Just like this. Of course, the local did not know about the tragedy in our family and interpreted it his way, and we did not mind. Why would anyone know the details? Besides tan Gaar felt sorry for me, it is humiliating to unrequited love, meekly. All will start to regret even more, begin to pry. I asked your grandfather to keep our story a secret. And rumors were born..."

Pavlina sighed heavily. Nea saw how hard it was for her to talk about herself, about how she felt. The girl thought that it was terrible to love unrequited, and to talk about such a daughter and granddaughter, the one she loved so much, it was twice as hard. Nea suddenly came and hugged Pavlina. Very tightly hugged, trying to give all the warmth of his heart.