I logged on to this Russian '
facebook' version and found TONS of friends from the past- kinder
garden, all of my five schools, my old block, my village.... The most surprising person to meet there was Masha.
A little history... We had a house on the
Dnieper river, right on the border with Belarus in the little cozy village of
Kamenka. This place was all nature - forests, fields, tiny little homes with a few pensioners living in them, only one tiny shop - no cars, no pollution, no TV sets or phones (most of our neighbours didn't have these luxuries - we had an old TV). It was a perfect place to find peace. My family didn't spend much time there - Mom and Dad were too
busy working in the city. My brother and I liked it in our other village more. But sometimes we went to
Kamenka with grandparents. One summer our family (surprisingly Mom and Dad were there with us) met a young family there - a couple with two
kids of our age - a boy
Maksim my brother's age and a girl Masha my age. It was a simple miracle for a village with only old or dead people in it :) - sorry for black humor.
No need to say that our families became very close rather quickly. While our parents would solve the problems of the world enjoying a cup of tea - the four of us would play and run around till midnight. I even remember we went to a local cemetery once! Crazy childhood...
So, anyhow, we spent one summer with them - it was a fun one. Then we lost contact.
Here after 18 years Masha finds me! She is a beautiful young lady, lives in Kiev, writes poetry. We started talking. I scrolled down through her pictures looking for
Maksim, too (her brother) - wondering what he looks like. The last time I saw him, that I'm aware of, he was wearing a pirate eye-patch, with black mustache and a beard painted on his face with a marker (or
piece of coal?) :)))) I asked her, "so what about
Maksim? How come he isn't on any of your pictures?"
The next reply I received was this: As far as I understand, you work in
Edinstvennaya magazine. That means that you work in
Edipresse publishers' house. That means that you work together - he is in the color-correction section.
I simply cannot believe this. My brother will be shocked :) Today I'll pay him a friendly visit.
From the past.PS. So I looked him up in our staff database. He looks so different in that picture. SO serious! In glasses and a very strict mature face. He is a real man. I think he even started balding. I'm afraid to go see him, it feels weird. What am I going to say to him? Hello, remember that 6-year old from your village? That's me, but I'm 22 now. So... how have you been?
Our photoeditor (she knows him - present him) promised to go with me, she wants to see his reaction, too :) So, I'll keep you posted.PPS. Yep, I went to see him. He is nothing what I knew him like. I remember a tall blond tanned blue-eyed fellow. When I went to meet him I saw a short plump dark-eyed and dark-haired 30-year-old. Wow, people change. He was pretty surprised to see me. But very glad. He showed me some pictures of our village (what it looks like now, they still own a house there) and showed me around on the 10th floor :)) - I work on the 6th floor. So, it was fun. I don't think we'll become best friends though :)))
