The Karelian village of Kumsa is considered endangered. Local residents, not finding use for their forces, leave or drink too much.
Many houses are abandoned. Those who were lucky, they managed to sell housing to townspeople, lovers of recreation in ecologically clean places. And the places here are beautiful, reserved. The poet must have written about these very people: “There are miracles, there the goblin is wandering around. Miracles do happen.
Evil eye
Vera Ivanovna Mansurova moved to Karelia from Dushanbe in the mid-1990s. She settled in the Medvezhyegorsk region, in the village of Kumsa (the village council gave her and her husband half of the empty house), began to work as a physical education teacher at a local school.
The village is not like the city: everyone knows about each other. They are wary of strangers, they look closely. And if the "stranger" lives in abundance, then it is unlikely that he will become "our". So Vera Ivanovna did not come to court at first. Shamil, her husband, could not find a job in his specialty, got a job as a shepherd. A handy man, he arranged the house himself, made shelves, lockers. In general, he turned the wreck into an attractive house. The neighbors watched, shook their heads, clinked their tongues and muttered: the bourgeoisie showed up, did not have time to arrive, and already where there!
But Vera Ivanovna was friendly with everyone, made friends with the teachers, and the children loved her. Gradually, the neighbors began to welcome. But one of them, Anna, a woman of years, seems to be holding a grudge. As she looks into her eyes, Vera Ivanovna felt uneasy. Bad eye, bad.
And every time after such a look, something must have happened to Vera Ivanovna. Before, Vera Ivanovna did not believe in spoilage, but such coincidences will make anyone think about it. She told another neighbor, old woman Lukinichna, about her suspicions. She was not at all surprised.
Promotional video:
- She's a witch, Anna. From a young age she was engaged in witchcraft, she took a love spell from a family. May the Lord not give her happiness …
Lukinichna told how untimely Anna's children left. The eldest son, a driver, fell into the river with a car and drowned; my daughter went to the ice hole to rinse her clothes, fell through, also drowned; the youngest son developed an ulcer, they didn't take him to the hospital - he died.
- She would have to repent, remove sin from the soul, - the old woman continued, - but no, she was embittered to the whole world.
And Lukinichna also told how to protect oneself from the evil eye.
- Wear a pin on the left side, but so that it is not visible. Don't look her in the eye when you meet her. You can also keep a fig in your pocket - a sure way.
Vera Ivanovna tried it - it helped! From then on, the neighbor's evil eye ceased to affect her.
How to find your way home
Lukinichna helped more than once afterwards. Vera Ivanovna went into the forest. I tried not to go far from the path along which I came to the forest from the village. She attacked the mushroom place, was delighted, let's pick mushrooms. Then she looked: there was no path! It is here and there - this is the path, but it is not clear if it is the same. I went along it - no, not that one! Now there should be a bridge, but it is not.
Vera Ivanovna got scared in earnest: how does she go further into the forest ?! Night is coming soon. She cried, began to remember prayers. I read Our Father three times. I went in the opposite direction, saw - a familiar bridge, and soon I saw an open place, and houses nearby.
Vera Ivanovna told Lukinichna about this, and she taught her: "If you get lost, take off all your clothes, turn it inside out and put it back on - the road will be found." And her husband, Shamil, was helped by an old woman: his cows left several times, he had to run for half a day, collect them. Lukinichna gave a conspiracy thread: "Choose a birch tree near the pasture, and tie it around the trunk - the cattle will not go far."
Poltergeist
An elderly history teacher Tatyana Sergeevna worked at the school where Vera Ivanovna taught. Lonely. She lived in a house where she occupied half, and on the other half, with a separate entrance, lived a local peasant, a bitter drunkard.
And strange things began to happen in that house: someone invisible began to mischief at night. The historian told Vera Ivanovna:
- I woke up in the middle of the night from the rumbling in the kitchen. I thought maybe the stray cat was playing pranks. She got up, walked into the kitchen, turned on the light … My mommy! A log from the stove flies straight into the wall - bang! I looked, and the logs that were stacked at the stove were scattered all over the floor.
- Or maybe, Tatyana Sergeevna, this is your neighbor, the drunk, threw firewood? - suggested Vera Ivanovna.
- What are you! Everything was closed there. He could not enter there in any way. Neither he nor anyone else. My brains are on one side. I'm starting to believe in spirits. The former owner of the house, as I was told, died strangely …
Vera Ivanovna knew: Tatyana Sergeevna was an atheist of the old school, at one time she was a member of the party, she did not look like an inventor-idiot.
Incomprehensible phenomena continued further. Almost every night in the house, objects fell by themselves, cabinet doors slammed, floorboards creaked, as if someone was walking invisible. The poor woman became afraid to spend the night there, went to her acquaintances, and then left for the city altogether.
For some time the house was empty. Then the teacher was again settled there - the teacher of the Russian language and literature Elena Sergeevna. She liked the house: it was strong, with a beautiful view from the window. The neighbor, however, is a drunk, but here, they say, there are no others. At least this one is not a rowdy like the others.
For six months, everything was quiet in the house of the new teacher. Elena Sergeevna was quite pleased with her home. But here - again.
In the morning the teacher came to school not herself, pale, with dark circles around her eyes. She said: at night I woke up, hears a rustle, it seems like someone is walking. And the room is not completely dark - the moon shines through the window. Looked closely - nobody. And then she felt someone touch her face. She jumped up, turned on the light - empty. She put out the light, lay down - again strange sounds, the creak of the floorboards and the dishes in the cupboard clinking. And in the kitchen it rumbles - something has fallen. Elena Sergeevna was frightened to death, turned on the lamp and so sat the rest of the night. I barely waited for the morning.
They discussed the strange incident, speculated. They suggested calling a priest from the city to read prayers and sprinkle holy water on the house. But they never got together. Elena Sergeevna asked the local authorities to provide her with other housing, but for now she moved to a neighbor - she was afraid to spend the night in a damned place.
The history of the house ended in tragedy - it burned to the ground. It was burning so that the whole village was alarmed. They tried to extinguish - wherever there, and when the firefighters from the city arrived, there were already some embers left. That quiet drunkard, the teacher's neighbor, was also killed in the fire. Perhaps he started the fire - he fell asleep with an unextinguished cigarette. Or maybe not he at all … This remained a secret for all the villagers.
… Vera Ivanovna and her husband lived in Qums for thirteen years. Shamil recently worked in the city, came for the weekend, she is still there, at school. Then the village completely decayed, the school was closed. And they finally moved to the city. Now, probably, few people remember that Kumsu was once called the village of sorcerers.
Sergey SHCHIPANOV
"Steps" No. 25 2013