Rinat Valiullin

Where are the kisses lying around? Venice

And God said to Noah: The end of all flesh is come before Me, for the earth is filled with evildoings from them; and behold, I will destroy them from the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make compartments in the ark and coat it with pitch inside and outside. And make it this way: the length of the ark is three hundred cubits; its breadth is fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. And thou shalt make a hole in the ark, and thou shalt make it a cubit at the top, and thou shalt make a door into the ark at the side thereof; arrange lower, second and third housing in it.

Bible Gen. 6:13–16

Noah did everything as God commanded him. At the end of the construction, God told Noah to enter the ark with his people, and take a pair of each creature so that they would survive. And take all the food that you and the animals need. After which the ark was shut by God.

The ship is equipped and sails. Venice - a piece of civilization, a fragment of art, a comet high culture. The Ark is ready for the great flood.

But before the ship had time to leave the shore, suddenly Venice began to go under water. The ship is on alert. To save their skins, people are forced to wear oxygen masks. What, if not a mask, can save a person in critical situation? The allotment seems to have become different and under protection.

Venice quickly plunged into the abyss; as a result, the land sank by twenty-three centimeters. Noah, not Noah, but the ark sank. Was the designer mistaken, why is the ship sinking? Maybe just an experienced ship? Is God checking a piece of humanity for lice?

When everyone was already sure that they would not escape the flood, the ship, which was a beautiful city with many canals and bridges, suddenly stopped sinking. Whether it was by God's grace or Noah's, people were saved. Noah declared a great holiday. Venice had fun in honor miraculous salvation, this joy resulted in one big carnival, one grandiose performance, where each creature had a pair. Harlequin, Colombina, Pedrolino, Pulcinella, Pierrot are commedia dell'arte artists, the best of whom was Zanni. He was able to single-handedly excite the audience, always appearing in public wearing a two-humped cap with a huge long nose and a spacious peasant robe. Fantesca, Fiametta, Smeraldina, Moretta - maids, faithful and obedient, especially Moretta, dumb as a fish, she silently carried out the will of the master, Brighella - a smart servant, Truffaldino - stupid, Bauta - master, his highness “death”, which caused fear in everyone and respect, Joker is a lawyer, Cat is a gendarme who had to catch mice on a ship and lived in the Doge's Palace. Among others, the team also included stingy knight, scientist, judge and military man. Even the Plague Doctor, who seemed like a stranger at this wedding, poked his long beaked nose into other people's affairs. At the same time, he placed various, first aromatic oils, and then other substances in it - believing that they would protect him from this plague. Over his clothes, the Doctor wore a dark long cloak made of waxed material, which is why he looked like an ominous bird, and a long cane in his hand allowed him to keep his distance from everyone else. Volto is a law-abiding citizen, like all good citizens. Noah himself, surrounded by the Venetian Ladies: Liberty, Valerie, Salome, Fantasia, tired of the fun, decided to take a walk around the city on a gondola.

White shirt gondolier as a flag of independent walking. Only “from the water” and accompanied by the gondolier’s songs can you see the city from the best angle. Under big smile The gondolas pass the great palaces and small houses in which the Venetians lived for centuries. He'll sing soon. In the meantime, the arches of bridges and the ringing of bells heard from under the domes of churches only tune our ears, like a tuning fork.

Finally, he began to sing. It was a fake Italian tune. It would be better if he rowed silently. In everyone’s soul, the rowlock creaked: “I’ll kill you, boatman.” Noah had to throw a gold coin to the boatman to keep him quiet. The water cheerfully reflected the scale of the holiday, increasing it by geometric progression. Thousands of Liberty, Valerie, Salome and Fantasia, waving the hem of their skirts, began to dance. The shore danced in the water, flashing here and there like the crest of a wave. Madness has gripped the city.

His path came from the Barefoot Bridge, which is located next to the railway station. This area was once home to poor people, so poor that they were unable to buy shoes for themselves. As a sign of solidarity, Noah took off his, threw his legs overboard and soaked them in the rapids. The boatman looked at him with understanding, even remembered the appropriate song, but did not dare to sing again - until the Bridge of Sighs made of white marble. Previously, convicts were carried along it, and it was from here that they could last time see Venice. A group of tourists was walking across the bridge.

Noah sighed, as if imagining himself in their place. More than anything else in this life, he didn’t want to be a tourist. He put his shoes back on his feet and looked doomedly at Fantasia:

What are you thinking so deeply about?

“I thought that miracles don’t happen,” said Fantasia.

There are no miracles, but Venice does exist.

Venetian Pantheon, School of St. John the Evangelist, ancient defensive structures and temples. Courtyards, nobles, artisans, red light district. Here, under the masks of Jokers, Cats, Doctors and Venetian Ladies, ladies gave themselves to servants, and gentlemen loved maids. Thirst for love or just thirst. Everyone wanted a drink. As soon as the gondola entered the Grand Canal, Noah boarded the floating restaurant. A few Italian remarks, and now Soave has a pleasant chill in his throat. Nearby are numerous bars of Venice, where only locals go. According to the Venetians, the best wine in the city should belong to them, the passengers of this beautiful ship.

Soft white wine picks up thoughts in time and carries them God knows where. He knows everything. Soave is a soft wine and grape variety from the region of the same name, young red wine Bardolino, white Gambellara and Lessini Durello. In the evening, red - Valpolicella, quite strong Superiore or dry Amarone. Its warm, velvety notes are picked up by the gondolier, who again begins to sing his favorite song. This time the song fits perfectly into the soul. Italian melody is an indescribable aroma. I would like to buy several bottles at once to treat my friends left on earth, but no container has yet been invented for impressions. They will have to be content with dessert Torcolato in order to feel at least some of the sweetness of our journey. After dessert, the tipsy owner suddenly wanted to be in the shoes of a servant, and the lady in the role of a maid. A black cloak and a triangular hat, and now no one can figure out what class or gender you are from. Moretta switches masks with Bauta, and the Joker with the Doctor, and off we go. Soon it was absolutely unknown who was hiding under the mask - Harlequin or Columbine? Volto, Cat or Venetian Ladies?

« Last Supper» Tintoretto. Having played it in the bell tower, the sun sets, giving the sea the color of Murano glass. This is his homeland. The same designer created this glass to display clean water evil. Noah drips wine from an open bottle into his glass. The glass cracks. He smiles:

It was enough to drop poison on the Murano miracle - cracks began to appear on the glass. An invaluable asset for Venice, where many people lived who liked to get rid of enemies with the help of poisons. The main one is boredom. It is boredom that often poisons our lives.

Noah pours the glass into the canal, as if adding fuel to the fire of the holiday. It flares up more than ever. Life without poison is boring. When taking poison, the main thing is not to get poisoned.

Restaurant in Piazza San Marco. White people behind white tablecloths. Assorted Italian cheeses, foie gras, olive salads, risotto with mushrooms and seafood, raw, fried, boiled fish, national soups, mouths stuffed with pasta.

The Doge's Palace is the history of a city that was once a fortress, guarded by winged lions - one of those creatures that Noah took with him in pairs. Inside are the Purple Room, where the Doge meets with the procurators, the Hall of the Four Doors, the College Hall and the Senate Hall. "The Rape of Europa". Looking at her, you understand why Europa was kidnapped several more times after Zeus. IN different times Each Europe had its own Zeus.

"Golden House". IN mid-19th century, when there was still some gold left on its walls, the house was purchased by Prince Alexander Trubetskoy and donated it great ballerina Maria Taglione. Miss pointe shoes. She was the first to put on pointe shoes. Even her feet were surprised at such a generous gift.

Doges were doges, and the production of masks was carried out by mere mortals, of whom there were enough on the ship; someone had to do the dirty work. Someone had to make new masks to distinguish the masters from the servants. For those close to Noah, this was an ideal cover to go among the people. Despite the fun, Noah feels increasingly sad at this celebration of life, among many not people, but masks. Those of his own whom he took into the ark turned out to be completely different. The creatures came in pairs - so in pairs, in pairs, they soon formed a stupid, obedient crowd. It seemed to him that his gondola was floating not along the Grand Canal, but along the River Styx.

Rinat Valiullin

WHERE THE KISSES ARE

If you think that you need to change something in this life, then you don’t think so.

He walked into the dark passage of the courtyard, thoughtful and absent-minded, when suddenly a figure appeared in front of him and announced in a female voice:

Give me the money!

How many? - he asked indifferently, noticing the trunk in the girl’s hands.

Let's all do it.

On the! - he theatrically snatched the wallet from his bosom, like a heart.

Why are you wasting money so without regret? - The stranger took the wallet, pulled out the bills and, throwing the empty leather case at his feet, for some reason counted the money.

“It’s boring,” he picked up the wallet and put it back to his heart.

So you're probably only with good people are you communicating?

So I'm bored.

So you probably don't love anyone?

I don’t even know what to answer. It leveled out all the love, like a roller, it became flat or something,” the girl shivered from the cold and pulled her long neck into her shoulders.

Are you completely frozen?

Of course, she was waiting for you for half an hour in this nook.

Why did you choose this one, it’s quite bright here? Although they could hit the lantern to bring darkness here.

That’s why,” she shivered again.

Would you like some tea? I live in this courtyard on the seventh floor.

It's a pity that I'm not in seventh heaven...

This can be fixed with your toy.

Don't you think it's strange that the victim invites the criminal to tea? - the girl stepped with her slender legs in high heels.

We can’t let you go in this state, God knows what you could do. Besides, you have a pleasant voice.

Thank you, what will the tea be with? - the girl smiled and put the pistol in her purse.

With strawberry jam.

Where did you get it from?

Do I look like the kind of person who can't have strawberry jam?

Very similar. Boring people have trouble even with crackers.

Because they prefer to eat cakes alone in a cafe.

Let's argue!

Come on, just how will you pay? After all, you no longer have money.

Maybe you can give me a loan?

Unfortunately, my bank just closed. Any other suggestions?

Pavel,” he extended his hand.

It’s really been a long time since anyone offered me a hand. Fortune,” she took off her glove and extended her palm in response. - By the way, I have a fresh loaf. I couldn't resist walking past the bakery.

Then God himself commanded.

What did you say?

Even if you're on the verge of despair, is tea worth running away from?

What makes you think that I'm on the edge?

Crime is always the end. Well, are we going or not?

Scary.

Why should you be afraid, you have a gun!

Suddenly seduce me and rape me.

Stop dreaming already,” Pavel joked caustically. - Repeat again about the gun? “There’s my entrance,” he pointed to a gray rock made of brick, which glittered with the glass of sleepless windows. The moon was calmly dozing in the sky, covered with a dark blanket of a random cloud. Even the fresh spring air did not inspire her to heroic deeds.

Old house,” she moved towards the entrance, without looking at her fellow traveler.

Who hasn't lived here?

What, everyone died? - Fortuna joked timidly.

Only the great ones.

Would you like to be one of them? - she moved with a slow, easy gait, slightly ahead of him.

Not anymore. I want to live, not relate.

And what are you doing?

At that moment, Fortune stopped and turned around.

“I’m talking about the apartment,” Pavel dragged on the confusion.

That's better.

Suddenly some mongrel ran out towards them and began to swear heart-rendingly.

Damn, there are all sorts of people running around here,” Fortuna shuddered.

Don’t be afraid, she doesn’t bite,” a voice responded from the darkness. The owner slowly moved his feet after his four-legged friend.

I don’t bite either, but why shout about it so much?

“She’s muzzled,” the dog’s owner didn’t hear her words.

The house was really elderly and heavy, with the extra weight of experience and ailments. The rough, gloomy face of the last century, corroded by the windows, once again reminded him that he was tormented by insomnia at night. And every time people entered, he opened his mouth, sighed heavily and loudly smacked his lips, escorting them deep into himself, along the wide concrete stairs, into his inner world, where life glimmered. He, like no one else, knew that life is a chain of causes and consequences, which must be constantly lubricated with love so that it does not creak due to circumstances. The booming steps of the residents, like the beating of a heart, echoed in his soul. The pressure was no good: it dropped and then rose, just like now. Finally the elevator stopped at number seven and a man and a woman got out.

* * *

Do you always take a loaf of bread with you to work? - Pavel looked with interest beautiful hands his unexpected guest, taking bread from them.

Fortune, harmoniously built into the Ikea kitchen, remained silent. The baguette crackled under Pavel’s knife. The crumbs flew. Along with the crunch came the smell of fresh bread. The sound only intensified the aroma, as if it wanted to take over its function. Pavel looked at Fortune, she looked at him. They could do this for God knows how long: he didn't know what to say, and she didn't know that words no longer mattered. Her lips smiled and ate the sausage sandwich that Pavel had managed to prepare, then they accepted porcelain and hot tea.

So what pushed you onto the road of robbery? - He took out strawberry jam from the cabinet.

Like any woman, I am capable of stupid things, but this is not from a lack of intelligence, but from an excess of feelings. Recently I felt so sincerely that I almost fell into depression: because life, which passes unnoticed, is so short, and I haven’t tried much yet, that the world is so big, but I haven’t been to many places yet, and there is so little freedom, that I decided to start with a crime. I wanted to somehow get out of the stone household bag.

Strange way. Did it help?

As you can see. Just don't be sarcastic. If I hadn’t been more persistent, we would have sat alone all evening. And they wouldn’t have noticed me if I hadn’t made you pay attention to me.

No, I always notice women, but this does not mean that I approach them asking them to shake my wallet out of me. Although, speaking figuratively, this is often what happens,” Pavel looked intently into Fortuna’s eyes. - So why do you need so much freedom?

The whims have accumulated.

The law of strong relationships is simple: a man must act, a woman must inspire.

A woman has few feats, she needs crimes. It is with the crime that the story begins, in which several destinies, without even expecting it, make an appointment with each other in the same city. You could say that the city itself is setting up a date for them, in which they will darn a mental wound with an Eiffel needle.

“Instead of shaking the silence along with your heart, drumming on it senselessly, I’ll go to Paris to darn a spiritual wound with an Eiffel needle.”
Rinat Valiullin

Gained popularity thanks to its capacious and life quotes, in which the heroes of his novels speak. Rinat first coined the term “sensory poetry.” Having begun his literary career with it, Rinat Valiullin, already in his first collection of poems, “Barbarism,” defined the reference points of his unique style: expanding the boundaries of Word and Language, putting them in an emotional atmosphere, to create three-dimensional and sensory images, thereby continuing the traditions of Russian futurists .

Later these poetic devices were transferred to prose - the trilogy “The Fifth Season”, literally disassembled into quotes, shows that a multifaceted form becomes an important part of the content.

Rinat Rifovich Valiullin

Where are the kisses lying around? Paris

– I’m with you in my thoughts.

– Mentally, I can do it myself.

© Valiullin R.R., 2016

© AST Publishing House LLC, 2016

* * ** * *

– Will you give me a lift? – the car door opened in the rain. A girl stood under him. Water dripped from her silken strands like jewelry.

- Where are you going?

- For me?.. To Paris.

– Why not Rome?

– I’ve already been to Rome.

- But not me. Sit down, it's raining like this, you'll get wet through.

- Warm rain.

The wet woman took the seat next to him. Her raw, excited body, like an equator, was divided in two by the leather belt of her bag. The taxi driver involuntarily glanced once again at her nipples, which appeared from under the wet fabric. The girl mechanically straightened her open short jacket, under which a white T-shirt was stuck to her body.

-Can I sit in the back?

- In Paris.

– I realized that it was “Paris”. Just tell me what it is: a cafe, a restaurant? On which street? – his hand was ready to type the address into the navigator.

– There is such a city in France, if you don’t know. I really need to go there.

- Well, what can Paris be like in this weather? – the driver suddenly became funny. “It’s 2,352 kilometers away,” the man answered calmly, like a navigator. The passenger saw him looking at her, wet, in the rearview mirror, as if both of them were now in Through the Looking Glass, frozen, studying each other, turning on their parapsychological abilities. They communicated like the mirror was Skype. She tried to style her hair, he was curious.

– Where does such accuracy come from? – the girl’s hands got stuck in her hair, trying to give it volume.

- From birth.

- Who are you? – she lowered her hands.

- Man.

“I noticed this,” the girl again began to sort out the wet strands on her head, trying to wring them out. - And by profession?

– I teach higher mathematics, if you are interested.

– Interesting... Have you always wondered how higher mathematics differs from ordinary mathematics? - a stranger was found.

“You can’t get there without a ladder,” the driver looked attentively at the passenger, as if he wanted to dry her tarnished reputation with his eyes.

- Mathematician? You have nothing else to do, drive around the city at night. Are you hacking?

- Plus insomnia.

– Mathematicians aren’t paid either?

“They pay, but they can’t fold,” Pavel smiled in the mirror: “Cute, but still a wet chicken.”

– Do numbers keep you awake?

– Yes, my head is full of zeros and ones, which is bad for sleep.

– For me, numbers are the most accurate words. Well, are we going?

- Let's go. All that remains is to decide where,” Pavel folded his hands on the steering wheel and looked back at the stranger. Without the mirror he was able to see her better. The face was pleasant, but somehow worried and still damp. If it weren't raining outside, one might mistake the dampness for feelings. “It would be nice to walk with her along the seashore now, throw stones from the heart, whoever is further. Talk about lofty topics that lie above my mathematics. Philosophize about the meaning of life and its meaninglessness, stopping every now and then to kiss.

– I see you are in a hurry? Are they already waiting for you there?

- Yes. I just don’t know who yet, so I don’t have time.

“There’s no time, we came up with it,” the man muttered to himself.

– What did you say that I didn’t hear?

– You also have a digital perception of life.

– All women have digital perception.

– Because age is always before your eyes.

- If he were standing, he would rush like crazy.

– Is it different for men?

- How old are you now?

- Take off your glasses.

- For what? – the mathematician obeyed.

– Glasses age you, without them I would give you no more than 30. Even after 10 years you can look 37 and 15 years later. Time flies for a woman.

- So, we’ll catch up, so where are we going? – the driver looked at the road again. Ahead, a bus was slowly pulling away from the stop; through the rainy glass, after every movement of the windshield wipers, a woman was looking at his car. She reminded me of someone. “It seemed like an ordinary woman to whom no one gave way, who did not have a personal car, who was somehow going to the sea. The life of any woman is a road to the sea. Even if she goes to work in the morning, she still goes to her sea. In the end, she will get to the point where she will spit on everything and really rush to the sea,” the driver suddenly felt sorry for the woman from the bus or from his past.

“To Paris,” the girl pointed the pistol at his thoughts. The barrel rested on his shoulder.

– And often does this happen to you? – the mathematician adjusted his glasses again.

- Why do you take a gun instead of an umbrella? – the driver grinned through his teeth. Now he looked at what was in her hands in the rearview mirror. “Even if it’s real, it’s probably not loaded.” She turned the barrel towards the mirror, then poked the driver in the shoulder again.

The gun looked real. “35 caliber,” the mind coldly assessed the firearm. Oddly enough, no fear was born - only an incomprehensible surprise. “She’s a stupid woman,” his mind said. “Hardly: either in love or disappointed,” responded the soul. "Beautiful. It’s a pity if you’re in love.”

- Only today.

– Sunday is a day with a high level of Monday in the blood.

Whether she was an optimist, she didn't know, but she loved Mondays for the opportunity to start new life. This did not mean at all that she would rush to start it today; the very existence of such an opportunity was warming.

“Now you are convinced that I’m not joking,” she tried to catch the fear on his face. But the man was as cold as the theory of relativity, as if all this was not happening to him, or rather, not to the two of them, but only to her. She was really worried: her second hand did not stop catching invisible drops of rain on the hostess, although the jewelry had long disappeared from the display case. The jewelry store was closing.

“I got sick again,” the driver put his palm on the gearshift knob, as if it were the Bible, which obligated him to tell “the truth, and only the truth.” “She clearly doesn’t have everything at home, she urgently needs to clear up the sediment in her soul... for a dialogue, ask her to “visit” her to make cosmetic repairs, help move furniture, stick other wallpaper not only in her soul, but also in her head. To protect in order to disarm,” he glanced again at the gun in her hands. “When a woman is on edge, she has poor balance. She can fall so low that it will be difficult to get up later.”

– What, were there already precedents?

– Did you think you were the first? No, don't flatter yourself. Yesterday one asked me to give her a ride to the summer. I say to her: “What do you think of “Summer”?”, She told me: “I don’t care, as long as it’s sooner.” I took it to the nearest “Leta”. I say: “That’s it, we’ve arrived - here’s your store.” She arranged this for me.

- I'll have pity on your ears.

“I’m wondering what she told you.”

“That I’m stupid, unpromising, I don’t have a drop of imagination, and my head is full of thirst for profit,” the mathematician began to compose as he walked. “Everything was presented with such vigorous horseradish... I used to think that I had to commit some kind of evil in order to end up in hell.”

– Did she pay for the fare? – the girl wiped away an invisible drop from her forehead with the barrel.

The car windows began to become covered with sweat, as if she herself was already tired of this strange performance of two characters in a stuffy room. The fog obscured the eyes, leaving them now alone.

- Right now. “I was ready to pay her if only she would come out,” the taxi driver opened the car window. Pieces of rain immediately began to fall through this gap into the cabin. “Take it away, it’s not necessary,” his head nodded in the mirror. I'm not going anywhere anyway.

– Don’t you have Schengen?

– What’s stopping you then?

- Gun.

- This? – she turned the muzzle near his ear. “I can put it away,” she pulled back the flap of the bag and put the gun there. - And you turn off the radio, since you are already taking pity on my ears.

“Here you go,” the mathematician turned up the volume. He felt with his back that the crisis had passed - the lady had been released, and he could go on the offensive...

* * *

– I often wonder what could have happened today if I had started the day with champagne instead of coffee.

“Spring would have come, no other way,” the man answered the shrill female voice.

– Like in Savrasov’s paintings?

- Yeah! Rooks! We've arrived.

– Judging by the verb “rooks”, have you been alone for a long time? – a third person laughed on the radio.

- No, not since I found out Ava was married. And you?

– Not anymore, yesterday I met such a girl.

-Which one?

- Decent.

“Not like me,” Ava laughed.

- I'm serious. Where do you think I should get tickets to be sure: to the theater or to a concert?

“By the sea,” Ava laughed. - Get her tickets to the sea, Tablet.

* * *

- Are we going? – She impatiently grabbed the front seat, as if she was talking to him, and not to the driver.

Rinat Valiullin is a writer with an unusual style. In his works one can always trace a special play on words. One of the books where every sentence is a delight to read is “Where the Kisses Fall.” The novel is replete with aphorisms; you need to read the book slowly and thoughtfully in order to feel every word, every subtext, every tone of emotions and feelings.

The author did an excellent job of portraying female soul with its secrets and dark corners. It is very difficult to understand what a woman wants, what is happening inside her? Why do women think one thing, say another, and do something else? How to understand them, and do they understand themselves? What does love mean to them, how do they imagine it?

The main characters of the novel are a man and a woman. Their acquaintance is very strange: she robs him on the street, and he quite calmly gives all the money. The robber's name is Fortuna, she wonders why the man doesn't want to fight for his money and asks him about it. Pavel replies that he is just bored. And Fortune certainly did not expect that he would invite her to warm up and drink tea. Where have you seen a victim treat a robber to strawberry jam?

Having gotten to know the characters better, you can see that Fortuna seems to be a sharp-tongued, slightly rude woman. In fact, she really lacks love. But she is used to being strong, she wants to show that she can cope without men. However, even the most independent and Strong woman needs love and affection, no matter how hard she tries to deny it. Fortuna has a difficult character, and Paul could push her away from him. But perhaps he needs this communication no less. What if she is his luck, Fortune?

In the novel “Where Kisses Are Lying” the theme of the relationship between a man and a woman is well explored. Quite ordinary things are depicted as something special, poetic. The reader will have to immerse himself in the world of heroes with their problems, quarrels and reconciliations. After all, the author depicted this world in incredible detail and beautifully.

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