seemed to Bagila that Malik was speaking to her at the prompting of Sargel. Those were his words, right and wrong, like a sweaty palm. “Yes, the class is coming soon…” She swallowed back her tears. Malik understood this and grabbed the knitting again, as if her child was freezing and all the salvation was in that sweater. Bagila looked at Malika for a long time, feeling irritation rise inside her towards this woman. Losing her self-control, she screamed at the top of her voice: “Like, what’s wrong with you? What are you hiding from me? For heaven’s sake, stop knitting! What are we going to do in this Borovoye?!” Malika took a deep breath. A pitiful expression appeared on her face, as if she were about to drink a bitter mixture. “Sar is going to do something,” she said lastly. “He wants to meet Jasyn. And you know how stupid and rude he is. I’m afraid that when he rushes to Jasyn, moving his Adam’s apple, with bulging owl eyes, the noise will rise throughout the city. What will happen if Jasyn’s wife finds out about everything? And not from a stranger, but from a relative of the girl?” Bagila was scared. This fright instantly overshad- owed all the insults inflicted by Jasyn. She knew that sooner or later her relationship with Jasyn would cease to be a secret. Often, she dreamed of how she would tell her parents everything – and would talk about him joyfully, with a light and pure heart. Now all this will turn out quite differently. Riding the evil channel of some gossip. “No, that’s impossible!” cried Bagila. “How does he know? I won’t let him meet Jasyn!” “What can you do?” “I’m leaving! Now, to another city! To another in- stitution!” “Don’t be a fool,” Malika besieged her, “Capital gossip will reach the new city with you or even before you. Besides, you will disgrace both us and your father. “What should I do?” “I’ll explain everything to Sar myself. Let him just try and open his mouth. And in the summer, we will go to the Black Sea. Maybe you really will forget about it. Deal?” Bagila wept, dropping her face into her hands, On the evening of the same day, Sargel entered the house in a great mood. Climbing the stairs, he hummed to himself, and when he opened the door,
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