Oh this sick crazy world.
The skies are black and shrouded in darkness. Roads, intersections, old churchyards, abandoned crypts –everything will come alive, filled with life, breathing and whispering. Oh, mortal, be careful, stay away, save your soul, avoid the dead places. There is a Dark Force, there is a house of demons, there is a kingdom of horror and nightmares....
I. Khosroeva
The preface.
It was raining. It hit the roofs of houses and pavilions, enveloping playgrounds. The rain bounced on umbrellas and tables of small cafes. The rain was bobbing merrily, then joyfully jumping, then threateningly thundering.
I watched this picture sitting in the warmth of the house. It was the only way I liked the rain. Rain is heavenly water, it brings deliverance and purification from defilement. Children intuitively feel this, and in summer they joyfully run in the rain up to their ears in mud.
The rain was gathering momentum, becoming fiercer and more aggressive. It was getting dark. It was still raining. The time of darkness has come. Night and total darkness. The darkness was created by the connivance of local officials. They're like local gods here. We want there to be light, and we'll turn on the lighting, but we want there to be a time of darkness. Probably the chief official has depression or PMS again, or some new quirk. In any case, there probably won't be any lights on that night.
I was distracted from my studies. You see, I learn all the time like a bookworm. I read, watch, listen, and need new information constantly. I just can't live without it. Yes, it may sound pathetic, but I really don't see any other meaning to life. After all, knowing is so wonderful, and even more so, applying your knowledge in real life. I need to work on this.
One of my teachers would say pathetically that we need to love the world, love heaven and mother earth. Although the world is imperfect with many flaws, if you change yourself, the world around you will change too. I don't understand that at all. To me, this world is like a university where we are studying temporarily. There are no immortals in this world; everyone is equal before death – young and old, rich or poor, sick or healthy. Our world is great for learning.
I am a third-year student out of six, and I am thoroughly sick of studying at this university. Everything about it has been a disappointment: the office with its walls, the building and furniture of the university, and especially my classmates. Every day, I see the same faces.
