Chapter 8
CONCERT IN TAIGA

I suggested her that she should to go to Moscow and present herself on television.

“Just imagine, Anastasia, being such a beauty, you could become a cover girl, a world famous model”. I said.

That was it! It was of exactly that point, when I realized that she was an earthly woman and, like any woman, she was happy to be a beauty.

Anastasia started laughing.

“The most beautiful, is it? Do you really mean it?”

She asked me to repeat it and walked along the clearing as if she were a model putting one foot in front of the other while walking and demonstrating imaginary finery.

I made an announcement,

“Now, ladies and gentlemen, highly respected audience, you are going to see a second to none, a wonderful gymnast, the incomparable beauty A-n-a-s-t-a-s-i-y-a!”

My announcement made her cheer up even more.

She ran into the center of the clearing and produced an incredible somersault forward and then backward. Then to the left and to the right, then she jumped up very high, caught at a bough of a tree, swung herself for a couple of times and found herself in another tree.

Then she repeated her acrobatic feat with somersaults, ran into the center of the clearing again and started bowing before the imaginary audience being accompanied by my loud cheers. Then she ran away from the stage clearing and having hidden herself behind the imaginary wings. She was peeping out smiling waiting impatiently for another announcement.

Then the idea of my favorite collection of pop singers crossed my mind. Once in a while in the evenings being alone in my cabin I enjoyed watching video tapes with my favorite songs. One of those tapes came to me.

So, without a shade of doubt, that she could do it, I announced,

“Dear ladies and gentlemen, to much respected audience, now you are going to meet the best modern variety performers who will perform their best songs. Let's warmly welcome them!”

Oh, how wrong I was to doubt her abilities! Later on ... it was absolutely something unbelievable and unpredictable!... Anastasia, on having hardly taken one step from behind the “wings”, started to sing.

It was the voice of a famous modern singer Alla Pugachova. Don't take me wrong, she was not imitating Alla's voice. She was singing with such an ease reproducing not only the voice itself but its specific timbre. The manners, the way she was expressing her feelings and emotions were astonishing. It was great!

Though the most exciting thing was something else. It was when Anastasia was accentuating some particular words and phrases, adding to the song some new meaning. Alla Pugachova's performance of this song, which had been recognized by the great majority of people as a perfect one, now, in Anastasia's interpretation, was turning to produce a whole scale of new emotions. She was giving more light to the images.

For instance, in the perfect lines of the song:

“Once there was an artist,
He had a small house and canvases
But he was in love with an actress,
The one who loved flowers.
And he sold his house,
Sold his pictures and canvases
And he spent all his money

On a great sea of flowers-Millions, millions of scarlet roses...” she had accentuated the word “canvases”.

She had screamed out this word, putting into it inexplicable emotions which were a mixture of astonishment and fright. Yes, canvases! Exactly! As they are the most precious things for an artist. Without them it is impossible to create.

The artist gives away his most valuable treasure for his beloved's sake...

Then, when Anastasia was pronouncing the following words:

“... the train took her away” she expressed the artist's feelings, the pain of a man who was deeply in love.

She also expressed his despair and confusion watching the departing train which was taking away his beloved forever. Oh, it was great!

Being under the influence of everything I had seen, heard and experienced, I did not applaud when the song was over. Anastasia bowed, waited for a while for the appreciation of the “audience”. Then without any invitation and announcement, she started another song and this time she was trying even harder than before. She was performing all my favorites one after another, everything which was recorded for me in my order on my video tape.

Each song, which I used to enjoy many times before, sounded in her reproduction brighter, containing much more meaning, provoking more emotions.

The last song was over. Anastasia waited in vain for the cheering. So, she went away behind her “wings”. I was still in a state of a shock. I sat for a while, being under the influence of that extraordinary impression.

Then I jumped up and started to applaud shouting out,

“Great, Anastasia! Bravo! Encore! All the performers, welcome on the stage, please!”

Anastasia came out cautiously and bowed slowly. I could not help yelling all the way,

“Bravo! Encore!”, I was clapping and stamping with my feet.

She also got excited, started clapping and asked,

“'Bravo', does it mean "more"?”

“Yes, more! And more! And more!”

Then I became quiet and started to take an all around view of Anastasia and a thought crossed my mind: how amazingly many sided her soul was, as she had managed to bring into the performance such amount of novelty, brightness and beauty! She was quietly looking at me inquiringly.

Then I asked her,

“Well, Anastasia, do you have a song of your own? Could you perform anything which belongs only to you?”

“Yes, I could. But my song is wordless. Would you like it?”

“Oh, please, Anastasia, will you sing your song?”

“All right”.

So, Anastasia started her unusual song. At first she screamed out as a newly born baby, then her voice became very soft, delicate and affectionate.

She was standing under a tree, pressing her hands against her chest, her head being bent a bit as if she was rocking a baby to sleep, singing a lullaby song. She was caressing the baby with her voice and was telling something loving to it. Because of that soft, amazingly clear voice, everything stood still even the birds and the chirring in the grass.

Then she became very happy watching her baby waking up. New sounds of exaltation appeared in her voice, unbelievably high sounds now were flying over the earth and then flushing up into the heights of eternity. Now Anastasia's voice was pleading to somebody, then it was fighting and then it was again caressing a baby, giving the gift of joy to everything around.

The feeling of joy embraced me too and when the song was over I screamed joyously,

“And now, ladies and gentlemen, my dear friends, you will watch a unique, inimitable performance of the world famous, the most skilful, brave and charming lady trainer who is capable of taming any beast. Welcome her, watch and be thrilled!”

Anastasia even squealed in exaltation, jumped up clapping her hands rhythmically, gave a cry and whistled.

Something unbelievable started happening in the clearing. A she-wolf was the first to appear. It jumped out from behind the bushes and stood still by the edge of the clearing, looking around incomprehensibly. The squirrels were skimming up the trees jumping from branch to branch. Two eagles were flying very low in circles.

Some kind of small wild animals were moving in the shrubs, then a sound of the snapping of dry twigs came to us. A huge bear was making its way through the bushes moving them apart and pressing them. It ran out on the clearing, came very close to Anastasia and stood as if rooted to the spot. The she wolf grumbled at the bear disapprovingly.

Evidently, the bear had approached their lady too close without getting a special invitation.

Anastasia ran towards the bear, patted its muzzle, gripped its front paws and made the bear stand on its back paws vertically. One could tell that while doing it she did not apply any efforts at all as the animal was fulfilling her commands willingly. This was done in accordance with its own interpretation and understanding of them.

The beast was standing motionless, trying hard to understand what she wanted it to do.

Anastasia took a run, jumped up high, gripped the bear by its paw and started bending herself backward. She was pulling the bear trying to show that she was going to throw the beast over herself.

This kind of trick would be impossible if the bear did not do it willingly by itself and Anastasia was just directing its actions. Evidently, the bear was doing its best trying not to cause any harm to its mistress by supporting itself on its paws. The she-wolf was getting more and more restless so it could not help but rush from side to side growling and snarling.

A couple of other wolves appeared in the clearing and Anastasia repeated the trick with the bear again and again throwing it over herself. She even tried to make the beast accomplish a somersault and the poor thing suddenly tumbled down on its side and stood still.

Being overexcited and baring its teeth in anger, the she-wolf made a jump towards the bear. With the speed of lightning Anastasia blocked the wolfs way and the latter, slowing down with its four paws, made a somersault over its back and hurt itself against Anastasia's legs.

Anastasia took a very quick grip on the wolfs mane making the beast press itself to the ground obediently. With the other hand she waved exactly the way she did in my case, when I had tried to give her a hug without her permission.

The forest around us was murmuring excitedly but not threateningly. One could sense of excitement in the behavior of big and small wild animals. Some of them were jumping or running, some were becoming quiet. Anastasia started to reduce the agitation: first of all she flattered the she-wolf then patted its mane and sent the beast away from the clearing by giving it a smack as people usually do to a dog.

The bear was still lying on its side in a very uncomfortable position. Evidently it was waiting for another “job”. Anastasia came to the bear, made it rise, stroked its muzzle and in the same way as she did with the she-wolf, sent it away from the clearing.

Anastasia blushing sat down next to me, took a deep breath and slowly breathed out.

I noted that her breathing normalized very quickly and became as smooth and regular as if she had never done all her incredible exercises.

“They don't understand theatrical performance and they don't need to understand it because it is not very good for them”, remarked Anastasia and then asked, “Well, what about me? Can I get any place in your world? I mean, can I find a job”.

“It was great! But all of these have already existed. The trainers in the circus show many interesting tricks with all kinds of animals, so you will not be able to force your way into such a job because of bureaucratic red tape. There are a great number of conventions and intrigues. You are not well versed to stand them”.

We proceeded with our game trying all kinds of versions whereby Anastasia could find a job in our world and how she would overcome the existing formalities.

Although we had failed to find an easy solution as Anastasia did not have papers to prove her education, an identification or the right of permanent residence. Nobody would believe her stories about her origin without a birth certificate. Her wonderful skills and abilities would not count much.

Anastasia got more serious and said,

“Of course I would like to visit, at least once again, one of your large cities, let's say Moscow, just to get more proof concerning the exactness of my modeling of some situations from people's lives.

 

For example, I can't understand how the dark forces manage to fool women to such an extent that they, without even realizing it, are trying to attract men with the help of their physical charms. By doing so they don't give the men an opportunity of making the right choice, the one which is right for the soul. Then they are both suffering because of this as they can't create a proper family”.

Then she started her amazing reasoning about sex, family, bringing up children, and I thought to myself,

“The most incredible of all that I've seen and heard was her ability to speak about our way of life, her precise and detailed knowledge of it”.

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