[08:30-11:41] A Surreal Night in Peredelkino: The Lost and Found

He found everything. And he said, "How?" And so I tell him the story. He says, "That can't be." I say, "Well, yeah?" I say, "In principle, it can't be, and it shouldn't be, because you fool should have found me." Well, we just weren't ready. And when we were ready, we were given a last chance. That was exactly six months. The gate opened. I was at a friend's house, helping her pack. It was terribly cold, winter, Peredelkino. Minus 30 degrees. And suddenly the electricity goes out. I can't see anything in the dark. And, consequently, the gas boiler isn't working, the temperature is dropping. We don't have a car, we came by taxi. Phones are dying. She says, "We won't even make it to the station. We need to call and get a taxi urgently, we'll just freeze." And she says, "Oh, the neighbors have their lights on, so they have a different substation. I'll be quick, you stay here." I'm standing in the hallway, in her husband's sheepskin coat, worn over my fur coat, in her husband's size 48 felt boots, in complete darkness, with a scarf, waiting for her to come back and say that she called a taxi, or that she'll charge her phone, or that the neighbors will help somehow. So, I'm just standing there. Five minutes pass, then ten minutes. Then she runs back without a phone. All angry, she grabs me and says, "Okay, the neighbors took the phone and said that if I don't bring you, they'll come here themselves now. Better not to do that, let's go over there, because I told them I was with a friend." She says, "Bring your friend." Here's the hostess. I say, "Who's the hostess?" She says, "It doesn't matter, hurry up." She drags me along her path. I'm completely unmaneuverable, and I fall headfirst into a snowdrift. My friend is tall and athletic. She pulls me out of this snowdrift. I'm all covered in snow, and I have a snowdrift on my head. She drags me to a small house across the road. I'm in a dimly lit hallway. And then a hand reaches into this dimly lit hallway. And I'm covered in snow like this. I'm all in snow, and I have no maneuverability. She wrapped me up like this, swore at me, saying, "Why did I get involved with you, you're going to die here! How am I going to carry you?" And so she pulled me out of there. And then suddenly some hand pulls me into the middle of the room. I only see eyes, because I'm all wrapped up like this. And he looks at me like that and says, "Where are you from?" And I angrily answer, "From a snowdrift! Can't you see? Because I'm from a snowdrift!" So he says, "Say it again, where are you from?" I say, "From a snowdrift!" like this. And they start untangling me, it's a collective effort. All the snow just falls off me. And then when they take all this off, suddenly the same hand guides me like this and says, "You're so small." "How am I small? I'm not small!" And then I realize who is in front of me. And he says to me, "Who are you?" I say, "I'm Alyona Gromova," I say. And I was actually quite small, I weighed very little, I had a weight deficit. Like a frozen chicken, to be honest, because the cold was terrible, just with a blue face.