On the dimly lit second floor of Shudong Bookstore, the two of them had drank most of the bottles of wine they bought from the supermarket. But the young Katenka still curled up silently on the slightly worn sofa, as if the world had nothing to do with her anymore.
"Katenko"
Wei Ran put down his wine glass and waited for the other party to raise his head and stare at him with his red and swollen eyes, then he tried to change the subject and asked, "What's your... name?"
"My name is Katenka." The girl curled up on the sofa raised her head and stared at the ceiling above her head as she gave the answer.
"No..."
Wei Ran paused, "It's like...just like her name is Karenina..."
"Katenka" the girl's tone became more firm, "My name is Katenka, I am Katenka. There is no second name, no previous name, and there will be no other names in the future."
Wei Ran sighed and continued to ask tentatively, "What are you...for?"
"For what?"
Katenka shook his head , "I don't know why. At first, she was waiting for someone to contact her. Then she gave up and adopted me. This bookstore became her last bit of persistence. She has been waiting. One day she can hang that apple on the sign. Even if she suffers from Alzheimer's disease, it will not stop her habit of visiting the door every day."
Katenko is minding her own business. Pouring another glass of wine, "Sometimes even at night, she would get up quietly and sit at the door until daytime. She actually couldn't remember anything at that time, and she often even forgot why she went out and why she was there. Sit at the door."
Hearing this, Wei Ran sighed and poured himself a glass of wine silently, but there was no longer Yu Wang who could continue to ask.
"You should have come earlier," Katenka continued. "At least she still remembered some things at that time."
"Isn't the Soviet Union gone long ago?" Wei Ran couldn't help but tell the truth.
“Soviet Union?”
Katenka’s face showed an undisguised look of ridicule, “Do you think I would care about a country that was gone before I could remember it? She might care...but what's the use of caring?
She is already old. I have never been to the Soviet Union since I was a child, and I may even be an orphan without any Slavic ancestry. .
Everything here, everything she and I are doing, is more like a reason for her to continue living. For me, it is more like a job...No, Maybe it’s more like a weird ritual similar to a sacrifice that can keep my only relative alive.”
“What about the future?” Wei Ran took a sip of red wine and asked, “In the future, you. What should I do?”
“Isn’t it my turn to ask you this? You are my boss”
Katenka put down the glass of wine that he had finished drinking again, almost gibbering.He gave an irresponsible answer, "Of course you do whatever you say, but the only thing that makes me happy is that at least you are not a Soviet."
Wei Ran laughed dumbly, "Indeed It’s good news to be happy about.”
However, this time, Katenka did not respond. Instead, the wine glass in her hand gently slipped on the carpet and slowly rolled into the gap under the sofa.
Looking at Katenka who had fallen asleep at some point, Wei Ran sighed again, stood up unsteadily, took off his suit and covered it with him, and stepped down the stairs. upstairs, sitting behind the bar on the first floor of the bookstore.
In the blink of an eye, early the next morning, Katenka woke up from a hangover and staggered down from the second floor carrying Wei Ran's suit jacket.
Katenka threw the suit with the remaining vomit on the bar table, then like a normal person, sat on the high stool next to the bar, and asked Wei Ran in confusion. , "How much did we drink last night?"
Wei Ran shook his head and did not answer the question, while Zhi changed the subject and replied, "I plan to take her back today."
Katenka was stunned and asked, "Where are you going back to?"
"Qiu Ming" Wei Ran turned to look at the deserted street outside the window and gave an address that was not very accurate. .
"Then...then wait a moment"
Just after sitting down, Katenka stood up and walked up the stairs a few steps, waiting for her figure to be bent Only when the folding stairs were completely blocked did he say, "Maybe you can come up."
Wei Ran, who had not slept all night, stood up after hearing this and followed the other party up the dirty and messy road again. Exemplary third floor.
After waiting on the sofa for a while, Katenka walked out of the bedroom and placed a small suitcase that looked very old-fashioned on the table.
"She said that she was sent here carrying this small box."
Katenka opened the box while introducing, and picked up Wei from inside. The book "Anna Karenina" that Ran had seen before, "If the Tyumen Library is still there, can you help me return this book?"
Seeing Wei Ran nod, Katenka He put the book in his hand back into the box, and then put the urn on the table into it. Finally, he picked up a PSS silent pistol from the box, "This gun is also her relic, you should Do you mind if I keep it?"
"Do I need to bring you some of the bullets it uses next time we meet?" Wei Ran gave the answer in disguise.
“Forget about the bullets.” Katenka pulled out the magazine. “There are bullets in it. Although there are not many, they are enough for me. After all, my weapons are not guns and bullets.”< /p>
"Can you bring it to Italy yourself?"
"It's not a big problem"
Katenko put the loaded pistol in pocket, and then closed the lid of the suitcase himself, "Okay, I'll use this suitcase to deliver it."Let her go back. I will send you an email after I move to the location you provided. I hope you've already arranged a job for me by then, after all, I'm not planning to run restaurants and bars. "
"Let's talk about these things later." Weiran revealed the matter vaguely, "Do you need me to do anything else for you? "
Katenka looked at the suitcase on the table, hesitated for a moment and then replied, "Can the name appear on her tombstone be Karenina? If you can, please help me put a bouquet of sunflowers, that is her favorite flower. That's it, that's enough. ”
“I hope life in Italy can satisfy you”
Wei Ran said his final farewell, then picked up the old suitcase, which was not big, and put it in the car. Jianka left the Shudong Hotel as he watched.
When the taxi he took completely disappeared at the end of the street, Kajianka, who was hiding behind the window, sighed first, and then exhaled heavily. His tone and slightly red and swollen eyes also showed a hint of relaxation.
As he jogged downstairs, Katenka picked up a claw hammer from behind the door on the second floor. , removed the apple on the sign at the door of Shudong Bookstore and replaced it with a pink peach
Katenko looked at the sign of the bookstore that she had grown up with, and she was silent. After a long time, I threw away the hammer in my hand, pushed open the door of the bookstore with a sign that it was temporarily closed, and started to pack up the luggage that needed to be taken away and the items that needed to be destroyed.
One morning later, Almost at the same time that Weiran's flight landed in Tyumen, a fire broke out on the first floor of Shudong Bookstore.
With the help of firefighters, Katenka, who was only wearing a set of pajamas, also caught fire. Escaped from the third floor of the bookstore that was shrouded in smoke.
Looking at the bookstore that was shrouded in flames, Katenka's expression showed a trace of nostalgia. But then, he was deliberately distracted. The faked panic replaced her, and she allowed the people around her to help her get into the ambulance waiting on the roadside.
In Tyumen, Russia, Weiran also saw her waiting at the airport. Nikolai. Following this old man who was also in his final years, he walked into the parking lot and got into an inconspicuous van. After closing the door, Nikolai said, "Go west along the Tula River to a place called Kamenka. "
Weiran silently started the car and left the airport. With the help of the navigation system, he headed west along the Tula River. Finally, when the sun jumped out of the horizon and dyed the entire Tula River red, he drove Entering this small city called Kamenka,
Under the guidance of the other party, the van left the main road and drove into the forest on the edge of the city, finally stopping in an almost deserted area. At the edge of the cemetery.
He took out Karenina’s urn from the suitcase and handed it to Mr. Nikolai. At his signal, Wei Ran picked up the shovel, crowbar and other materials in the carriage. A bouquet of sunflowers walked into this small cemetery.
It can be seen that.Even Nicholas was not familiar with this place. The two of them searched almost half of the cemetery one tombstone after another, and finally stopped in front of an ordinary-looking tombstone.
After pushing aside the lush weeds in front of the tombstone, Nicholas glanced at the name "Karenina" on the tombstone and an inconspicuous "K" in the corner, and then said, "dig up Well, this is her cemetery."
Wei Ran nodded in astonishment, put the things in his hands aside, picked up the shovel to dig out the grass-covered soil behind the tombstone, and then used it to pry. The stick opened a small stone slab.
In this tomb, which is only the size of a microwave oven, there is only a small can bottle.
Bending down to pick up the can, Nikolai carefully unscrewed it and took out a document, a library card, and a slightly rusty Soviet national emblem. . "
"These things were buried by Karenina herself before she was sent to Vienna. "
Nicholas looked at the national emblem in his hand and explained, "She said she hoped to have the opportunity to be buried here after her death. By then, at least this Soviet national emblem will know everything she did. "
Wei Ran opened his mouth, not knowing what to say for a moment. He only felt that everything in front of him was more like an absurd pantomime.
Nicholas seemed to have no hope either. Wei Ran replied, carefully placing Karenina's ashes in the small tomb, and then stacked the rusty national emblem and the documents originally placed in the cans on the top of the urn.
Finally, the old man took out a neatly folded Soviet flag from the briefcase he had been carrying and put it into the tomb. Then he took a step back and waved to Wei Ran, "Put it away." Let this place be restored to its original state."
When Weiran covered the tomb with stone slabs, Nicholas took out a PSS silent pistol from his arms, pointed it diagonally at the sky, and pulled the trigger repeatedly. Trigger. In the subtle sound of gunfire, the wet soil covered the stone slab, and Karenina's last wish was fulfilled.
Three weak gunshots were heard, and Nikolay slowly retreated. He raised his pistol and muttered to himself, "Comrade Karenina, you have completed your mission, now...you can have a good rest. Finally, welcome home, my comrade. ”