Sofya went to the wide window and looked out at the sea, in which several yachts of the townspeople could be seen.
The townspeople liked to sail on their own yachts, not far from their native city.
Sofya's husband came into the dining room.
- Good morning, dear!
- Good morning, my dear!
- A good coffee.
- Yes.
- Do you remember Chekhov? Anton Chekhov.
- I read his works with interest.
- He didn't want to be a horse that is pitied. One evening he came home without strength, exhausted. His father looked at him and took pity on him and spoke to him with sympathy.
After this conversation, Anton Chekhov wrote a story about how an old cabman talks to his tired horse.
- It's unpleasant to be a horse.
- Chekhov wrote "Ward No. 6". It was read by an energetic person. Mother of this person tried to make him a landowner. She bought real estate for him with a state mortgage loan. But he decided to take a different path.
- Chekhov, of course, is a strong writer.
- So this reader of "Ward No. 6" took a different path, and he is now in Siberia. He has collected statistical literature. He is trying to make a socio-economic forecast in order to properly plan the movement along the chosen path. A system person, a person with a tendency to consistency. His dad took watched the weather for years and recorded data in a log. So the son is not a stranger man for a statistics and to science in general.
- Science attracts many people...
- He has difficulty fulfilling his creative idea. He's having trouble with creative approaches. Could you write a short concept: how to process data, how to make a socio-economic forecast. His fiancee (or maybe already his wife - I need to clarify this detail) guarantees that when he will succeed, he will announce a new approach to division.
Sofya smiled:
- Does she guarantee it?
- Yes!
Sofya pondered.
She remembered how she - a young girl - was walking down the street.
A young man appeared and started to walk beside her. A casual conversation began. Suddenly the young man asked:
- What does your uncle report from Japan?
Sofya was scared then.
Her uncle left for Japan after some unfortunate events.
Some were forced to move to Siberia.
Others were sitting in the outbuildings [fligel] (extension or a separate structure near the main house), smoking a lot and trying to die quickly.
Their wives went to pray in holy places.
There were also those who tried to adapt - with mixed success.
- Don't worry, - said the young man, - if I were someone you should be wary of, I would talk to you in different manner.
Sofya looked at the young man with interest.
- I deal with jet propulsion issues. There are several special questions there. Could you count over some problem issues? We need a correct calculation.
The young man took out several closely written sheets.
Sofya was frightened again.
However, when she saw the text, densely covered with mathematical and chemical formulas, she felt interested.
She took the sheets and began to read.
- You can to read at home. I'll see you in a few days. If you can, help us.
The young man disappeared somewhere.
Three days later, during the second meeting, Sofya handed over the calculation to the young man.
- But I have a counter request to you. I need a passionate immersed in a topic one ... a disciplined person who is ready to marry me, to become my (fictitious) husband. We will go to Europe, where women have a right to get higher education. I'm going to do math.
The young man quickly read the calculation outlined by Sofya on several sheets of paper.
- Yes, this is what we need. Very good. We will find a disciplined person for you.
How many years have passed since that meeting. There is no longer a person - researcher of a jet propulsion. Although the calculation turned out to be correct.
And a disciplined person turned out to be very passionate, enthusiastic... And at some point, a disciplined man turned from a fictitious husband into a real husband...
Sofya returned to the coffee and to the conversation.
- The bride of a Siberian enthusiast, of the son of a observer on a weather - did she write anything?
- She handed over her request, set out in writing.
The spouse handed over several sheets of paper.
Sofya read the text in surprise.
- Good! I will prepare a concept of calculations to determine the prospects for socio-economic development.
A few days later, the concept began its journey to Siberia to a novice politician with good heredity.
About twenty years have passed, and a former young landowner, a descendant of a weather observer, a former manager of the rural estate who read Anton Chekhov's "Ward No. 6", changed the rules of division.
"It's a mathematics!" - Sofya smiled when she learned about this event. - "The exact calculation gave the result again!"
April 7, 2023 06:21
Translation from Russian into English: April 7, 2023 08:55.
Владимир Владимирович Залесский ' Софья не стала лошадью. Рассказ '.
{ 3287. Софья не стала лошадью. Рассказ. - 7 апреля 2023 г.
MMMCCLVIII. Sofya didn't become a horse. A story. - April 7, 2023. }