The thunder of love had sruck me so strongly that I became like contused. Withot Salima my dayes were filled with melancholy, like autumn. I was thinking about her day and night. I thought and though, and then, with the shakin hand, wrote her a letter choosing the most sentimental words that were capable of arousing compassion. I made two copies of the letter as a istoricl document and put them in different pockets searatele so that I might give one of them to Salima at the first opportunity.
I had that opportunity at last. I gave it her and as she wanted to open the envelope I said :
- Don"rt read it now. You will read it at home.
Salima blushed and went home. Like a wolf on a cage I was anxiously walking to and fro.
The leter read as follows:
Salom , Salimabonu,
Hello, dear Salima!
Sorry for intruding into your life. I can"t help it. I will tell you straight, I have fallen in love with you! Or should I say, I love you! What difference does it make?... That"s all, I"ve had enough! I cannot live without you. To make a long story short, I will be waiting for you by Palvankyol Lake from 12 to p.m. I"ve got something to tell you. If you don"t keep the appointment, this letter will turn into my death certificate. After 1 p.m. I will drown myself in the lake hanging a tractor"s ploughshare on my neck.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon,
Yours faithfully,
Al Kizim
And, like a wolf in a cage, I was walking to and fro.
Then I saw Salima going somewhere and I thought:
- What if she doesn"t turn up? What then? How can I live then? A man should drown himself? What a fool I am! I shouldn"t have given her that letter! Silly me! I have sentenced myself to death. Well, maybe, she will turn up, who knows...
Contemplating about this I started writing the scenario of our tomorrow"s date. I fel asleep at dawn.
When I got up in the morning Zhavatakhun said:
- You shouted "Salima! Salima!" at night. What"s the matter with you? Are you not feeling well?
I was embarrassed.
- No I said - I am all right. Maybe, it"s because I"m tired.
Zhavatakhun tapped me on the shoulder and said:
- Then you"d better go and have a rest. I will tell the guys.
- Thank you, Master.
When Zhavatakhun had left sitting astride his donkey, I had breakfast and worked till lunch time and then began to play the scenario I had made up the day before. Having worked it through, I hurried to the lake on my bicycle.
I now sat by the lake looking at the road and listening to the green rustling canes growing in the estuary.
In expectation of Salima I sat down beneath the tall maples fixing my eyes on the road. Suddenly, I heard the sound of a motor and saw a cloud of dust swirling on the road. Somebody was riding on a motor-bike along the dusty road. He rode passed the lake and up the stony road, but Salima couldn"t be seen.
Looking at the sky I whispered like canes in the free wind: "Oh Lord, if you are really up there, please send my Salima here!"
Presently, I heard a donkey bray in the rice field where two men were working with their bodies bent..
- That"s the end- I thought - It"s time to kill myself. I knew that the donkey brayed each day at 1 p.m., like a German watch, always on time.
I went up to the open space at the shore, took off my skull-cap and threw it into the water.
- Come what may! Once I have given my word I must kill myself! I will die somewhere some day anyway. One is born to die. It"s better to die with dignity than to leave this world in disgrace.
So I went to look for the load I wanted to hang on my neck and legs. I had the ropes in the luggage rack of my bike which I had put in the shade beneath the willow. I had searched for the proper stone and finally found one. Suddenly, I heard a woman crying. I put the stone on the ground and ran to the shore. There on the bank of the lake in the open space without canes Salima stood crying and staring at my skull-cap floating by.
- Oh, Al Kizim-aka, what have you done? Couldn"t you wait a little longer? I loved you
so! I had never loved anybody like that! Have I done anything wrong to you? Oh, my God! Why have you taken away from me the good fortune I had found! Look, oh my Lord! Do you see his forlorn bicycle? How can I live without him now? - cried Salima.
On hearing her cry the two men in white underpants working in the rice field ran up to her. One of them said:
- What"s the matter with you, sister? Why are you crying?
- Oh, please help him! Rescue him! The man has drowned!..
The two men in white underpants, looking in confusion at the water where my skull-cap was floating, jumped there like frogs and, after diving in the water for a while, came out like divers do when after remaining in the water for some time emerge on the surface, with aquatic plants hanging down their ears.
Taking the air they dived again and again. I could no longer wait and shouted:
- Salima! I"m alive!
She jumped back in fear.
Then she blushed with shame. I ran up to her, and she threw her arms round my shoulders. I started consoling her as we hugged.
Presently, the two so called rescuers of the life-guard appeared, for lack of H2O, on the surface with aquatic plants hanging down their ears. Opening their mouths wide to take the air they were about to dive again but I stopped them:
- Brothers, I am here! Alive! It"s all over! All clear! You have really shown heroism. I have the honor!
They came out of the water and looked at me in confusion, and one of them even with contempt.
- I know that hearty tanks can"t buy you butter and bread - I said. So I owe you half a liter.
- Half of liter of what? - asked one of them removing the aquatic plants from his ears.
- Are you crazy? - I said - Half a liter of vodka! There is such liquid, burning liquid...
Then the second one said:
- We don"t drink alcohol. Our belief doesn"t permit it. We recite our prayers five times a day, you see? Silly you!
- Well, as you like - I said - We have democracy, so to say. So I will not push you, I myself will drink to your health.
The two men (as if) from the life-guard, in white underpants, all wet, went away shaking their heads discontentedly.
I took my beloved Salima on my bicycle, and we rode home.
salom - hello, good morning, good afternoon etc, the word used to greet someone bonu-Used as a courtesy title added as a suffix to the name of a girl or woman