More of the coming and the goings.

Oh my good friends, so long you must bear this burdensome waiting. Anton you have been disappeared for many times a long time ago. Where are you? Come out wherever you are. I heed your calls dear friends and for so long I have not been able to communicate to those of you who long to share in my goings ons. Much has changed for me since I last have ability to write words to you. Maybe some is bad but on the whole face of it maybe it is not too very bad. Maybe it is almost good. To be sure I will concur with sentiments that it is good.

Life can sometimes throw forks at your path. I had big fork thrown at me sometime ago when I take trip with the love of my life Olga to furniture store in capital city Moscow. For long time ago Olga was keeping beating me down with her words of desire to visit with this place. I say to her each and every day. “Olga, you know there is everything here in our beautiful home city of Voronezh.” I explain to her simply that she not want for anything here. She can purchase things here and get culture and eat herself fat with so many choices of food emporia. “Anton, but I am wishing to go to Moscow”, she would tell to me every little second that there is in the day. I grow weary. I am but of the flesh and the blood. You know good friends we must in sometimes be strong, and you know that I am. You know the things I have been doing from time to time if you are following my comings and my goings. It's the truth that I could not keep saying no forever and so a day came that I said: “Yes.”

As visitors will be attesting to, it is easy to get to Voronezh from anywhere in Russia. Flying, boating, bicycle, driving. Many ways. It is like they want you to come. It is interesting to note that this ease of coming also is creating an ease of going. So many people will go away from Voronezh for trips. Remember this when you make itinerary for vacationing here because if you want to visit surrounding area of Voronezh I will say let it be so, and you will say Thank you for showing us even more of your beautiful Voronezh Oblast and its surrounding locales.

As a professional driver and graduated student of Institute of Tram driving, transportation is very closely linked to my heart and I understand greatly what is important for coming and going and coming back again.  On the note of goings I continue forward with my account.

Moscow is maybe almost 6 hours away on the road, if you do not have to fix car on way because of broken rear axle or steering column. So we pack much food for journey and get ready to take to the highway M4 (which you will take northwards to get to Moscow). As you drive you will see much of the countryside think to yourself: “Huh, so pretty.” Olga does so much enjoy a strong sausage that from time to time I am winding my windows because of odor. In the end we reach the final destination. Olga is telling to me all the ways that furniture from Sweden is the future. I laugh in her face at this remark.

The store is much larger in structure than other furniture shops I have seen in my life. 18 long months I spent there. I remember entering the store with my beautiful Olga by my side and my plastic bag containing some bread and sausage in my hand on my other side. Inside this super big place it was like the time itself was being taken away. It is hard to make sensible idea of what is like, time is becoming meaningless, as if the day is no more turning into night on a regular basis. It is standalone universe that exists in itself in IKEA. I am not forgetting that I was for only a moment gazingly looking at Fagleboda handles and when I have completed Olga is not being seen by me anywhere abouts.

I spend hours meandering over and over the place. Olga is not reappearing. The watch on my wrist stops, I grow hungry in my search, it is so I partake of meatballs in canteen. Staring at my meatballs wishingly thinking of Olga: Where can my Olga be?” I am saying to myself in my head quietly so that people around do not think: “There look! A strange man consuming meatballs and talking to himself audibly”.   I finish the eating of meatballs and still I have no more seen Olga passing by. I am making the decision to find the beginning of this place and to then in a methodological fashion by walking check every nook and cranny that there is in this place until I find her.

I try so hard to find the beginning of the store. I follow arrows on floor but they are taking me on journey to other places. I am only needing the beginning the doors which we were going through when we first were arriving. I stop following arrows, I grow tired. I sit down on small sofa known as Kivik in corner of building. I start to sleep. I open my eyes and there is dark everywhere. No people are there at this time. I do not know what has happened to my Olga. It is true, I am not shameful admitting that I cried. Not for long and I did not cry like a baby girl you understand. So it is I sit on Kivik and waited for light to come. I don't know how long it is but then there a groups of people in yellow shirts doing things to make ready for next days trading. It occurs to my own mind that if they see me they will think I am vagrant who is smelly and dirty scum. I will be arrested and thrown in Lubyanka which is not far. If this should happen I will never see my Olga again.

It was at this moment of distress I make plan to hide from all the people there. One day goes by and then another one and then another one, and one more after that. I am still hiding in IKEA. It seems it is not difficult. The time tick tick away but nobody ever see me. I learn good places to hide when many people are around and when they are not I eat well on meatballs and lingon berry juice. I find yellow shirt to wear in case of just in case. Even in this hard times I still have sense. I keep trying to find beginning of store every day I fail. There is no beginning and no end. Time it is meaning nothing to me anymore. There are always enough meatballs. Soon I am knowing the comings and the goings of all peoples in this place. They never find me. I am realising that it is possible to be in store during the day with all the other people hereabouts. It is called the hiding in plain sight. I scour the faces to look and see maybe one is Olga. Sometimes I think that it is her, but no. It is then I apologise for leaping up at woman and hugging her profusely. She think it is just IKEA customer service because of yellow shirt.

It is days then it is week, then it is month. Still they suspect nothing and I am not in Lubyanka. Olga is nowhere to be seen.  One day I am deciding that I must leave this place, I am in need to return to my home. Oh Voronezh I am so much missing it and the sky. Great poet Osip Mandelstam once was writing: “The sky is happy sanctuary, A lifelong, extendible home.” There is truth.

As you are knowing in the fact that I am now able to be writing this I was able to free myself from the lair of corrugated walls and soft furnishings. But how? That my friends is to wait for next time. I now am to be moving on toward the railway station for new guests are being arrived at Voronezh, and they are needing the service of your good friend Anton Petrovich.