Fall of Matilda

"You must have been mistaken," he said to Matilda, without inviting her to enter. The aroma from the briar smoking pipe, spread everywhere on the entrance hall.

"No, I was not mistaken. This is my apartment and I'm registered here!" answered Matilda.

"Dearie, you do not look like a crook. What brings you here? Couldn't you show your passport?"

"Here, please, look," said Matilda, flipped through her passport, and showed the stranger a seal with a registration at this address.

"Dearie, I bought this apartment legally. I bought from the captain of the police. I do not intend to inform you of his position and name. At least, I do not have to. Previously, I studied all the documents for the apartment. It apartment was privatized by captain of police. Yes, indeed, before him was registered a minor girl, but then she was deprived of registration for this apartment by the guardianship authorities and then was registered in the Children's Shelter. Probably, it was you. It seems that registration in your passport is now not valid, and you can’t reproach me with anything. I am a conscientious home buyer. Encumbrances to the apartment at the time of purchase were not, I have all the relevant documents. In court, you can only rely on the payment of compensation from the state. I hope I will not see you again. Otherwise, I'll have to call a police squad."

During a conversation with a stranger, Matilda noticed through an open door that there was nothing left of her former life in the apartment. The floors were now parquet, on the ceiling appeared an elaborate stucco and expensive furniture in the hallway.

"I understood everything," said dumbfounded Matilda, and retreated. She wanted to cry. She stood for a while in the stairwell and looked at the railing, familiar to her tears, the staircase that she went down to school every day. Matilda wanted to see old lady Zina, and she called her door. The door was also different, it was metal and with a door peephole. Matilda just now paid attention to this. A minute later the door opened and a vulgar woman of about thirty appeared on the threshold.

"Hello! And where is the old lady Zina?" Matilda asked.

"There's no Zina here. We bought them an apartment in new buildings and exchanged it with surcharge."

"And can you tell me their new address?"

"I don’t remember the address," the woman said and slammed the door.

Matilda had no choice but to leave the entrance and return to her dormitory. On the way, she went to the law firm. Having told the situation to the lawyer, Matilda showed her passport and registration on the address.

"Yes, indeed, the situation is complicated. So do you say the captain of the police privatized your apartment?" the lady lawyer asked.

"It turns out that yes. This is true."

"As much as we can do for you, it's a small compensation from the state. You will not get too expensive outlay. If you want to get an apartment back, I can give you an attorney's address. He has co

"I understood. How much do I owe you?"

"Not at all. In fact, I did not render any services to you."

"Thank you. It was nice to talk with you," said Matilda, and said goodbye.

This year was a year of upheaval not only for Matilda, but for all the inhabitants of her vast country. There was a deliberate disintegration of the Soviet Union. Despite the fact that at the March referendum on the fate of the country, almost the entire population voted for the integrity of the USSR, the collapse could not be avoided. Was defeated and the Emergency Committee. From the hostel Matilda moved to a rented apartment in the same area and continued to go to work. These were hard working days. Not having an own apartment, Matilda often visited the city Tver and always bought a real estates. Literally from one salary she could buy a two-room apartment in Tver. The average price of an apartment was 5 thousand dollars. Already in the 93rd year the flow of customers to the "Business Center Lingua" has significantly decreased. For all this time Arthur Khananovich got necessary co

New life.

One of the old two-story buildings on the embankment of the river Volga and was the new home of Matilda. The whole second floor was occupied by her apartment. The cabinet was in the back of the apartment. There was a table, near the wall, on the table was a large monitor with a flat screen, the size of an average TV set, a writing set, a keyboard and a small table lamp. The computer was next on the dresser. There was a printer and a sca

"The older the wine, the younger the cheese," thought Matilda, sipped a little wine from the goblet, then broke off a piece of cheese with a fork and sent it into her mouth. She was alone, and she was not bored alone with her thoughts. "It would be nice to have a cat or a dog, or even better, a real man," she thought, but then deflected those thoughts.