That year surprised everyone with its unexpectedly warm weather; the lingering Indian summer gently wrapped the world in orange-golden hues. The air felt like sweet honey, with a faint thread of winter woven through it, making the news that entered the house feel especially bitter.
“Varka, Varka,” came a familiar voice, heavy with exhaustion.
The girl, who had been standing by the stove, flinched. She set the towel aside, threw a faded shawl over her shoulders, and hurried into the yard. Her father, hunched and weary, was opening the gate, and his movements betrayed a deep, bone-deep fatigue.
“I’m coming, Father.”
“Sit down, we need to talk,” he said, settling onto a wooden bench he had built with his own hands long ago.
“What happened? Father, did something go wrong?”
“It did, daughter, it did… I’ve brought trouble upon us. Lost the cow, don’t even know how. Gave her the wrong potion, and the result is grim.”
Her heart clenched, and she pressed her handkerchief to her lips to keep from gasping. This wasn’t just a loss; it was a catastrophe. A financial blow to the kolkhoz. In her mind appeared an image of Vasiliy the carpenter, who had received seven years in prison for mishandling a horse. What would await her hard-working father now, a man who had survived endless hardships?
“Father… what will happen? Tikhon Ilyich won’t hand you over to court, will he? You’ve been friends since childhood!”
“Friendship is friendship, but kolkhoz property is sacred. If we were related, things might be different…”
“But you two have stood shoulder to shoulder your whole lives!”
“He wants to help — but in his own way. And he wants something in return.”
“What does he want?”
“He wants you. He wants you to marry his Stepan.”
The world spun around her.
Stepan… His image surfaced in her mind at once — tall, handsome, with an arrogant, wolfish gleam in his eyes. He was known as a bully, with a cold presence and behavior that evoked fear.
“What? Father, I don’t love him, he frightens me!”
“After the cow died, Tikhon spoke to me quickly. He said Stepan wants you for a wife, and he promised not to harm you. Do you think I’d betray you? If I didn’t trust him, I’d go to court myself. Save me, daughter… I’d be grateful for the rest of my life.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks, leaving burning trails. The choice was cruel — either her father faced the court, or she walked to the altar with a man she did not love. Fate dealt her a bitter hand. She gave in.
“I agree. Arrange the wedding.”
“On Pokrov, as tradition demands.”
On Pokrov, the village celebrated two weddings — Varvara and Stepan’s, and her friend Anna’s to Grigory, the chairman’s son. The golden autumn seemed to want to compensate for one life with light by giving joy to another. Varya watched her friend look lovingly at her groom, while her own soul was drowning in despair. Her life felt unbearable, and as she could not choose her heart’s will, she surrendered to circumstance.
After the wedding, Stepan — slightly drunk — led Varya into the new house, where new troubles awaited her.
The cow, whose death had started it all, was brushed off as a joke. No one even questioned how it had happened. Varya felt a deep resentment toward her father-in-law, knowing everything could have been resolved without such humiliating conditions.
She entered her new life, where lonely nights carried new fears.
Stepan turned out to be rough, and the life that began with this unexpected wedding became a true trial for Varvara. His undeserved cruelty turned into her personal nightmare.
The next morning greeted her with dread; she spent her time in the kitchen preparing food — she was now a wife and a mistress of the house.
“Well, woman, how do you like your husband?” he asked, amusement glinting in his eyes.
“I don’t know… We’re out of moonshine. I could go to my parents; maybe they have some left,” she replied, though inside her emotions churned in turmoil.
Stepan felt her coldness and took his frustrations out on her. He became cruel over the smallest faults. The life she had hoped would someday get better seemed to crumble.
“You know… you can become better here,” he said one evening, lying beside her. “I want to make it so we can be happy.”
From then on, mornings brought a different reality.
This was only the beginning of their path.
But soon, their lives would be rewritten.
The main message: Sometimes hardships lead to unexpected changes that can bring real happiness.
Varya’s life gradually changed, and with her weary soul, her husband changed as well. Time shaped a new reality, and Varvara had to learn to forgive.
“I’ll believe you’ve changed,” she whispered, understanding that everyone deserves a second chance.
And so, years later, they met again — with hope for a new beginning and a deeper understanding of each other.
EPILOGUE:
Six months later, their lives took a new turn. They began to support one another, and Varya realized she had found in Stepan a man capable of love and care. Warmth returned to her heart, reminding her she was no longer alone.
Thus ended this story — full of passion, pain, and hope for a brighter future.