It so happened that I retired early. I was tired of the city life. I wished to live in silence, be alone with nature, grow vegetables, fruits, berries and drink herbal tea with natural honey. That is why before retiring I bought a house in the countryside.
In spring I planted flowers, bought and installed sculptures of garden gnomes, squirrels and small lanterns. All this time she caught the curious eyes of her neighbor. One day she even could not stand it and while I was planting seedlings, came into my garden.
She started complaining that she had forgotten to plant the petunias, hinting that I should share. But why do I have to share my seedlings with a woman I don’t know? I do not get terry petunias easily, they are capricious in care and I had only 10 pieces. I pretended not to understand her hints.
A week and a half later, I saw a neighbor over the fence talking to a woman, from time to time looking in my direction. I got the impression that she was talking about me.
One summer day I went out into the garden, and suddenly I was startled by the voice of a woman. She was standing by my fence and called out to me. She said she was passing by my house and saw that my garden was already ripe. She didn’t have many berries yet. My eyes widened in surprise. How could you so unceremoniously walk into someone else’s house and ask for berries? Is it okay that I almost do not eat them myself, I save for my daughter?
I was standing in a store, buying candy. Behind me in line a woman who lives on the next street, began to ask me, for whom the candy, do not I want to invite her to visit for tea. How is that possible? What does she care why I buy candy. And why should I invite a strange woman who is neither my friend, nor relative, nor a colleague, nobody.
Just a week ago a neighbor saw me digging in the garden with a small shovel and began to ask her for a week. It makes me want to answer rudely.
There are no such situations in the city. No one will pester you with intrusive and silly questions, asking to visit, asking to share the harvest or garden tools. However, one of my neighbors told me in confidence that many villagers think I am abnormal. So be it.
I do not care about their opinion, I bought a house here to enjoy privacy, not to communicate with rural women, not to engage in gossip. If that’s what they think, maybe they’ll leave me alone and stay out of my garden and out of my soul.
