Rolia Kama - The path to the stars

We were taken to the prison, the box is clean, but smoky to the point of nausea. Employees came and started searching us, down to our underwear. While examining us, one of the employees asked:

– There haven’t been any like this before, on 159th (fraud)?

– No, on 105th (murder), – Anya answered. The employees were slightly surprised.

– Who was killed?»

– A woman, they say. We don’t really know.

– How can we not know?»

– Charged with the murder of a woman we don’t know.

– Clearly. Well, never mind, they’ll sort it out and let you go, they do that sometimes.

– We think so, too.

«Are you going to take a shower?» There is no hot water in the cell.

I didn’t think female employees in prisons could be so polite. Usually in the movies evil women of the prison.

We were led through the labyrinths of the prison, finally reaching the shower. We had nothing with us, so we were given a thin towel, a piece of soap that stinks, aluminum dishes, bed linen, mattress, blanket and pillow. We stood under hot water, and then it seems that the fatigue has gone and the thoughts have cleared up.

Two days have passed since the arrest. I am sure that they will sort it out and let us go, we will not stay here long, at least one week.

When we got out of the shower, it turned out that we had to carry the mattress ourselves.

– No, no, I won’t carry it. I don’t have the strength or the hands to carry all this, «I say indignantly. The accompanying employee advises:

– You need to tie the mattress with a sheet, it will be easier to carry.

«Aha, and throw it over your back, carry it like a sack!» Can you imagine what it looks like?! I’ll fall in dark basements, get hurt, and who will be to blame?!

– You can carry it like a bag, – the employee laughs. At this time, a young guy in a black robe comes into the room, I guessed that this is a prisoner working here (khozbanda). Turn to him:

«Young man, please help me carry the mattress to the cell.

It was obvious that he was happy to be addressed, but looked at the employee, asking for his permission.

– Well, what you stand, take two mattresses – ordered it the employee.

The guy put all our supplies on the mattress, rolled it into a thin tube, tied it with a sheet. One was slung over his shoulders, the other under his arm.

Again we go through the mazes and exit into a long corridor, on both sides of the cell. As we moved along the corridor, eye holes opened in the doors, and male voices asked us: «Where is the stage from?» We didn’t engage in conversation. Later I learned that in the cells, prisoners are required to monitor the movement in the corridor, for this purpose they take turns at the doors.

We were taken to the women’s building. They placed them at the doors of the neighboring cells. First they started Anya, then me. I went into the cell and the door slammed behind me. A smoke-filled cell, poor lighting, a long table in the middle, and two adjacent bunk beds on either side of it. There are a lot of women in the cell, and they all stare at me. Questions were asked in Tuvan:

– Where’s the stage from?» What article? What’s your name?»

I answer in Russian:

– I was brought from IVS, I am accused on 105th.

– Why a Russian answer, kind of like Tuvan?

– I understand, but I can’t talk.

Russian Russian, my father said, had more books and more information, so he put me in a Russian class. I know and speak Tuvan colloquially, but I don’t understand it more profoundly. In addition, each district has its own dialect of the language. If I don’t understand the words and say them incorrectly, there may be a conflict, so to avoid everything, I said that I speak Russian. Although this, too, could lead to dislike for me.

«Any accomplices?»

«Yes, there is.

One of the women prisoners says:

– A, this is about them said, former cops (police officers) killed their maid.

– We didn’t kill anyone!»

«That’s what everyone says.

I think that I will have problems: a language barrier; a former employee (if you take into account my 6-month practice in the authorities); a high social status. They’ve already figured out that the maid was murdered. For them, it looks something like this: people from high society killed a simple woman from the people, such as us. There is nothing to prove, it is useless to say, they will not believe. Why do I have to prove myself, explain myself? Time will tell who is who. One of the women suggested:

– Let’s put chifir for acquaintance.

This is the name of very strong tea that prisoners drink, especially men.

– No need to wait for Cogane when I Wake up.

While I look at the life of the cell, I can guess the hierarchy in the cell from the behavior of others. There are five bunk beds in the cell, and fourteen women. It is incredible how these 14 women live in such a small space, and I have already had 15 with me. The cell is full, where I will be put, my mattress still lying near the door. Do they take turns sleeping?! There is nothing to say about living conditions. The toilet in the cell is fenced with a wall about 1.5 meters high, the rest of the room is covered with a rag up to the ceiling. There is no hot water, clothes are drying on the batteries, and some of the ceiling is dripping with moisture. «You can easily get tuberculosis,» I think. There is no TV or even radio. There is absolutely no contact with the outside world.

You will have to survive in the domestic situation. I remember your words: «You are an unrealized person, my dear. I’m your cook, your laundress, your watchman, your Stoker, your flower-seller… How will you live when I am gone?»

And I answered in jest: «All this is done by technology. You will be gone, another will appear.»

Waking up this Chaihana. A woman of average height, hair below the shoulders, a pretty face, there is no femininity in the movement, but on the contrary, ostentatious swaying of the body and negligence, may have served a sentence more than once, in appearance, the age of about 40 years.

The entire camera sits down at the table, and from one mug they begin to take turns drinking chifir. To whom the mug approaches, the one who introduces himself, name, age, where he comes from, article, under investigation or convicted, takes a SIP and passes on. My turn came, I also introduced myself, and the women were genuinely surprised that I was 41 years old. I took a SIP of chifir and declined the offer of a cigarette, since I didn’t smoke.

– Where did you work in the wild?»

– General Director of a real estate and tourism Agency.

Apparently, they wanted to make sure that I worked in the police.

It turns out that everyone went to prison for the first time, except Choigana, who was convicted of murder for 9 years, age 27. She also made a remark to me that I don’t speak Tuvan. I say:

– That’s not a problem, I understand. That means I can communicate with you.

– Today you rest, tomorrow you get up on the road, the girls will teach you. Arina, clear her bed.

Well, I was assigned a sleeping place, on the second tier near the wall, next to the window.

The night life of the prison began. On a small piece of paper, they briefly write down the incidents of the day. In this way, the entire prison is notified of who came in, went out, and the incoming stage. The road is a rope connecting the cells where the prison mail is delivered. At night, there is an active life in prison, most of the cells do not sleep, usually young girls «road users» are responsible for the road. Night duty employees do not pay attention to this, it is normal for them.

I was left alone at the table, I wanted to be alone and analyze the events of the past few days.

Is this the handiwork of my ex-lover Dinita? By nature, perhaps, he is capable of meanness, taking advantage of his position, but he is a cowardly person. It’s hard to believe that he started all this.

Most likely, Kostyuk herself committed the crime. But why exactly does it specify us? What do I know about her?! She was a client of the Agency, and I took the application for the sale of the apartment from her. She was selling her niece’s apartment. The transaction took place, and Kostyuk received the money. But six months later, my niece comes and says that she didn’t receive any money. To me, what kind of claims can be.

I don’t understand why she’s talking about us. Okay, she knows me and Anya, but she doesn’t know Andrey and Valera… or does she? We need to relax, take our thoughts in a different direction.

At this time a woman from the lower caste of the cell approaches me and asks me:

– Can you write me a complaint about the verdict?

I hear the camera is quiet.

– I can’t say for sure, I need to read the verdict first.

It gives me the sentence that is written in the Tuvan language. According to the dates, the deadline for filing a complaint expires tomorrow, the article on robbery, 4 years of imprisonment with serving a sentence in a penal colony.

– You read me the verdict, and then we’ll see.»

She read the sentence to me, some of the words are incomprehensible to me, but, in General, I caught the essence of the case, noted some violations and wrote her a complaint. A month later, after reviewing the complaint in the Supreme court, this woman was released, changing the real term to a suspended sentence.

I see that a phone has appeared in the camera.

I have been contacted by another woman who has been held in prison for six months. tomorrow, a court is scheduled to extend the period of detention. The youngest child is currently one year and six months old, the second child is four years old, and the other two children are teenagers. Naturally, I wrote a motion, I don’t know where her expensive lawyer is looking, and I tell her:

– Call your husband, let him bring the children to the court tomorrow. He doesn’t come in himself, as if he’s at work. Wear a skirt to court so that a four-year-old child will have something to hold on to when they see you. It will be better if the youngest child will cry in the arms of a teenage daughter. They won’t be allowed in the courtroom, so let them wait for you on the first floor and escort you down the floor to the courtroom.

The next day, she left the courtroom and went home, and the measure of restraint was changed to her own recognizance. A few days later, as a token of gratitude, she made a transfer to me.

I was given a phone number to call. I’m calling you, you don’t answer the phone, it’s two o’clock in the morning. I call the driver, he picks up the phone, I tell him:

– Dima, good night, it’s me, how’s Sanya?

– Where are you calling from?»

– From prison, Dima, from prison. Tell Sana not to turn off the phone at night. Have a lawyer come to me tomorrow. Make me a transfer, a pen, standard papers, a warm tracksuit and underwear, a pair of warm socks. The book I have on my dresser is pink. Ah and products.

Chaihana why I have asked:

– Who did you call?»

– Driver.

I’m not used to strangers talking to me on the phone and asking who I called. I’m older than she is. Even my children are to me and to my parents turning on you. Chaihana starting to piss me off, I don’t like.

A young girl from the cell asked me:

– Do you have a driver?»

«Yes,» I said politely. It is clear that the girl was brought up correctly, as it should be in the Tuvan family, a respectful attitude to her elders.