A story about Putin's TV A small provincial town, what could be interesting about it? Actually, Nika loved business trips to the provinces.. There one could stumble upon an ancient castle, untravelled paths along a stream, communicate with the local common people, who retained their purity of perception and sincerity.. But there was absolutely nothing to see in this town, no castles, not even just wooden houses darkened by time.. But at least a hotel was found, for 4 rooms with two beds in each. Nika did not like to stay in private apartments, and on duty she sometimes had to visit remote objects in such a wilderness that there was no hotel there at all. It's good that there is.

Nika filled out the form, paid for the accommodation, put her wallet and passport in her purse and went to the room. Two old beds, a creaking wardrobe, a desk with two chairs. Next to each bed is a bedside table. She hung things in the closet, took the documents necessary for work and went to look for a meat processing plant, where they had already been waiting for her since morning..

In the evening, there was a knock on her room, and the attendant came in..

- Sorry, Nika Vasilyevna, the slip came out. This room was booked two days ago, we have to put a second person here now. Sorry.

- No problem, I understand that the room is double.. And I paid for one bed, everything is in order.

- Not exactly dear.. The fact is that a man ordered a reservation, and he arrived. Requires to settle, he has the right.

- Then move me to another room.. I've paid. What do I care about your mistakes?

- All other numbers are busy. This is the only free space. We are very uncomfortable, but. That person is right, besides, his room was booked by a very reputable organization, we cannot. I'm sorry, but you have to move out..

- And I don’t think so, - Nick boiled.. - I don't care about your difficulties. I came, asked for a free number, you gave me a card, I filled it out, paid, I won't go anywhere. I just have nowhere to go, you know? Take your man even to your home, I stay and that's it!

Nika defiantly turned her back and began to examine her working documents.. The attendant stood in confusion and left.. There was a noise of voices in the corridor. Then a verse.

The man went to look for another lodging for the night, Nika thought with satisfaction..

Late in the evening, having already put on her nightgown, she stretched out wearily on the spread bed when there was a knock at the door..

- Sign in!

Again or something, on duty? she thought.

The door opened and a man in a coat with a dark beaver collar entered the room.. In his hand he held a suitcase smelling of new, expensive leather.. An embarrassed attendant peeked out from behind him..

" - I still have to insist on my settlement here. I do not have to walk around the city and look for an apartment. You must do this, as the room was booked for me by my administrator before you moved in..

The attendant feigned deep regret and spread her hands.

- Will you put a woman on the street? In such a cold? Nika exclaimed..

- I will take pity on you and leave you to spend the night at my place. If you don't snore. you snore? speak honestly.

Nika paused, piercing the stranger with her eyes..

" She went to the chair on which she had previously laid a folded bedspread from the bed, took it off, and placing two chairs along her bunk, hung it with a bedspread so that it was less visible.

(He looks intelligent. Let's hope he doesn't act inappropriately, she thought).

- Of course, this is against any rules, - the duty officer smiled with relief, - but given the current situation, of course, the best way out. I hope none of you complain about us.. Well, I mean, I hope the hospitality industry doesn't find out..

“Definitely not from me,” the guest said..

Nika was silent.

(In this case, I am the weaker side. And I should be afraid, but if something bad happens, then I will not hide. This is a hotel mistake, so I don’t promise anything, Nika thought).

The attendant left. Nika climbed into her bed. Heard the clasps of the suitcase click. The rustle of the stranger's things, which he probably hung in the closet. Yes, the closet door creaked, which he closed.

(Pretty girl. Probably 35 years old. What does not happen on tour, but this is just a pleasant case. In Tomsk, five of us spent the night on the carpet. On the floor. The main thing is not to snore. I can't stand this, he thought..

Nika turned on her side, curled up. I need to sleep, I have to get up early tomorrow.

(This Maria Nikolaevna is not right. The unit is designed for much more power, they are just being careful. I'll have to try restarting the car tomorrow.. I wonder who this man is by profession. To come to such a backwater with such a leather wardrobe trunk and in such a collar? It's strange what he's doing here?

The stranger took something out of the wardrobe trunk, vials clinked against each other, went into the bathroom. From there I heard the sound of pouring water from the shower.

(Girl obviously nothing. A sort of local intelligentsia. Obviously afraid of me. No, I'm not going to rape her.. But in general. piquant situation. I won't use it, I'll regret it later. My business is to propose, her business is to refuse.. And then suddenly it will turn out like with Lord Byron, when he agreed to the pleas of the young countess not to deprive her of her maiden honor, and she was offended and turned into his fierce enemy. Yes, actually, why do I need this woman? For experiment? Just turned up a chance? I could have a hundred of them, if it weren't for.

The bedspread fell off the chairs. Nika got up, wrapping her dressing gown over herself, and began to straighten the bedspread.. There was a nightgown under the robe, but she did not take off the robe for the night, it was more "

The man came out of the shower. He glanced at Nicky's figure, feigning complete impassivity, sat down at the desk and began to read some text from the sheet, sometimes correcting certain places with a pencil.. She was intrigued.

- Get ready for tomorrow's performance? she asked.

" Nick got hurt.

- In such a wilderness, one might not try very hard. There is no one here to evaluate, - she said sarcastically..

- Every spectator must be respected. Even provincial.

- Spectator? you are an actor? But there is no theater here.

- There is a House of Culture here. Tomorrow is their 70th anniversary. Here, they asked me to come, speak in terms of patronage.

- So, after all, an actor. Where do you come from, in which theater do you play?

- From Moscow. If you are not an avid theatergoer, then you do not know this theater, we recently organized, came together from different theaters and studios. We are called the theater "

(Wow! Met a real metropolitan actor! That's where he got such a well-groomed face, such expensive things, self-confidence. From Moscow! You can be proud of this acquaintance. Although such casual acquaintances never end in anything good, and, as my Anna Pavlovna said,.

Nika understood that it was time to stop talking and get under her covers, because she interferes with a respectable person in his preparations for tomorrow's event. But when else such an opportunity presents itself - talk to the star. Early in the morning she will go to the plant. She had no doubt that he was a star, everything screamed about it, from the smell of expensive perfume to the intonation of her voice and the look from top to bottom, with which he felt her body under her dressing gown, penetrating even under her nightgown. Nick wasn't wrong about that.. Women feel such things with their skin.

(The girl needs to be put on a hook. Whether I need it or not, it doesn't matter. You can always jump out of a conversation when it becomes uninteresting).

- You are here for a long time? - he asked.

(Yeah, he wants to know how long I'll be in this room. Good sign).

- I have a business trip for three days.. One, today, has already passed.

(She hints at the fact that one day has already passed and there are only two left? The girl makes contact, excellent, now, if only it weren’t mine, if it weren’t for it.

- You only play in the theater, or in the cinema too?

- I recently starred in a 6-episode film. It hasn't been released yet. Post-production in progress. It was very hard work.

- Tell us about the movie?

- To be honest, it's a shame.. It's hard to remember. Your name is Nika? This is a Greek name, that was the name of the goddess of victory. You are a victory, Nika?

- I know what my name means, but I have never defeated anyone in my life.. Rather win always me.

He looked at her sympathetically..

- Yes, such is life.. Some people are made to win, others are made to be defeated.. You just have to try not to fall into the second category..

(Movie star, but speaks in cliches. Flat. No, he's not as interesting as I thought).

- I'm trying. But it doesn't always work out.

- This should be taught by parents. Since the early childhood.

- I didn't have them..

(If she is going to complain to me about life, then this does not suit me. Your troubles are full, you need to turn off the conversation. Evening ceases to be languid).

- You are an orphan? he asked absently.

- I have a father and mother, but I can't call them parents. They have always been strangely cold towards me.. I don't know how to explain it. I even address them by their first names. Anna Pavlovna and Vasily Ivanovich, could never bring myself to say - mom or dad.

(We must end this. Or get down to business. Two weeks ago when I tried with Elena. then too. I have to try with this. Maybe that's what happened. For me to try again. This stupid room ordering nonsense, maybe that's why it happened?

He pulled out a bottle of Hennessy from his trunk, a pack of imported biscuits, poured a golden drink into two glasses, a little bit, intelligently. Invited Nick to the table. She got up, went to the closet and hiding behind its door, took off her bathrobe and pulled on a tight dress. They sipped cognac, Nika talked about her childhood, but she saw that he was bored, he listens formally, only pretending to be interested. It did not hurt her, she understood that they were simply going through the stage of preliminary acquaintance required by decency.. And the hope for further, post-hotel continuation of communication gradually grew in her.

Finally, the cookies were over, a third of the bottle of cognac remained, and it became clear that it was time to go to bed.. Nika again covered herself with the closet door, took off her dress and put on a dressing gown.. She lay down in her bed.

He moved from his chair to Nicky's bed and gently ran his hand through her brown hair..

- My girl. Did you get in life. Can I call you my girl?

Nika turned pink. Everything will happen now. They only have two days. Or maybe one, she didn’t ask when he was leaving.. Romance with a movie star. let it be fleeting. Maybe in her life nothing else will be like this. Until now there were only gray dreary everyday life. Or maybe he will be carried away by her, because she is pretty and knows about it.

He leaned over and kissed her on the lips. Nika closed her eyes. He kept stroking her head.. Threw back the covers. He ran his hand over her chest, from above, over her dressing gown.

Breathed hard. She's all tense. Nothing happened.

(He is waiting for me to take the initiative? Wow, conceit. Movie star, let it be, but there are rules of decency).

He removed a warm blanket from Niki's bed, put it on a chair, she smiled slightly, anticipating.

(Again? And with this one too? Unbearable! What will happen to me? And the further, the worse. It grows. It grows in me!

He untied the belt on her dressing gown, lifted Nika, pulled off her dressing gown, threw it aside. Nika was left in one silk brown shirt. I felt chilly. He continued to stroke her head and chest, breathing loudly, his eyes shining with excitement..

(I want her. Want. I want to kill her. Strangle. Take hold of this thin throat and squeeze it with your hands. Break her mouth. It's unthinkable. For what? Why do I need this suffering?

Nika waited, but, apart from stroking her body, nothing! He is impotent? No, here she sees a bulge under his clothes, he presses against her, and she feels the stone hardness of this bulge.

She got cold. She slipped out of his arms and went to the closet.. She took off her natural fur vest from her shoulders and threw it over a brown silk shirt.. returned to him.

- This is your natural fur? - he asked.

- Yes. Very warm I love it.

- Fur looks like a wolf.

- Maybe I bought it at a sheepdog fair in the mountains.. Comfortable, only when it gets wet from the rain, it smells bad. What happened to you? I can see that you're out of your mind.

- Nothing, I'm just worried, I like you very much, you have such a delicate neck, smooth skin. Such passionate, curved lips.

Nika closed her eyes again, smiling..

He pulled her out of bed with a jerk, sat her on his knees, put his hand under the silk of her shirt and squeezed her chest with his hand.. Gently at first, then rough, even harder. stronger. She screamed in pain.

(Kill her. Want. Tear off the nipple, no, the whole breast, it is so small, it fits in my handful. First the left, and then, when blood flows, the right, then.

Nika tried to get out of his arms..

I'm cold, she said, and you hurt me. Just lay down and cuddle me, warm me with your body. And be gentle, please.

He gently laid her back on the bed.. Sat thinking.

- Nika, listen, maybe if I tell you this, I will feel better.. We will never see each other again, and if you tell anyone, I will say that you are lying.. Nobody will believe you, believe me, I have an impeccable reputation in the acting world. Just listen to me and give me advice, maybe you, a person far from all this, will tell me a way out..

- what are you talking about?

- Nika, I starred in that 6-episode film for three years. Three years in a row, we ran the plan, non-stop, because the producer had problems with his bank, and we were afraid that his accounts would be frozen.. I went to the set every day. I was in character even at night, in a dream.

He stopped and closed his eyes. Turned away, then continued without looking at Nika.

- I played Hitler. First in his younger years, then during the war. I looked at a bunch of chronicles, I copied his walk, voice, manner of communication, I lived the role before that I improvised on the set, and the director said that my dialogues are better than in the script. I dreamed like Hitler, thought like him, I was him for three years, and.

- And what from this? - asked Nika.

- I can't get out of character! he shouted in despair.. - I feel more comfortable in it than in my own life.! I feel like a bloody tyrant, I crave to kill, you have no idea how scary it is! I so want to return to myself, to become myself, who I used to be, an ordinary normal person, but I can’t. It doesn't let me go and even grows! I no longer play a role, I am he! I am a killer, I am Hitler!

Nika gasped. Then she said.

- But it's up to you.! Make an effort on yourself, go to a psychologist, finally.

- I've been to a psychologist.. I listened to all his nonsense. He doesn't understand any of this.. That is, he understands what happened to me, but does not know how to deal with it.. And you know what he predicted to me? He said that when the film is released, the same will happen to those who will watch it.. Not only with me, incarnated as Hitler, because I played him, but also with those who will watch it, because such is the power of the screen, the power of identifying oneself with the screen hero, the power of persuading evil!

- So why do you call him stupid? He says everything right.!

- Because he doesn't see the danger. He thinks that everything will be limited to a virtual performance, but I feel everything in real life. I see a naked woman and desire grows in me. Not the desire to take her, but the desire to beat, tear her mouth and crotch. And then, enjoying the cruelty, kill. I restrain myself, but I don’t know where is the limit when I can no longer restrain myself..

(No, he's not impotent! Vice versa! He is a very unhappy person. There is nothing I can do to help him, I just need to stay away from this. And in general, why do I need all this, I don’t even want to know about this, I need to somehow politely stop the conversation. It's good that the duty desk is right next to the door.. Although, of course, he will not attack, he did not confess for this, and it is clear that he is suffering, he hates himself).

- Nika, listen to me.. This is scary. I understood what the psychologist did not say. Maybe he doesn't understand it himself, maybe he just didn't want to offend me.. The role of Hitler was the trigger, the trigger. The screen releases what was originally laid in a person. If it wasn't, then it won't show up.. And the only question is that we do not know until the time it exists or not.

Nika nodded, straightened her fur vest.

(Advice, what advice can I give him? Actually, why do I need all this? The main thing is that he does not touch me. But he won’t touch it, since he told everything and asks for help. Unfortunate man, it's good that all this is not with me. Thank God that I'm just a small insignificant part of society, I'm not a star, and I don't need it, for the first time I am grateful to fate for this).

- I think you should just play a different role, in a different film.. Comedy, good-natured. And she will beat this. That's my advice. And everything will pass, - said Nika.

(She can't hear me. She not only cannot help what to take from her, but also does not want to hear. She's bored with it all. She even gets tired. Look what an indifferent face she had. Well, yes, I was hoping for an entertaining affair with a famous actor, a night of passion in a hotel, a bright love adventure, and here. such a bummer. She can be understood. Or not?

- Nika! I think it's in everyone, we just don't see it for the time being. All this horror, it nestles in the soul, hides on the bottom, without raising cunningly lowered eyelashes, hides behind smiles, behind words of politeness, behind the norms of upbringing, behind a thin fabric of good conditional manners, behind fear of the law. He steps into the light when nothing holds him back. When circumstances or society give a signal, you can! And then everything falls out like a sticky, stinking avalanche! And I don’t know what to do with this dirt in myself, what can I say about others, but I would like to help those whom I have already harmed. But how can I help others if I'm afraid, afraid that one day. I can't stand it and. Lord don't let me. don't let.

Lord, don't let.

He looked at Nika, who closed her eyes, pretending to be tired during the day and accidentally fell asleep during the conversation.. She breathed evenly, the thick wolf fur of her vest waved in time with her breath, revealing a brown silk shirt on her chest, worn over her naked body..

He covered her with a blanket so that she would not catch a cold, it was still very cold in the room.. I drank the rest of Henessy from the neck, turned off the light and went to bed.

From behind a thin wall came the muffled voice of an attendant discussing some local city news with a friend..

April 27, 2022.