Nostalgia

It was an unusually hot summer day. The sun shone too much brightly, that made passers-by squint and hide in the shadows in a search of the saving coolness. It seemed that only one man was completely satisfied with such weather: he nestled on a park bench under an old tree sipping mineral water from a bottle. The man was watching people around him with a great interest. He realized that a lot had changed since his childhood, even the city itself.

            Max had spent his youth in Germany and only two days ago he returned back to Russia, to his native city – Vladimir. He remembered how he had arrived to the railway station. The man didn’t expect that he would feel such an excitement. When Max got off the train, at last he could have a sigh of relief. All around seemed so familiar and close to heart! The man understood: he loved practically everything in his native city. Max liked its weaving streets with old and new buildings, he loved everybody and everyone, even dingy yards of outskirts and stray cats and dogs.

            Suddenly Max remembered the place where he had lived before, where he had spent all his childhood. Yielding to impulse Max decided to look at the old house, situated in the very heart of Vladimir. So many memories were associated with that house. What was his disappointment when in place of an old wooden building the man saw an empty space. At the first moment Max even thought that he was mistaken. Carefully looking around, he saw a huge oak-tree which age was more than one hundred years. Under its shade Max liked to read books when he was a little boy. The man walked once more where was his house. Max knew that the house had a long and interesting history. Here in Spasskaya street, 8a lived а vice-governor with his family in the middle of the 19^th century, and Saltykov-Shchedrin visited them. And earlier, in 1839-1840 Herzen stayed in that house.

            Only now Max understood how rich the history of his native city was. And even he felt a certain pride realizing himself as a tiny part of that past. He recollected A. S. Pushkin’s words: "The respect to the past events is the characteristic feature of every educated person, that distinguishes him from a savage".

The man was sure, he would remember this place all his life.

Прокофьева Юлия,

9а,

МБОУ СОШ №10,

Владимир