462
MIKHAIL ZOSHCHENKO
I go over to the window. A very strange sight-the river ,
has swollen and turned black. Another half meter and it
will
overflow its banks.
I run out into the street.
Wind.
An
unheard-of wind blows from the sea.
I go along the Nevsky Prospect. I am excited and aroused.
I reach the Fontanka Canal.
It
is practically level with the road·
way. Here and there water is splashing on the sidewalk.
I jump into a streetcar and go over to the Petrograd side of
Leningrad. That's where my family lives-my wife and tiny son.
They live with relatives. I moved to the House of the Arts so
that the infant's crying wouldn't disturb me.
Now I hurry to them. They live on the first floor in Push·
karskaya Street. Perhaps they'll have to move up to the second
floor.
The streetcar turns into the Alexander Prospect. We ride
through water. We stop. We can't go any further. Wooden
blocks from the roadway are floating about and prevent the
I
streetcar from moving.
The passengers jump out into the water. It's not deep here {
-knee-high.
I walk through the water and reach the Bolshoi Prospect.
There is no water yet on the Prospect.
I almost run all the way to Pushkarskaya Street. The water
has not reached it yet. My dear ones are upset and alarmed.
They are very glad I've come and am now with them.
I put on my coat again and go out into the street. I want
to see whether the water is still rising.
I come into the Bolshoi Prospect. I buy bread at the baker's.
I go on to Vvedenskaya Street. It's dry.
\
Suddenly I see a strange light-there is water pouring from
4
every manhole and flooding the roadway at a great rate. I wade
home through the water.
The water has already reached the stairway.
We move up to the second floor with our belongings.
