Prologue

March 1997 pos. Chersky, Yakutia

As the reindeer herders said, the weather then stood out for the glory, we were lucky with it, usually at this time: snow, frost, blizzard, but in those three days that I was in their village, with such an intricate name I could not pronounce it quite sunny, well, tolerable in degrees, only minus 27.

I, then still a young green photographer, on the instructions of the editorial staff of the magazine flew to Yakutia to shoot a report about the harsh life in reindeer herding settlements, their way of life and customs. It was here, in St. Petersburg, that life was in full swing, and in the North, time flowed measuredly, everything went on as usual.

I lived in the family of Uvarov the reindeer herder. His name was Kustaeh, which meant mighty. He was truly a giant among the short and stocky Yakuts. We slept in the plague, ate fish and drank alcohol. He had a wife with the beautiful name Sinara, a very wise and modest woman in everyday life. And a bunch of kids, all the polls are all the same daughters.

When I first appeared in their village, on a polar orange all-terrain vehicle, the children crowded away and watched me, as if I was some kind of strange fossil animal. And when I went to them (I wanted to treat me with caramel), they rushed scatter. Only one child remained standing, and watching me frowningly with interest, flashing menacingly with black eyes. I went on my way not so quickly, fearing to frighten off this child too, and coming closer, I noticed that thin black pigtails were streaming down from under my headdress, and from here I came to the conclusion that I had a girl in front of me.

“Hi,” I said as friendly as possible.

— Hello Uncle, ”the girl said gravely.

I squatted down, took off my warm fur coat, put my hand in my bosom and fished out a small bag of caramel.

“Help yourself,” I handed her the whole package.

- Thank you, uncle biologist- She said and took the bag.

- I'm not a geologist, I'm a photographer.

— Satoglaf? How is that? She asked, looking at me in surprise, blinking with long black eyelashes.

- Well, I have a special device, I make them a “snap!”, Then I conjure a little, and it turns out a beautiful picture.

- My mum govolite, conjuring is bad!

“Well, I'm not bad, I'm like a good wizard,” I smiled and winked at her. She also smiled uncertainly at me.

- And where did your friends run away? I wanted to treat them to sweets too.

- And they stusili, and I'm brave!

- And what is the name of such a bold?

- Ayana.

- Beautiful name, Ayana. And I am Nikolai Sergeevich, or just Uncle Kolya. And how old are you?

“I ...,” she hesitated, then removed her fur coat and spread her five. - Here.

- Five?

“Yes, five,” she nodded confidently.

...

Three days of the northern trip flew as one, I shot a lot of material, some showed in the same place on the spot, in a geologists booth, some of the most valuable (which I did not want to risk) took with me.

Kusteh Uvarov, or just Uncle Kostya, as his geologists called him, was in the village for the main thing. By itself, of few words, with a wrinkled face hardened from frost, he nevertheless told many interesting stories, tales and legends, both fictional and real, from his life, his father, his grandfather and great-grandfather.

Despite the fact that the kids were keeping me off, little Aiyana didn’t move a single step away from me, at first trembled at every click of the camera, and then grew bolder, stood behind me, and stretched out on tiptoe, trying to look into the camera’s viewfinder. I took a few pictures of this black-haired girl, and just before leaving, I presented her with a photograph of her, she was very happy, her eyes began to shine, and then she pressed the card to her chest and said:

- When I spawn, I will also do “click!”, I will satoglafhow are you uncle Nikolay!

We, all who were near, laughed gaily then from her words.

And then, they said goodbye to the hospitable Yakuts, plunged into the cab of the all-terrain vehicle, and drove to Chersky, who continue to keep the watch and who are preparing to return home.

In St. Petersburg, my work was highly appreciated, a cash bonus was written out, and even slightly increased in service. And even one time they wanted to place a photo of little Ayyana on the cover of a magazine, but then someone paid someone money, and a completely different picture appeared on the cover.

1.

June 2010, St. Petersburg

It was late morning, I was lying in bed, and I was driving my thoughts through my head. Overhead from the ceiling hung models of various planes and strange birds. The wall opposite was all covered with photographs: my best work in the last 15 years. Africa, India, Afghanistan, Iraq, Chechnya, South Ossetia, the Sayano-Shushenskaya Hydroelectric Power Station ... no major cataclysm, catastrophe, accident or conflict, passed by me. By my almost 36 years, I have already managed to achieve something in my life: military service, two higher educations, hundreds of business trips around the world. Now I have collaborated as a photographer with several large publishing houses, such as the National Geographer, for example. Own apartment in the center of St. Petersburg, a good car, that's all. My family somehow did not work out, he had no children, he did not have a wife, only the red cat brightened my loneliness with those rare evenings when I was at home. It’s just that I’m not a homebody by nature, so I always undertake any trip to anywhere in the world, just not to hang around the four walls ...

Thought interrupted mobile call. A second confusion - to take or not, but curiosity overcame laziness (all of a sudden) and I reluctantly threw back the blanket, got out of bed and went to the nightstand where I had thrown the phone yesterday.

The connection was disgusting, everything clicked and made a noise in the phone, as if they were calling from the North Pole, and it was necessary to ask again several times.

- All ... Kolai? This is Ku ... var. Uncle Coast ...

- Who? A little louder! Can not hear anything!

- Kusteh Uvarov, ... Kutia, ... went to us to shoot ...

- Who? I do not remember! - I went over the last name of Uvarov in my memory, but there were so many of them in my life: surnames, cities, countries ...

And then in a series of fragments of phrases and radio interference, I heard “Ayana” and immediately everything fell into place. Yakutia, the 97th, my first long-distance mission, the reindeer herder Uvarov and his little black-eyed daughter Ayyana.

Kusteh was glad that I recognized him, and the conversation somehow got better, although I had to speculate and ask again. The essence of the conversation was reduced to the fact that Uncle Kostya conveyed a big hello, everything is good with him, and his daughter Ayana, who finished 11 classes with a medal, was going to go to St. Petersburg University to the journalism department this year. He didn’t ask much, just meet him at the airport whenever possible and help him get to the university, and there she would make it herself! I assured that I would do everything in the best possible way, wrote down the date and flight number, and said goodbye to that.

2.

The day promised to be hot. Despite the early morning, the sun was already scorching. The flight was delayed as usual, so I drank coffee in a cool cafe and leafed through the news on my netbook. Finally, a landing was announced, and I hurried along with the others in the arrival hall. I noticed Ayana immediately, although there were other girls of her age and nationality among the arrivals. Tall, long-haired, black-browed, with black coals of slanting eyes and a pretty smile on thin, but beautiful lips. She was dressed in tight jeans, low-heeled shoes and a light T-shirt, and a light beige jacket was tied around her waist. My experienced look of the photographer immediately saw in her the candidate for a model, and her appearance, and the way she moved, everything emphasized her photogenicity and femininity! Glancing around the crowd of people they met, she unmistakably headed towards me, although I was not in the front ranks. She had a small suitcase on wheels and a case with her ...