detail from: KRK Art dizajn - Novi Sad

A CHILD OF FIRST LOVE

A NOVEL IN INSTALLMENTS-2

And time passed like that, and nothing significant happened, Boris almost didn't call his family. He wrote maybe twice a year, and only his older sister answered his letters and advised him not to come home during school holidays because his father says that he will stop him, there are always jobs at home. And in the village where they lived, his uncle worked in a peasant labor cooperative and it was difficult to live. There was not enough food, and Boris was not even given any help because he was not Đura's son and he was not registered with them at the time of colonization. His aunt was a very strict woman and forced him to do everything, and for food she limited what and when he could get to eat. In addition to all that, after only two years had passed, Uncle Đuro died suddenly, so at the age of fourteen, Boris remained the only male head in the house and had to go to work. And to make matters worse, the manager of the cooperative gave him only half the wage for each day of work, telling him that he was small and needed to eat less. He could never forget that. He was constantly hungry. He went to school barefoot until the end of October, he had nothing to wear. He was a very good student and his friends accepted him nicely. He made good friends in his neighborhood and the neighbors loved him because he was hardworking and obedient. As his friends had bicycles, and he did not have the money to buy them for himself, he collected the parts from the waste and from his friends, so he assembled the first bicycle for himself. And after that, they soon met him in the village. Whoever needed medicine in the neighborhood, Boris would ride his bicycle to the neighboring villages, where there were pharmacies, and bring them medicine. He also procured other things, and he did not want to receive any gift from anyone. Despite all the difficulties he went through, he was always cheerful. He never complained to anyone. In their nearest neighborhood lived Đura's daughter, whose husband worked in a shop, so he brought Boris a notebook and a pen for the beginning of each school year, and Boris procured the papers for taking notes at school, secretly from the municipal attic, on to whom Swabian documents were left, from before the war. He did that together with his classmate Vojko.

His aunt was ruthless, forcing him to ride a bicycle to the markets, up to 20 kilometers away. He did it on weekends, usually on Sundays, when he didn't go to school. He did all the work in the gardens and at home before going to school or after arriving, depending on how he had classes on which week. His friends from the neighborhood, who had parents, were in far more privileged positions, but Boris never complained. When he had little free time, he also went with the boys to play balls, and the balls were "patchwork" at that time. He could only go to the cinema if the duty officer gave him a free ticket. It went similarly with ice cream. There was an ice cream maker (Shiptar) in the village, to whom Boris turned the mixer and made ice cream, and as a reward he received one chip for free. He also raised silkworms, which did not pay off in any way. He learned to swim on the Danube, but almost drowned in it. He was saved by the fisherman Slobodan. After that event, he said, he saw himself in a coffin and his funeral as he sank into the water. From that event, his third life actually began. The second started for him after his older sister rescued him on Tent Mountain in exile. He would later experience more dangerous events that could have cost him his life. His childhood was turbulent, but he got away with it at every opportunity.

As the years passed, Boris was once asked what he would like to be when he grows up, to which he replied:

- I would most like to be an engineer, but I know that I will never be given that opportunity.

-Never say "never", life can bring unexpected situations. Maybe you will become a very famous engineer, said his friend Vojko, and continued: -There are countless cases in life where famous people were poor and without parents, and yet they succeeded. I wish you luck and that you become an engineer, so that we all remember you with pride.

When he was already sixteen, Boris liked to hang out with his first neighbor, Dusanka, who was a little older than him. She challenged him, and she was the first to teach him how to kiss a guy and a girl. Dusanka allowed him to touch the girl's breasts for the first time, but she didn't give in to him until the end. When he was alone with her, she excited him so much that he thought he was going crazy. Every time Dusanka would excite him, she would suddenly run away.

For four full years Boris did not dare to go home to see his own, he was afraid that his father would keep him from working the land. That year, when he finished eight years old, his sister came to visit him and suggested that he come to them and continue school. He didn't even think about the type of school, it was important to escape from a village where there was no future. He agreed and informed his aunt, his mistress, about his decision.

***

By agreement with his sister, he bought a bus ticket and started a new life. He had previously said goodbye to his neighbor Dusanka and his friends and neighbors, and his aunt escorted him to the bus. He packed all his things in one bag. When he got on the bus, he waved to his aunt and saw that she was crying. The bus left for Novi Sad. In Novi Sad, his sister Natasa was waiting for him with her younger daughter Ivana, her older daughter Monica, she left her alone in the apartment, because she had no one to leave her in custody. That same sister Natasha saved Boris from certain death during the last war. She was his savior on this occasion as well. Boris's future began in Novi Sad. In those days, Boris dared to travel to Bosnia, to visit his father, second sister Nevena and brother. He arrived by train in the evening and spent the night in a hotel, in dirty bedding. That hotel disgusted him but there was no better.

Early the next day, he set off for the village on foot, and the road led him in front of Branka's house. The case was that Branka was standing in front of the house and recognized Boris. She ushered him into the house and introduced him to Dunja. At that time, Dunja was already a girl, a little over fourteen years old, very beautiful, with long curly hair and she was a completely grown girl, with pronounced breasts. Boris greeted her and looked at her curiously, he wanted to kiss her but they were both shy. Branka's mother looked at them sharply.

"Why did you shut up?" Branka asked them. You haven't seen each other for four years and you're silent as if you don't know each other. To this Boris will:

- I didn't even think I'd stop by your place, and I'm glad to see you. I came to see my own, and I'm afraid my father will stop me. That's why I enrolled in the Technical School before leaving, so if he tries to do that, I'll tell him not to stop me and I'll run away.

- You did well Boris, Branka answered him. - We only have a high school here, so I will enroll my Dušica to continue, at least to finish high school. My children, learn when you have the opportunity, yet schools are your future.

Branka offered Boris breakfast, but he refused, justifying that he had already had breakfast, and he bought only one muffin in the bakery. He continued home to the village and promised to stop by on his way back.

He stayed in the village for two months, during the school holidays. During that time, he kept cattle with his old friends, renewed his childhood games and visited his former school. He also saw his former teacher Milan. He told him that he had enrolled in the Technical School, in which the teacher congratulated him and wished him good success. At home, he worked mostly with his brother, although his father did not express a desire to stop him in the countryside. He mentioned it once, asking:

- What are you up to? Would you like to continue your schooling or would you prefer to come back? Well, if you're thinking of coming home, I think you already have a beautiful girl to marry. It seems to me that Branka is cheering for her daughter, and she is a really beautiful girl and she seems very modest to me.

- I have already enrolled in the Technical School and I will continue my education in Novi Sad. When I finish school, then I will decide what I will do and whether I will return to Bosnia, Boris answered him, and continued: - It is too early to think about marriage. My older brother isn't even thinking about getting married yet. You in the countryside would like to marry your sons as soon as possible just to get a new workforce in the house. Quince is very beautiful and modest. I like her very much, but she is still a child, and if the two of us will fall in love, it is too early to think about it. Maybe she will find someone closer to her, and not wait for me. to return from Novi Sad. And his father Vladimir no longer tried to stay. He agreed with Boris that he could go when he wanted.

Before the end of August, Boris packed up his little clothes and set off. His father decided to send him to the train, so he filled a bag of vegetables and fruits for Branka and Dunja, and took himself and Boris for lunch with dried meat and a whole cheese, which they made at home. Arriving in the city, they stopped by Branka. She did not expect them, but she was happy for them. When Vladimir took what he had brought her out of the bag, he also offered her a loaf of cheese, for which Branka was immensely grateful. She suggested to Vladimir:

- You will both stay with me for lunch, and Boris will spend the night and tomorrow the two of us will send him on the train.

"I don't mind, if you think it suits you," Vladimir told her and made himself comfortable.

And while they were sitting and drinking coffee, Dunja, who had returned from the store, entered the house. She was surprised when she saw them in the house and said goodbye to both guests. This time she was cheerful and did not seem shy. She even signaled to Boris to come to her room while her parents drank coffee. And Boris got up immediately, said nothing to his father and Branka, just closed the door behind him. And when father Vladimir planned to go home, Branka entered their room without knocking and found them embracing. Branka would be glad to see them like that, and they were both trembling, so confused and flushed, and Branka said:

-So you, as soon as you are alone, you can love each other. But let's face it, it's beautiful. May you both be happy and your mother will be happy with you. Sorry. But Vladimir returns home so he wants to say goodbye.

He entered the room, hugged Boris first and kissed him, and then hugged Dunja and kissed both. Branka asked Boris how old he was, and he unanswered her:

- Just when I was in the village with my family, I turned sixteen. Because of the war, I went to school when I was eight years old.

- And my Dunja, you probably know, turned fourteen in May.

- I didn't know, but I judged it myself.

- So you're about two years older than Dunja. You are just right for each other.

Dunja replied: - Come on, mom, you would like to marry me, and I haven't even finished school yet. We still have plenty of time for that.

When they got home, while Branka was preparing dinner, Dunja and Boris went to her room and started kissing. Boris took her around the waist, pulled her to him and felt her breasts on his. Their faces were glowing and their eyes dilated. They both blazed with excitement. They experienced their first true embrace suddenly and for a short time. Mom invited them into the house and they had to separate. And when they entered the kitchen, Branka looked at them curiously, noticing what they were doing because they were both red in the face. She didn't tell them anything, and just offered them a seat at the table. And when Branka, after dinner, went to bathe first, the two of them continued to cuddle.

The next day, everyone got up a little earlier than usual, because Boris was on the train. Both Dunja and his mother Branka escorted him to the station. Along the way, they agreed that Boris would write to them, and Dunja would also write to him, because their mother did her best to maintain their relationship. When the train entered the station, they both said goodbye to Boris, hugging him with a few kisses. Dunja kissed him three times on both cheeks, according to the usual Serbian custom, knowing that they were in a public place. From the train, Boris waved at them from the window until the train disappeared in a nearby tunnel. When they returned home, Branka asked Dunja along the way:

- Quince, daughter, how do you like him?

-Mom, to be honest I think Boris is a serious guy, I just think he's pretty shy.

- You are both children and you are inexperienced. When you grow up, everything will be different and in its place. - Stay in touch with him, it's a good opportunity. The future is before you and may it be with happiness.

***

When Boris arrived in Novi Sad, everything was new for him. His school year had begun, and he hadn't met the city yet. Everyone at school was unknown to him. The professors seemed to him quite strict and too serious, and some professional subjects were completely unknown. But what is there is, he had to accept the situation as it is. In the neighborhood where he lived, he met a friend, George, who was walking with him. George had lived there before, he knew the city and gave Boris the impression that he was pretending to be too important. He began to feel a little insecure and was too withdrawn. In the building where he lived, he soon met a girl, Drenka, maybe a year younger than himself. Her mother was very pleasant and in good relations with Boris's sister, so she accepted Boris with good intentions. In front of their building, there were spacious fields where children played various games in their free time. Boris did not join them until he felt that he was coping at school. He took the beginning of the school year seriously and from the very beginning he tried to do his homework and study materials. He especially focused on unknown professional subjects: Mechanical elements, Metal processing technology, Mechanics, and Mathematics, and he did not like history. The history teacher simply put him to sleep during the lecture with her monotonous voice. He liked the subject of English, probably because of the teacher, who left a very pleasant impression and seemed like a parent. And when the physical education teacher saw how thin he was, he suggested that he enroll in the "Partizan" physical education society.

"I can't do anything as a gymnast, teacher," said Boris. - Don't worry about what you can and can't do. You will learn. Partizan will help you improve physically and healthily. - Let me know when you sign up! The teacher gave it to him as a task, and Boris accepted it and passed it on to his sister and her husband at home. They both agreed.

After adjusting to the school conditions, he wrote a letter of his own and another letter to Dunja. He wrote to them briefly about how his school year had begun and asked Dunja to write to him as well. Time passed and there was no answer from her. He didn't know if he had done something wrong while he was with them, but he decided to wait.

As the school year went on, Boris learned more and more, although in the beginning he did not start with the grades as expected, but from the second semester he started to get better. At that time, he already knew almost all his classmates, and he also met the teachers and began to feel safer. At the end of the first year, he achieved very good success, so his sister and brother-in-law were satisfied. He was treated to a cinema ticket, during which he watched the first Yugoslav film "Long Live This Nation". He then went to the cinema with Drenko and her brother.

It was only when he was in the second grade that he received a letter from Dunja, in which she apologized that her mother had received the letter and given it to her two months later. She says she left him in her room, and forgot to tell her about him, and Dunja didn't notice him and that's how it went.

Time flowed as usual, Boris would go to school.

When he finished the first year of technical school, he traveled by train to Dubrovnik, and from Dubrovnik to Rijeka by boat "Partizanka". That was the first time he saw the sea. He saw Dubrovnik, spent a day on Hvar, walked along the waterfront in Split, set foot on the soil of Šibenik and Zadar and at the end of that trip visited Opatija and spent another night in Rijeka, and then returned home.

When he finished the second grade, the school principal provided him with a scholarship, which helped him financially, so that he no longer felt that he was a burden to his sister and brother-in-law. Since then, he has been the best student in the subject of Descriptive Geometry with the same school principal who taught that subject. He always managed to be great and the director took him as an example. During the summer, he rode his bicycle to his village, 60 km away, to visit his "old friends". He was most looking forward to meeting his neighbor Dušanka, who reminded him with her breasts of Gino Lolobridjid.

During the winter break in the third year, Boris's class went skiing in Slovenia, where everyone learned to ski, and during the summer break, he did a holiday practice in "Pobeda", where a drill caught his right hand, from which he fainted and fell next to the machine. He was rescued by a master who worked with that machine.

***

That year, after finishing the third grade, he came to Bosnia again. He was nineteen at the time and felt safe traveling alone. On the way to his village, he stopped in front of Branka's house to check if she and Dunja were still there and how they were. Branka was very surprised, she did not expect him and immediately brought him into the house. Quince had just gotten up, she had just gone to wash herself, her eyes were still dreamy.

When Boris hugged her she could not come to her senses. She thought she was dreaming, so she rubbed her eyes to make sure.

- When did you arrive? She asked him, then continued: - Why didn't you write?

-You haven't written to me for a long time, so I thought you didn't love me anymore, and I wasn't even sure if I would see you, and now I see you're a real girl. You look fantastic. Now that I see what you look like, I have reason to fall in love.

-How long are you staying this time and will you have time to come to us? We could spend a few days together, do you agree?

- I agree and I will try to come to you on my way back from the village, if you accept me. You have to ask Mom for permission.

Dunja laughed and then went to the bathroom, and mother Branka prepared breakfast for all three. They talked about the past, and Branka bragged the most about her unit daughter.

- If you love and adore her like that, said Boris, what would you do if someone stole it from you?

- Her mother takes good care of her and no one can steal her, and when she wants to, she will get her mother's permission. Only mom has to agree.

Branka then asked how Boris was at school and if he intended to start working as soon as he finished. When she heard that Boris had a scholarship, it was a sign to her that she had a job and could count on her daughter's marriage. She saw security in him.

On his return from the village, Boris planned to stay one day with Dunja and her mother. The two of them received him with pleasure. After discussing many topics, and most of all the plans for Boris' future job, mother Branka cared very much about the belief that she could count on a secure future for her daughter. She even let Boris know, while Dunja just kept quiet and listened. Boris did not answer her, he knew that they were both still students and that they were too young for marriage. He only admitted to her that he liked Dunja.

In the afternoon, Dunja was supposed to water the flowers in the house of the neighbors who were absent. When she left, Boris went with her. In the house, watering flowers began to caress each other. At first, Dunja felt ashamed, and when Boris hugged her and pulled her to him, touching her chest with his chest, she relaxed. With their eyes closed, their lips met and redness appeared on their faces. They both felt each other's warmth. Kissing, Boris touched her breasts, which aroused Dunja and she hugged him tightly. They stood so hugging in front of the window that looked out on the garden, and her wavy hair covered their faces. Time stopped for them then, and when they separated for a break, Dunja told Boris that she loved him.

-I love you too Dunja and that's why I stopped by to tell you. All these past years, since we first saw each other, I've been thinking about you and I've felt sad when you haven't called me. I thought I lost you forever, but this time I came to see for myself. And I’m glad I was wrong. I love you! - Will you write to me now?

- I will, I promise!

- You know, when you first wrote me your letters, my mom read them too. She is a very strange person, she cares too much about me, and she just talks about how she wants to marry me well, which bothers me, but she is like that. Don't tell her I told you that. If I notice later that she is still interested in my letters, I will give you a new address where you can write to me. Sorry, we have to go home now, you'll see they ask where we've stayed so long. She will know what we did, and that will be her excuse. She will see from our eyes and from her face what we were doing.

They left the neighbor's house embracing, and then they held hands. When Dunja’s, mother, saw them holding hands, she was full of happiness.

Dunja and Boris spent the afternoon on the beach by the river. They enjoyed looking at each other, and Boris was fascinated by her appearance. The harmony of her body could only be seen in the films of American actresses. And the color of her long wavy hair was more beautiful than any girl she had seen before. Boris felt proud that he was the one with the most beautiful girl on the beach. And Dunja was also proud of Boris, because he came from afar, while all the other young men on the beach are local, well known to everyone, and are of less interest. Dunja's friends looked at them secretly, ready to ask her the next day who it was.

In the evening, in Dunja's room, they had the opportunity to help each other while Branka was preparing dinner for them, and when Boris was set to sleep, Branka wished him a good night's sleep, and Dunja kissed him goodbye. In the morning, when he was about to leave, Dunja told her mother:

- This time I'll see him off myself. I'm old enough and you don't have to follow my every step anymore. Dunja was then seventeen years old and was a grown girl in the true sense. On the way to the station, they passed by the photo shop "Nijaz", in the window of which Dunja's photograph was enlarged, as the most beautiful face of the city. Indeed, her lush wavy hair partially covered her face with a half-smile, and her auburn eyes attracted every passer-by to stop and look around. Boris was delighted and asked Dunja to send him one such photo. And while they were waiting at the station, Boris secretly caressed her face and managed to kiss her in both eyes several times. When the train docked, they hugged and kissed, and then he got on the train and waved at her from the window. Quince was returning home with tears in her eyes as the train rattled down the Una Valley. It was afternoon and Boris was going to travel all night, with a few passing transfers.

***

The next day, after he arrived, Boris called Dunja, and his family only after a few days. A week later, the school year began, Boris went to the fourth grade, and Dunja to the third grade of high school. This time the letters came to them more frequently. In them, beautiful words of description and wishes, they were both looking forward to arriving as soon as possible. On one occasion, Dunja put cotton wool soaked in perfume in her letter, and when the same arrived at the address at the school, Boris's friend George took it and took it home. He asked Boris:

- What do you think the girl who would send you perfume in the letter thinks?

Boris remained confused, he did not know what it could refer to, and George added:

- Well, that girl definitely loves you, and then she took the letter out of his pocket.

Boris just laughed and told George who the girl was. George wished them both happiness, with the hope that they would get married.

While he was a student of the fourth grade of the secondary technical school, Boris regularly practiced in Partizan and that spring he participated in the gymnastics championship of Serbia in Kragujevac. He was also an ever better student, as he approached the end of the school year, he achieved better and better success, and even passed his graduation exam with great success, and for the written composition in the Serbian language he received the award of the Writers' Union of Yugoslavia, as the best in school.

As soon as he graduated, after a week, he started working in a company that gave him a scholarship. His first job was in the plant, and he worked in shifts. Unaccustomed to night work, the night shift was very difficult for him. Less than nine months later, he received a call-up for military service, which freed him from night work. And when he served in the army, he returned to the same job. He worked and kept quiet, he didn't complain to anyone, he had no reason because it was the same for others. He corresponded with Dunja and received praise and encouragement from her letters. Dunji wrote beautiful letters, assuring her that he loved her and hoped that the two of them would remain one forever. It didn't take him long to find out that Dunja's mother still came to her letters and that she read them too. It is true that Boris sent her letters to the school address, but she left them at home in her desk drawer, which her mother found and read. She was very curious and persuaded her daughter to get married soon. Knowing that Boris finished school, got a job, and even served in the army, her mother planned that it was time for the wedding.

One day, suddenly, Boris finds himself in the yard of the company where he meets the director. Boris, withdrawn, looking at the director with awe, tried to walk away as soon as possible, but he stopped him and asked:

- Would you like to study? A new faculty for engineering in the food industry will open in the fall in Novi Sad, so we would be willing to give you a scholarship, because otherwise you were a good student in high school. We expect you to be good in college and finish it on time.

Boris was taken aback, so confused, he began to answer:

- Of course, if I wanted to, I dreamed about the profession of engineering as a child, but I always knew that I would never have the opportunity to do so. We died in the war and I am poor, I have to work yes.

The next day, Boris called Dunja with a detailed explanation of what was proposed to him and what was ahead of him. - I can't and must not refuse that. - You know that I love you the most in the world, so now the situation is changing somewhat. I will try to come to you before going to college to agree on everything personally. I love you.

When Dunja received that letter, she cried, and her mother, like her mother, who took too much care of her and tried to marry her as soon as possible, even though Dunja was only nineteen, read that letter as well, she got angry and began to plan: -Either he will marry immediately, or there will be nothing from the marriage. You are already nineteen years old, you finished high school and it is time for you to start a family. And I married younger than you, now that I was eighteen, and I gave birth to you at twenty. If you don't get married soon, who knows if you will have a similar opportunity later. I don't want to marry you ever. Write him a letter right away either to be ready for marriage or to forget you. If you don't want to write to him, I'll write to him. If he doesn't want to get married, he shouldn't come to us. She left Dunja's room and slammed the door behind her.

Quinn stayed to cry. She didn't know what to do. She could not oppose her mother, and she could not write to Boris what her mother had ordered her to do. The next day, her mother asked, "Did you write to him?"

- I didn't and I won't, I can't. I love him mom and he loves me. He nicely suggested that he wants to come and make an agreement, and you refuse. You write that to him, I can't.

Branka also changed her mind for a while whether to write that, so as day after day passed, she did not write anything, and as the answer did not reach Boris for a long time, he wrote a letter again asking if he should come. And when he doesn't get anything even then, he falls silent and stops writing.

He gave his consent to the director for his studies, and he did not sleep at home at night. He was tormented by what could be the reason why Dunja didn't call him again. He decided to write her another letter, perhaps the last, in which he suggested that she come to him in Novi Sad. But even that letter was never answered. It may take about half a year, when Boris was already largely studying, an acquaintance from his place will come and tell him that he met Branka and that she complained to him about Boris. She told him that she should not think about Dunja anymore, and that she would get married soon. Upon learning of such a decision, he accepted it as a fact and stopped writing. He concentrated on his studies, which cooled him down over time, although he could not forget Dunja. At night, he imagined how beautiful and handsome she was, and her body, her breasts, eyes, hair and lips were always on his mind. He could not accept the fact that it would belong to another from then on. He wanted to know how Dunja felt and what she was thinking, but he had no way of finding out anything about it. Her mom played the main decision.

It will be continued

Technical school in Novi Sad

SHARE THIS PAGE ON: