Page 39 - Revelation

Svetlana de Rohan-Levashova. Revelation

usual and normal for me and, unfortunately, made me suffer quite often...

Anaesthesia

That winter I acquired the next new "abnormality" which, probably, can be called
self- anaesthesia. Regrettably, it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Just as very
many of my "strange" manifestations which suddenly and very brightly opened in me
did and then disappeared, leaving only good or bad recollections in my enormous
personal "brain archive". But even that short time, when this "novelty" was "active",
was enough for two quite interesting events to happen.

The winter had already come and my class-mates began more often to go to a
skating rink. I was not a big fan of figure-skating (more precisely, I preferred to watch
it), but our skating rink was so beautiful that I simply liked to be there. It was arranged
every winter on the town's stadium which was built right in the forest (as was a greater
part of our town) and was surrounded by a high brick wall which made it look like a
diminutive city.
An enormous beautifully decorated new-year tree was there already from
October and the wall around the stadium was decorated with hundreds of
multicoloured bulbs the reflections of which interlaced on the ice like a very beautiful
shining carpet. Pleasant music sounded there every evening. All that created an
agreeable festive atmosphere which nobody would wish to leave. All the children
from our street went there and of course, I went with them. So, the accident about
which I would like to tell you happened precisely on one of those pleasant quiet
evenings.
Usually we skated making a chain of three or four children, because it was not
quite safe to skate alone. The reason for that was a number of boys who came every

evening to play a nasty "catching" game. They spoiled everybody's enjoyment and
were disliked by all. Several of them would join together and, skating very quickly,
try to catch the girls and knock them off their feet. The girls were usually unable to
withstand the blow and fell onto the ice. It was all accompanied by laughter and
whooping, which many found foolish, but, for some reason, nobody made any attempt
to stop.
It always surprised me, that among so many almost adult guys nobody was
angered enough or at least touched by this situation to feel forced into to producing
some kind of counteraction. Maybe they were, but fear was stronger. There is a foolish
saying: "Being cheeky is fun". So, these "catchers" took others prisoner by their
frankly not funny insolent behaviour. It happened every night and nobody even tried
to stop these obnoxious fellows.

One evening I was caught in exactly the same foolish "trap". I did not skate well
and therefore tried to stay as far away as possible from the mad "catchers", but it did
not help much, because they rushed about all over the rink like beings possessed,
sparing nobody. Therefore, no matter whether I wanted it or not, our collision was
inevitable.
The push was very strong and the whole moving pile of our bodies fell on the
ice. I was not hurt, but I suddenly felt something hot flow down my ankle and my leg

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