by Paulina | Oct 16, 2021 | traditional art |
She heard laughter from behind the tree, and before she could locate its owner with her eyes, the branch moved, and a smiling gentleman emerged from behind it. – I couldn’t take it anymore, he told her joyfully – Don’t touch me ugly man! – Nuszka threw a handful of blueberries at the stranger as if it were to be any weapon against him. – You wish! Maybe you are not ugly, but some kind of … blue – he looked at her with a smile, tilting his head slightly She bent down to look at her reflection and saw intense purple streaks on her face from passionately consumed berries. – Who are you and where did you get so many berries from? – the man inquired – Go away – she replied, standing up cautiously – they were here when I woke up – When you woke up? Wait… – Go away! – she shouted, throwing a short but thick stick raised from the ground at him The surprised man managed to jump to the side. – You’re wild! – Oh yes I am! – I’m not going to hurt you. – his tone softened. She didn’t answer. Until a few days ago, she might have been a threat to him. Now she felt vulnerable. – I’ve been watching you for a while, you look lost. Where are you from? – I will not talk to the man – Really? – he was honestly surprised by this – did any hurt you so much? – I think so – she replied, remembering the vision she had in Baba Yaga’s hut The man couldn’t help laughing again: – “I think so” – he repeated after her – come with me to the village, at least they will dress you somehow and you will go on your way – Be gone – she absolutely did not like this idea – Okay, I’m leaving and you starve to death if you want. You won’t survive for long eating blueberries. He turned around and picked up his bow and arrows from the grass behind the tree. Greatly intrigued by the wild stranger, he walked away without looking back until the first bushes passed by. From behind them he coded in his memory every trail that could later direct him to the girl, and he knew that this would not be the last time he saw her. *** She stood and watched him go until she lost sight of him. Despite her belief in evil intentions and fear of every human being, she was exhausted by the constant sense of insecurity. She was on the verge of jumping up and running after him. ...
by Paulina | Oct 15, 2021 | traditional art |
The only thing that she felt was serenity and safety. And presence of a protective element really close to her. Waking up didnt make sense at all, so she kept...
by Paulina | Mar 19, 2021 | traditional art |
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by Paulina | Feb 1, 2021 | traditional art |
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by Paulina | Jan 31, 2021 | traditional art |
– I think I was someone else before and … I loved a man … And I wonder why we hate them now. – Because they are evil! And this witch is trying to deceive you, she stinks of people. You are constantly trying to question the wisdom of our old traditions. – I’m not questioning, I… I think people may be similar to us … – Be silent! – mamuna roared with such power that the fire almost extinguished. The other mamunas and young rusalkas approached curiously to hear better. – Recalcitrant, ungrateful – mamuna said slowly – I take care of you, protect you, and you slip away to ask the enemy for advice! You come back and turn against us! – You didn’t want to help me when I asked. – Help? You’re making fun of our principles. I say this and you do otherwise. You don’t need help, you need a whip over your head! Nushka looked around. Glowing eyes staring at her everywhere. She felt an enormous space between herself and them, greater than ever before. It was her family, whose head kept saying that together they were strength, yet being with them she felt so fragile and weak. How is it possible that with this “bad” Baba Yaga, she felt safe? Her whole heart boiled in a split second. She quickly reached for the ax lying nearby. It must have been left there by the man she had let escape. All relatives held their breath. Nushka looked furiously at the surprised mamuna, but the blow that she was about to receive was not aimed directly at her. Nushka knelt beside a lying log, laid her long hair on it, and clumsily, with a few swings, she cut off most of it. With eyes full of tears, she faced her mother and screamed in fury: – It’s all a lie! I don’t want to live here! She threw the ax and the cut off hair, and ran deeper into the woods. With each step the enormous power her mother had bestowed on her in order to harm people, was slowly leaving her. ...
by Paulina | Jan 25, 2021 | traditional art |
Overwhelmed by what she had learned last night, Nushka without much hesitation headed for the habitat of her relatives. She had a fever. It was dark inside the great cavity made of vines and plant roots, and the space was illuminated by a small fire in the middle. What is that rag you’re wearing? – a stern female voice rang out slowly from the darkness – and why you’re so dazed? The owner of the voice emerged from the darkness. It was a strange creature with caricatured signs of aging in a woman’s body – long, pendulous breasts and wrinkled, pale skin. Thin gray hairs covered her whole body. Mamuna, I had to get dressed because I went to Baba Yaga Ignoring the expression of anger on her mother’s face, Nushka slowly approached the place where one of her sisters was dancing with a lured man. He was sweating all over, panting as if he was about to die, and yet there was a mindless smile on his face and his eyes seemed to be obscured by mist. The boginka was holding his hands and laughing happily. When he got closer to Nuszka in a dance leap, she grabbed him firmly by the shoulders, tearing him out of the boginka’s embrace, and slapped him in the face. The man came to his senses and his smile slowly turned into an expression of utter surprise. Run – she whispered to him With the last of his strength, the man ran out of the cavity, and the speechless relatives of Nushka stared at her. Well well well – the old woman’s voice took on a poisonous tone – share with us what you learned from her. ...
by Paulina | Aug 28, 2020 | traditional art |
– How did this happen? It wasn’t me, after all … – Nushka said, taking small sips of a sweet, soothing infusion with dried berries floating in it. Fresh morning air blew through the window – There is more than a pile of bones and flesh in you. – baba brought her face closer to the girl, as if revealing a secret – do you know how a new life is created? – Well, you have to have an intercourse with a man or sneak a child from a village woman. The girl’s clear-cut answer caught baba off guard for a moment. Her mind wandered back to a very distant past, when she spent many hours developing formulas for love potions. – At least you know that much. Listen to me – baba extended her hand to the raven sitting on the back of the chair, and it rested politely on her hand. She stroked its back with her fingers – as one dies, the spirit of that person flies away. She paused for a moment, concentrating on petting the raven. – The same spirit later returns as a bird to fly into someone who is being born. This person gets a spirit that has lived some experiences. Could have experienced abundance and happiness, but also completely different things … – So I saw myself – The same spirit is in you – baba confirmed – Can I see more? Have some more of this potion? – You saw as much as you were ready to see. I won’t help you any more neither will the potion. Baba is...
by Paulina | Aug 16, 2020 | traditional art |
She opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was that she was sitting on a bench next to some hut, surrounded by a forest and the sound of birds singing. Even though she couldn’t see her reflection, she felt that she was a young girl, but not herself. The surroundings were clear but in constant motion. In a place of a tree, after a while appeared a cut trunk, and in the place where the soil had been dug, grain grew and then it turned into a stubble. A man sat down next to her, she loved him. He wiped the sweat from his forehead after a hard work and hugged her lovingly. They sat together listening to the sounds of each other’s breathing with the nature sounds in the background. Children began to appear. She looked down, where she had seen two golden braids on her breast earlier – they were gone. Her hair was tucked under a headscarf, and the man was still at her side. She was full of happiness. It was a strange feeling that, being Nushka, she had never experienced. Unexpectedly, the picture broke off and soon she was inside the hut. She really wanted to go back to the previous situation, but it was not in her hands. Everything worked automatically. She tossed a few dried plants into a pot of boiling water, then reached for the prepared cabbage leaves and turned around. There was an old man sitting on a stool in front of whom she crouched down and began to put leaves on his swollen knee. “It will be fine,” she said with a smile which was returned. The picture blurred. Everything quickly became chaotic. For a long moment she saw the unsympathetic gaze of her beloved one. After a while, feeling all her body tied, she heard her scream and felt a terrifying fear. Under the rush of her own emotions and the emotions of people, whose presence she could not see but felt, she was less and less able to define what’s happening. Suddenly a coolness embraced her body. She looked hopefully at a bright spot in the distance, but it was becoming less and less clear … *** Several hours have passed since the last screams of Nushka, deep in a strange sleep. Baba sat next to her, eyes closed, the heavy smell of incense in the air. -Baba – Nushka’s quiet voice was heard. Baba jumped up in her chair –...
by Paulina | Aug 15, 2020 | traditional art |
After a long time of searching for something in the corner, baba emerged carrying a small cauldron in both hands. She put it on the table next to a bunch of different items, probably some ingredients of potions. She grabbed a vial with an owl’s eye drenched in the cloudy liquid and added one drop to the cauldron. The contents hissed, a dense steam rose. Unable to control her instinctive reaction, Nushka jumped up from the chair with offensive intentions, only to be pushed back to the chair by some invisible, powerful impulse after a split second. She looked stunned at baba who continued to work on the mixture, now with her back to the girl. – Sit down – baba said calmly – You were supposed to help me, not feed me with some … – If you disturb me, I will poison you! … And will I help? Hmm … Seeing the truth is good for one, but curse for another … Nushka decided it was better not to ask too many questions. She has heard many frightening stories about baba and has just discovered that she is not an ordinary old woman. After a long while, during which Nushka was stroking the woman’s little cat, wondering if she was doing the right thing, baba returned with a ladle full of liquid that looked like water from pickled cucumbers. – Drink it, don’t smell it – the potion was dripping to the floor She noticed the confused expression on the girl’s face. – Go ahead, drink it – her voice sounded supportive this time. With two sips,...
by Paulina | Aug 14, 2020 | traditional art |
– What’s your name? – Noshka Baba gave a soft whistling laugh. “Stupid name,” she said The presence of the girl made no difference to her. She didn’t hold herself from picking her nose and humming hoarsely. – From black cumin (PL charnoshka)- replied Noshka – Ah … I have to collect … – baba muttered under her breath – so what do you want? Noshka sighed heavily because she did not know where to start. She was just about to say something when she realized that baba suddenly appeared right next to her and was looking at her with a frown. – Show me your face – she took the girl’s face in one hand, and with the other she pulled her eyelid looking intently into the girl’s eye. – you feel bad … heavy soul … stinks … Baba turned and dived into the corner of the hut looking for something while her little cat did not take his eyes off Noshka...
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