Suzdel

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Suzdal
09/15/2010

After paced the Monastery of Saint Euthymius for a long time, I was tired. I saw a monastery behind the river. The gentle sunshine was shedding, at the surface of river, and the river was murmuring in the breeze. Beside the bank was a grass field and woods. The domed roof was decorated in this scenery.

I walked down the bank and across the small creaking wooden bridge. Two boys next to the bank looked at me curiously.

Here was a small inhabited region. Some Russian traditional log cabins were located in both sides. Wires spanned above my head, and twisted atop the pole, then were tapped inside the houses. Some house had dish antenna in yard.

After the inhabited region, the mottled wall was ahead of me. It looked like a jail compound in the other side. Then I got the gate and in. Except me, only a Russian couple was there.

I paced in the monastery with fatigue. I looked at the porch and saw two persons emerged out of the door. Before they turned to leave, they cross in front of chest toward inside, where some melody streamed from. I reached the porch, hesitated for several minutes, and then pulled the door.

The nun was chanting. I sat down on a bench next to door. This church was plain. The wall-paintings were not as gorgeous as others. But this was a profound passage, unexpectedly, and fortunately.

I definitely had no idea what she was singing. Christian religion was unfamiliar for me, a Chinese. However, it didn’t matter at all. I was deeply moved by the solemn atmosphere.

Me, a stranger, how come to be here? This was a question frequently emerged in mind during my journey. I always had an imperfect answer, and this kind of moment was involved. Moreover, it completed it.

I left the church at sunset. The surface of river was glitter with golden light. I walked back along the way I came. The pavement was littered with leaves fell from the tossing twigs. Rest leaves in the trees aside the way had almost been yellow, and the other rest were swing down by the wind…. Next month, I would go to central Asia. I thought it would be autumn scenery in Kyrgyz mountain region then.

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