FROM THE EDITOR

Dr. Emzar Djgerenaia

Don’t worry, be happy!
Don’t worry, “happy” nation.
Delicious autumn, boon, favoured and golden,
Autumn, laden with the blood of the grape.
Tender nature
And countrymen rejoicing
With cups full of wine
And rewarding toil

I strolled purposelessly in a street covered with yellow and red carpet of leaves…And breathed in greedily the cool air of the autumn jealously contemplating my city. Someone offered me grapes. Fruits were in abundance here, and human prattle resembled a symphony.
Someone repaired gas pipes, an “erector” checked the reliability of electric lines, a worker dressed in black was going to cover asphalt with pitch. Life was ebullient in the country and steam stood over the city.
Suddenly, a boy and a girl appeared in the idyll like Little Red Riding Hood’s mushrooms. The couple beamed with smiles. One might think they did not live in this forsaken country, but they have rather been a prince and princess from a fairy-tale land. They carried a bag looking like the Little Red Riding Hood with its basket. The couple offered me some brochures instead of buns. As I was going to read something at any rate, I decided to take the brochure and read it carefully instead of reading press with its long stories like novels of Duma and with its boring articles like reports of the government.
Yes, it was a pre-election programme of a certain party. I read it in detail, and the promises seemed so sweet to me. The Little Red Riding Hood’s buns were nothing to it! Then other star- boys and girls gave me this brochure. I have already had seven of them by the end of the street. As seven is a sacred, holy number, I did not take any more of them. I read them to all of my students: we will provide you with jobs – Oh, it is good! We will employ you, treat you – I liked it, many people need this; we will regain Abkhazia, we will bring democracy and freedom, we will make economy prosperous (I thought May was season of prosperity), we will form army and provide electricity and gas free of charge (they did not make any allusions as to what gas was meant).
This made me very pleased. Then I gathered all of the programmes together and looked up at the sky to see whether the heavenly paradise came down to us. No, the sky was in its place but I can say nothing of paradise. I thought to myself, do not worry, forworn toilers, glory to you. The long-wished-for time has come. I gathered the promises of all parties – they were as like as two peas, but on the whole, they were like a fairy-tale, the Little Red Riding Hood fairy-tale…
I was joyful and I wanted to cry – people, wake up, do not worry, be happy! Yet, something was missing: the fairy-tale had no character. Ah yes, the wolf was nowhere to be seen. I was scared and I left the street stealthily like a thief. Someone shouted “That’s enough”, someone begged, there was a cry of a hungry child somewhere, someone wailed over sons killed in the war, someone wailed over the lost dream, someone looked for manna in the garbage, someone’s cartilage was broken.
I left the street quietly and my heart was full of joy again. I reproached myself for believing fairy-tales. Are not the lies, sorry, the fairy-tales, too sweet. Fairy-tales have been read to us five times for the past ten years.
Once again I found myself standing in queue for fruits and rejoicing in autumn, having come from virtual abundance to reality. I thought suddenly that it was not the prosperous economy that made me pleased, but rather bumper crop. I was also glad that only fruit was sold, but not votes and conscious, I did not buy any votes and I did not pay either false fairy-tales or money for it. I said to myself: Do not worry. The virtual Little Red Riding Hood fairy-tale would be good but for the wolf. Golden autumn stood in the street and elegiac deep sleep overcame people (they lost their vigilance): people can not tell sheer lie from truth, a cup with poison from the holy Graal. They will give votes to unworthy people ? and they will reap what they have sawn!
Do not worry, “happy” nation.