«ask everyone to forgive you… and forgive each of them»,
«move your Self in the second place during conversation, having recognized that the other person’s Self is no less important to God than yours»,
«reveal in each being, sent to you on the Path, something it can be praised for.»
And how life-affirming are the words of the main character, completely disappointed in life and decided to step into Death,
«Imagine that your life will continue after your leaving the physical body, because, having fulfilled your current mission on Earth, you will definitely take on the solution of some new tasks of the Universe.»
Yes, Alice is looking for the Portal to the Other Reality, where her friend, the Ghost, resides, because she «no longer had the strength to stay in our Reality». She constantly wraps herself in furs, as if hiding from the surrounding reality, she feels uncomfortable in this world. Alice is tired of loneliness, she didn’t manage to meet «a strong male shoulder»,
«…I wanted so much to create my own little world with him and me, and a fireplace, and coffee, and a blanket, and the Moon Cat, and in that world I would read us bedtime tales, and no Blizzard outside the window would be able to keep us apart…»
At the same time, tired to death, Alice finds the strength to help an even weaker person, Pasha, who, overcoming his fear of refusal in reciprocity, told her «the most important words», adding, «Is it bad to say what you feel?» To help Pasha, Alice asks directly the Creator.
The very fact that the only obstacle on the way to the Portal to the Other World (in fact, to Death, that is, to the early departure from Life) is its gloomy Guardian, «once a story happened to the Guardian that changed his Consciousness,» «the Guardian who imagined himself to be God…» (a direct reference to Lucifer), is overwhelming. Describing the Guardian, the author doesn’t hide his impure nature: he constantly hits the table with his fist, throws objects at the wall, barks, his eyes sparkle, «there were devilish lights in his eyes». Finally, when a representative of «the Winged World» appears, the Guardian exclaims,
«What has their secret messenger to do in our vicious monastery?»
And finally, he admits,
«My Mansion was created for Impure Souls, not for divine gifts!»
Entering into verbal fights with the Guardian, similar to the struggle of a troubled soul with Devil the Tempter, Alice realizes they have something in common, and it’s the fear of Love, because «it’s easier and safer to remain at the level of a dream than trying to realize the dream». And then Alice asks the Guardian the key question, as if mirroring it on herself,
«Tell me, honestly, what do you fear more: Death or Love?»
By the way, all the characters of this book «reflect» each other, like mirrors!
The Guardian denies Love (which means God, because God is Love), trying to offer Alice his artificially created immortality in exchange for her refusal to believe in Love (i.e., in God),
«The only real thing in the world is Death, Alice! Death conquers all, always!»
«Death defeated Love… It’s a pity that Koschey has already arrived, another singer of your dead Love, who pretends to be the Immortal.»
Alice doesn’t give up,
«Your phrase is mirrored, everyone finds the own meaning.»
However, does Love always defeat Death?
A non-standard chain of events puts Alice in front of a global question, «Who am I?» It is logical to assume that she is just the ghost of the real Alice killed by the Guardian, but at this turning point, reminding of V. Bryusov’s poem «Escape» about the main character’s awakening from sleep, the broken pattern provokes chaos from which a «New and definitely Happy Universe» is created.
The attitude of the author to her colleagues-writers is curious:
«…in fact, all writers are magicians»,
«All people are crazy in their own way, especially Creators, such as writers – they are engaged in real magic, the magic of the Word. The most talented are the craziest ones.»
«It was the destination: the soul descended to Earth in order to write about Solon.»
«A book is a separate world, too, isn’t it? And the author is its creator, such a little god, right?»
«After all, in the beginning was the Word.»
In conclusion, I’ll quote the most powerful, in my opinion, thought of this book. It’s about the meaning of… creativity? – no, the meaning of the true Creator’s life.
«Can true magicians create worlds? Yes, definitely. But these worlds are worthy absolutely nothing if there is neither Love inside, nor the one for whom you create them, with whom you wander there, discovering something new and wonderful – feelings, emotions, knowledge, with whom you share joys and sorrows…
If the Magician’s world belongs only to himself and doesn’t intersect at any point with the world of a kindred soul, it is doomed to destruction…»
Nina A. Abrashina,
member of the Union of Writers of Russia,
writer and doctor
The magazine «ZINZIVER» No.1 (127), 2022
Magazines’ Hall «Gorky media»
https://magazines.gorky.media/zin/2022/1/vzglyad-1.html
https://reading-hall.ru/publication.php?id=30244
Т. Трубникова: «Нестрашная страшная сказка»
В январе 2022 года в честь 190-летия со дня рождения английского писателя Льюиса Кэрролла (27.01.1832—14.01.1898) руководитель Открытого Литературного Клуба «ОткЛиК» (Москва) Людмила Вячеславовна Королёва, член Союза писателей России, учредила литературно-общественную премию «Зазеркалье», первым лауреатом которой была объявлена Александра Крючкова за книгу «Ловушка для Мыслеформы»9.
«Ловушка» – самая настоящая сказка для взрослых! Нестрашная страшная! Но общеизвестно: взрослым сказки нужнее, и они любят их больше, чем дети. Людям вообще свойственно стремление к неизведанному, загадочности, тайне. Оно, это стремление, так же