I had wanted to speak with her at least one more time, says carpenter Artemy. And now I will speak with her constantly. Meaning, of course, temporarily. I weep at the thought of the boundless mercy of God and the grace that has descended upon God’s servant, Arseny. And all of us standing here (without exception) are capable of inhaling the smells of a warm summer day and hearing the birds chirp. All of us, without exception, because my daughter Evpraksia might have been that exception if not for Arseny.
Carpenter Artemy kneels before Arseny and kisses his hand. Arseny pulls his hand back and crosses the Velikaya on the ice and ends up in Zapskovye. Loaf baker Samson takes out his goods in the early morning. He waits for holy fool Karp, who should steal one of his loaves. Holy fool Karp shows up, grasps a half-coin loaf and, with his arms behind his back, dashes off, away from loaf baker Samson. The loaf baker smiles a kind, loafy smile. The steam from his mouth settles on his beard like frost. He runs his hand through his beard and says:
A man of God, you understand. A blessed man.
The loaf baker lacks the words (as always) to fully express his feelings. Holy fool Karp (as always) drops the loaf and people of modest means pick it up. Karp chews what remains in his mouth.
When his mouth is freed up, he shouts:
Who will be my traveling companion to Jerusalem?
The people picking up the loaf are perplexed. They say:
Our Karp is holyfooling it. Who would go from Pskov to Jerusalem?
Who will be my traveling companion to Jerusalem? holy fool Karp yells to those gathered.
Those who have gathered answer:
Jerusalem, that is, like, you know, really far. How do you get there?
Holy fool Karp looks at Arseny, unblinking. Arseny is silent but does not turn. He has a lump in his throat. He wants to get a good look at holy fool Karp, that is what he came for. Karp cringes, shrinks his head down into his shoulders, and leaves.
Karp, Karp, Karp, he says pensively.
The weakened Davyd is being carried to the monastery. Davyd has been sick since the dayes of his youth. He is unable to move and cannot even hold up his head. Davyd’s head must be lifted when he is fed porridge. Sometimes the porridge falls from his mouth. Then it is picked from his chin with a spoon and again directed toward his mouth. They are carrying Davyd to the monastery cemetery. They carefully place him on the burial mound next to Arseny’s home. They say:
Helpe us, O Ustin, if thou canst.
Arseny does not reply. With his bare hands, he picks nettles from the graves, gathering them into a bunch. When the bunch is ready, Arseny lashes the visitors on their faces and on their hands. They feel their presence here is undesirable. They leave and Davyd remains, lying on the grave. Arseny thinks a bit and then lashes him with nettles, too. Davyd winces but continues lying there since he has no other option. The sun is setting faster than usual. The moon appears in the sky.
Arseny kneels next to Davyd and touches his hand. He examines Davyd’s white and almost lifeless skin. This skin was created for moonlight. Arseny strokes it with his fingers and begins kneading firmly. He switches to the other hand. He turns the weakened man onto his stomach. He kneads his deadened flesh with all his strength, as if pumping vitalizing forces into it. He rubs Davyd’s back along the spine. He kneads at Davyd’s legs, making Davyd’s arms, which dangle off the burial mound, shake. The patient is reminiscent of a large doll. The new abbess comes out to the cemetery twice during the night and twice sees Arseny’s unceasing work. Davyd rises to his feet at dawn’s first light. He takes several wooden steps in the direction of the cathedral, where his kin are already waiting for him. Davyd’s strength leaves him because his muscles are still unaccustomed to walking. His kin rush to him and grasp him under the arms. They understand that the first steps are the most important. But also the most difficult.
What is this? the new abbess asks those present, herself most of all. Is this the result of our brother Ustin’s therapeutic measures or the Lorde’s miracle, appearing independently of human action? Essentially, the abbess answers herself: one does not contradict the other, for a miracle can be the result of effort multiplied by faith.
Arseny gathers plants by the Velikaya River and in the Pskov forests. The Pskov lands are more southerly than Belozersk and produce greater quantities of herbs. There are even herbs that Christofer did not describe in his time. Arseny surmises their effects from the smells and shapes of their leaves. He dries plants like this in the monastery shed and experiments with them on himself. He dries other plants, too.
Some good believers in Christ catch a large fish in the Velikaya River and give it to priest Konstantin. The priest’s wife, Marfa, prepares fish for dinner. She warns her husband that a large fish has large bones and appeals to him to be careful. Priest Konstantin, a carefree person, absentmindedly eats the fish, not thinking about its bones. He is thinking about the parish church that is being built. He is trying yet again to calculate the quantities of purchased materials and worries there will not be enough. Priest Konstantin does not immediately notice that an arch-shaped bone with a fragment of the fish’s backbone has entered his throat along with the fish’s tender flesh. He coughs and pieces of fish—everything but the bone—fly out of his mouth.
The bone is stuck in his throat in three spots. It goes no further down but is not coming up, either. It has gone too deep to reach with fingers. Marfa, the priest’s wife, pounds on her husband’s back but the bone sits there, immovable. Priest Konstantin lies down, his belly on the table and his head hanging almost to the floor, trying to cough out the bone. Saliva and blood run out of his mouth but the bone does not move, not one vershok.
The doctor Terenty is brought to priest Konstantin. Terenty asks the patient to open his mouth and brings a candle toward it. The bone is not even visible under candlelight. Terenty tries to stick his long fingers down the patient’s throat but even he is unable to happen upon the bone. Priest Konstantin silently shakes from retching movements and finally breaks out of the doctor’s arms. Marfa, the priest’s wife, throws Terenty out of the house.
They refuse medical assistance, the doctor Terenty tells those gathered on the street. And, with hand on heart, I say they are correct, for the depth of the embedded bone is beyond the bounds of modern medicine.
After a night of suffering, they bring priest Konstantin across the river to Zapskovye. When they arrive at John the Baptist Convent’s cemetery, they place the priest in front of Arseny. The patient sits on a gravestone because he is no longer able to stand. His throat has swelled and he is gasping for breath. Suffering and grief are in his eyes: he thinks they are already going to bury him. He fears his pain will never pass, even in death.
Arseny crouches in front of priest Konstantin. He feels his neck with both hands. The priest quietly moans. Arseny suddenly grabs him by the feet and lifts him off the ground. He shakes priest Konstantin with unexpected strength and fury. Arseny’s fury is directed at the ailment. A wail, red mucus, and a bone issue from the patient’s throat.
The priest is lying on the ground and breathing heavily. His half-closed eyes gaze at the cause of his suffering. Certain among those who happen to be at the cemetery want to lift him, but he motions to stop them: he needs to catch his breath. The priest’s wife Marfa kneels before Arseny. Arseny bends and grasps her by the legs, trying to lift her, too. The priest’s wife shouts. She is too heavy and Arseny does not have that much strength.
Pretty much unliftable, those present whisper to each other, shaking their heads.
Arseny leaves Marfa and departs the cemetery. The priest’s wife wraps the bone in a handkerchief, as a family keepsake of gratitude.
Mayor Gavriil’s daughter Anna is dead. At fifteen years olde. After slipping on the ferry, Anna falls into the water and sinks to the bottom like a rock. Several people plunge in after her. They dive in various directions, trying to figure out where the maiden’s body has been dragged off to. They resurface, gasping for breath, gather more air in their lungs, and submerge into the water again. They have difficulty reaching the bottom of the Velikaya River and when there they cannot locate the mayor’s daughter. The water is cloudy. The water is swift and full of whirlpools. One of the divers nearly drowns but their efforts are in vain. They find the drowned girl’s body downstream several hours later, after it has washed up in the reeds.