Easter Day (Kuprin)
Colonel Voznitsin, a 40-year-old man, decided to visit Moscow, where he had spent his childhood and youth, before heading to the Crimea. He felt that he was approaching old age and wanted to relive the memories of his past. However, he found that his old haunts had changed and his soul remained unmoved by the nostalgia he had hoped to feel.
On his journey, Voznitsin met a woman named Elena Vladimirovna, who seemed familiar to him.
They realized that they had known each other in their youth, and began reminiscing about their past. Voznitsin remembered how he had been in love with Elena when they were young, and how they had shared a passionate kiss one Easter night.
Pardon my boldness… but I can't get rid of a feeling that I know you, or rather that long ago I used to know you.
Elena introduced Voznitsin to her daughter, who was the same age as Elena had been during that memorable Easter night.
As they talked, Voznitsin felt a sweet and tender melancholy, realizing that life was beautiful and that everything was connected. He and Elena would eventually pass away, but their memories and actions would live on in the next generation.
Life is wise, and we must submit to her laws. But life is beautiful too. It is an eternal rising from the dead.
Voznitsin kissed Elena's hand, and she kissed his forehead. They looked at each other with tears in their eyes, smiling gently and sadly, acknowledging the passage of time and the eternal cycle of life.