Zhumatai, Sadyk and Baibosyn particularly grieved the death of Bigansha. Zhumatai is the husband of deceased Bigansha; Baibosyn is her only child by blood; Sadyk is the most intimate and beloved of all brothers-in-low.

However, everyone pass through this loss in their own way: Zhumatai’s mainly distressing was that he remained suddenly without a woman and forced to lie in bed alone; Baibosyn lost his caressing and kind mother; and Sadyk grieved just because he lost a friend of heart, sincere woman, to which he was pegged with all his heart.

Bigansha died suddenly and prematurely: she was only twenty-three years old. She stood out with beauty among contemporaries: tight, red cheeks like an apple, pure black eyes, and the very thin, flexible as purple willow. She married Zhumatay when she was fourteen. Up to twenty she did not care about herself or about the household or about the house. She naively believed that the only duty of a married woman was to sleep with her husband and implicitly obey his wishes and whims. And Zhumatai thought so too. Never in his life he had said coherently at least a few words, did not talk humanly with anyone, and all the time he was sullenly silent, frowning and drooping shoulders. If grief happened he did not grieve for real, if joy happened he was not happy as everyone, and only grunted when he was angry. Only occasionally, when he was accidentally visited by a good mood, he seemed to be smiling.

And it was a weird spooky smile, did not look like a smile of a normal person. He just grinned and sounded a hollow roar.

No one knows what seemed Zhumatai to others, but he seemed to Bigansha just like this from the first night, and she had no hope for better changes. Their married life continued for nine years, and all these sad years Zhumatai was all the same. If he had to call her, he was barking:

“Hey, woman!..”

If he did not like something, he obscenely swears:

“Oh, all you damn genus!..”

In the evening, barely extinguished the lamp, he fall on her. He puffed, sniffed, fidgeted like was chasing a fox. While he was sweating, Bigansha all froze in shame and disgust and with distaste turns her head away, feeling the hot stinking breath. She did not dare to refuse her husband, and breathlessly whispered:

“Well, why are you ... twitching, poor! You could wait at least until people fall asleep...”

Clogged, bedraggled, extinct Bygansha soon stopped considered herself as a human. Then she met Sadyk. “Met”, usually say if someone is coming from afar. Meanwhile, Sadyk and she were from the one aul. She just did not noticed him up to a certain time.

How it all began, they probably do not know. They met once, talked and exchanged a joke, smiled at each other, everything turned out unexpectedly well, nice, and soon Sadyk heaves into her soul so, that did not come out of her head.

He was of medium height, black-faced and pockmarked. On the right cheek was almost visible a scar. He has narrowish eyes with squint. The nose is not that big, but not flat, not flattened, as at some. It is the average nose. Thin, dapper mustache. He is talkative jolly fellow. He plays on the dombra, singing songs at parties. Not averse to measure his strength, simply puts down on their back his peers. He repeatedly received the award for the fight. Among aul dzhigits Sadyk was undoubtedly the most prominent. But he was obviously unlucky with his wife. She was no match for him, the long-faced, scrawny, awkward, mannish woman. Also she has no idea about decency or civility. The wife of a young man was hanging around from house to house, talking incessantly and collects all the aul gossips. In the auls people told: “Sadyk went once to someone, and after him came his woman. Well, Sadyk got up and left because of shame...”

In short, the young became close and have become friends. Unexpectedly rose a bright dawn in the life of Bigansha. It seemed that she born again, only now the youthfulness came to her. She has got prettier, blossomed, changed beyond recognition,. And started walking, dressed as on the feast...

And in the village of sharp-tongued women, as usual, various rumors have spread, and one day they came up to Zhumatay. Bigansha alarmed and thought: “Now Zhumatai will kill me or banish”. But the injured husband acted differently. Scowling darkly, he barked:

“Why are you, bitch, engaged in fornication?!”

And beat her with whip. But Bigansha did not shout and did not ask for mercy. And in the evening, as soon as the light was extinguished, Zhumatai attacked, dragged her under him, as if struggled to crush and breathed hot and jerky in her face. She paused, biting her lip, and thought: “Oh my God... Does he a cattle?.. How he could do that, knowing everything?..”

***

That's the kind of relationship communications established between Bigansha, Zhumatai and Sadyk. And then the unexpected happened: Bigansha died.

And Zhumatai remained without a woman. Sadyk lost his faithful, loving heart, and because of that it seemed his grief was greater than that of all. But Zhumatai thought otherwise. “Sadyk is still having fun”, he thought, “he got his own woman. And what about me, the solitary man?” If he could gratify his lust with someone, of course, he would not have thought about Bigansha.

Now he had one dream, to get a new woman. He began to think, began to ask people. Those who reported to him, “here at this one and this have a daughter of marriageable age,” could drink plenty of kumis from five lactating mares of Zhumatai. And what is she? Is she beautiful? Is she smart? Or lame, lousy, oblique and stupid?.. This was not interested to Zhumatai. He needs just a woman...

He went to woo the young girls, but he failed. Everywhere he had to listen to the same response:

“I cannot force my daughter. It is up to her”, the fathers said.

This resulted Zhumatai in a frenzy. He grunted angrily and turned away. He sat down on his horse and went to the aul. His friends were curious: “What had happened?”

“It did not work”, Zhumatai muttered. “The father cannot force his daughter. See, it is up to her.”

“Well, that's good”, objected friends. “If it her will, engaged her, receive her agreement and take her without bride money.”

But Zhumatai didn’t like that. What does it means – “engaged, have agreed?” Why did he need it? If a father would give a daughter and gets her bride money, and the mullah combine their marriage, does not it mean that he was "engaged" her?

What else to negotiate? Zhumatai did not know that. He is, glory to Allaah, now thirty-six, and still he did not need to "negotiate" with some wench.

Get off with you: “Engaged!” He never in his life tell something good to a woman!

Zhumatai was without a woman for three months. He was exhausted and missed badly. It became too much. And one day he dragged himself to Sadyk.

“Are you on the walk?”, Sadyk asked.

“Oh, nothing «on the walk!”.. I am... I would like... hm, this... is it”, Zhumatai mumbled. He could not be more precise.

“I understand”, Sadyk grinned. “ It can be seen, that you plagued without a woman?”

“Well, you know about my trouble”, Zhumatai grinned horribly.

Sadyk conspiratorially winked.

“That is right. You cannot live without a woman. I have thought about that a long time ago. But I kept mum. I thought you will find by yourself once looking on auls... I have a sister-in-law in mind. Come on, let’s go to her!”

“Mature?”

“In her's prime...”

“My son in law arrived!”

Thin, not strong darkie ran out of the house to meet them. She threw with a running start on the neck of Sadyk, has become, according to the custom, bother him, and do not let into the house. And her parents alarmed, were delighted of arrival of son-in-law.

“Ryashzhan, make a tea...!”

“Ryashzhan, put the meat in the pot!”, the old black woman began to dispose.

The girl, laughing loudly, quickly and easily makes everything, having time between the troubles to snuggle up to Sadyk, sit down on his lap, playfully flirting with him.

 “And I need to tell you something in private.”

“Well, what is it, my dear? Tell me now!”

“No, I will tell you… later.”

Ryash was thinking for a moment, smiled and fresh flight, ran on her way. Sadyk whispered to Zhumatai:

“Nice girl. Nimble. Clever girl. You will not find better wife for yourself...”

Then Sadyk called Zhumatiy out:

“Come here! Did you see that barn? She is busy now there with cows. I told her: “I brought you the groom. Talk to him and agree”. Now it is up to you. Go and persuade her. If she agrees, do not get lost... You know...

Sadyk let pass Zhumatiy to the barn and closed the door behind him.

The barn was huge. In the ceiling here and there bright holes were gaping and they were like the stars. Cows with relish chews the cud, shakes its heads and snapping with hooves. Zhumatai shifted from foot to foot at the door and did not understand what he should do now?

The girl cautiously approached the gates. Stood next to Zhumatai and asked:

“Who is this?”

“It is me.”

“So why are you standing?”

“Just standing...”

So they stood for a while facing each other. The light came through the slot, and it was clearly visible puffy, dull, overgrown with dirty beard face of Zhumatai and thin, brittle, with gleaming eyes face of darkie and her tightly braided tresses, brushed behind her back. She could be a daughter of Zhumatai.

Sadyk came as soon as they came out of the barn.

“Well? Did you talked?”

“What here to talk to?”, Zhumatai grunted. “You would be better to talk with her father and asked how much cattle I need to prepare?”

“Really, you stupid?! It is necessary first to persuade the girl. Father cannot do anything without her consent.”

“What about her consent?.. Make a deal about the bride-price, and today this girl should be in my bed...”

A hint of a smile for the first time flashed on the gloomy face of Zhumatai.

On the next day, Zhumatai and Sadyk returned to the aul.

Each on its own.