"The Letter That Never Was" by Elena Nesterina, summary

This book is a touching young adult novella that tells the difficult story of two orphaned sisters who find themselves alone in a harsh village winter, and their friendship with a local Roma boy. Published in 2005, it stands out for its surprisingly warm depiction of village life and its profound psychological insight into childhood experiences, devoid of excessive sentimentality. Novel number 129 is part of the popular "Only for Girls. New Design" series, which also includes works by other authors, such as "Love in a Gas Mask" by Svetlana Lubenets and "The Secret Girl" by Elena Nesterina.

Orphaned Sisters in Lastochki

Thirteen-year-old Tonya and her six-year-old sister, Masha, arrive in the village of Lastochki, hidden among the woods. The girls are used to getting off the bus early to walk five kilometers through picturesque fields and copses. This time, however, they face tough plowed fields, a meadow worn out by the summer heat, and the Alpashevsky forest. The sisters hope to meet their grandfather, Semyon Prokofievich, to whom they have come to escape the troubles of the capital.

Terrible news awaits them at home. The kindly old man died three days ago of a heart attack on the way to Moscow, distressed by the lack of news from his granddaughters. Neighbors have already buried Semyon Prokofievich in the local cemetery. Tonya realizes that she and Masha are now completely alone. Their mother, Tatyana, is under arrest in Moscow, and the only way the girls can help her is by leading an independent, dignified life in a remote village.

Tonya decides not to give in to despair. Grandfather’s faithful dog, Kuzya, joins the girls and mourns his master sincerely. Tonya visits a fresh grave in the cemetery beyond the hill, where she feels the invisible support of her departed ancestors. Returning home, she firmly resolves to tidy up the household and prepare for the coming winter.

First household chores

The girl begins to inspect her grandfather’s supplies. In the cellar, she discovers grain, flour, granulated sugar, a tub of pickles, potatoes, and numerous jars of jam. Chickens sleep outside, needing to be fed and let outside daily. Tonya learns to light the large Russian stove herself, using kerosene for lighting, and to carry water from the well beneath the mountain.

The sisters inspect the garden and vegetable patch. They’re gathering a modest harvest of apples, viburnums, and chokeberries for winter compotes. Masha tries to help her sister pull the cabbage from the ground, but the enormous heads are too much for the little girl to handle. Gradually, Tonya becomes immersed in the endless chores of the village, striving to excel in everything she does.

Meeting Vasily

A week later, Tonya goes to school in the neighboring village of Beklemishchevo. The school’s principal, Iraida Andreyevna, accepts her documents and is amazed by the independence of the Moscow eighth-grader. The school turns out to be tiny, with only about fifty students, and students from different grades study in the same classroom at the same time. Tonya quickly adapts to the local customs and makes friends with the other students.

Near the store, Tonya bumps into a dashing, dark-skinned boy on a red "Muravei" scooter. It’s Vasily Konstantinov, a Romani teenager who immediately tries to strike up a conversation. Vasya jokingly scares Tonya with stories of village drunkenness, but quickly apologizes and offers to drive her to Lastochki. At home, he instantly wins over little Masha, helps her fetch water from the well, and repairs the fence.

Mushroom picking and the hidden secret

Masha is afraid to stay home alone, so Tonya takes her to school with her. Vasya, who was sent out of class by the principal for his past truancy, also shows up. Vasily takes Masha for a walk, and after school, he takes the sisters to the Alpashevsky forest to pick boletus mushrooms. The boys collect a huge number of mushrooms, which they then spend the entire night cleaning in the kitchen while the television hums.

Vasya sells the mushrooms he picks to drivers on the highway and brings Tonya the proceeds. The two develop a strong friendship. At the end of October, Vasya arrives at the girls’ home on a horse named Lacha and takes the sisters for a ride across a snowy meadow. At sunset, he gives Tonya earrings made of ripe viburnum berries. Touched, Tonya confides her deepest secret to his friend.

It turns out their mother owed a huge amount to creditors, trying to pay for the treatment of the seriously ill Masha. Fraudsters defrauded the family of their Moscow apartment. Driven to despair, the woman went to the creditors’ office and attacked the manager, ending up in a pretrial detention center. The sisters were about to be sent to a shelter, but Tonya took their documents and fled with her sister to live with their grandfather. Vasya swears to keep this secret.

Harsh winter and life in the bathhouse

A severe cold sets in. Masha catches a severe cold after riding a horse, and Tonya runs in panic to Beklemishchevo for a paramedic. Aunt Katya prescribes medication, and caring neighbors, Baba Fenya and Baba Valya, help nurse the sick girl back to health. The grandmothers give Masha a real healing bath with herbs and honey, after which the cough subsides.

Vasily suddenly disappears, and his house in the village is boarded up. A neighbor reports that the gypsies have left until spring. Tonya is deeply distressed by her friend’s disappearance, but is forced to focus on survival. Due to a shortage of firewood for the voracious Russian stove, she decides to temporarily move to a small banya, which is easier to heat.

The sisters move the beds and television into the dressing room. Tonya chops brushwood in the casing with an axe to save the remaining birch logs. Soon, the food supply runs low, and the cellar runs out of pickled mushrooms. On New Year’s Eve, their mother calls her daughters and informs them that a new lawyer, Alexey, is handling her case. Tonya and Masha celebrate the New Year with Baba Fenya and Baba Valya.

An unusual message and a saving return

In the depths of a frosty January, there’s a knock on the bathhouse door. A frozen Vasya appears on the threshold. It turns out that before leaving for Ryazan, he left Tonya a farewell letter with his phone number, scratched on a birch log. However, Masha, not noticing the inscription, threw the log into the stove. Vasily, exhausted by separation, ran away from his parents and made the long journey back.

The boy immediately sets about tidying up. He lights the stoves in the house and the bathhouse, bringing the girls back to a warm home. To gather firewood, Vasya borrows a chainsaw from a local resident, Chicherov, leaving his phone as collateral and pledging to work off the debt by chopping wood. Together with Tonya, they fell dead birch trees in the garden, providing the house with fuel for the rest of the winter.

Meeting with wolves

After Vasily’s recovery, the boys set off on a ski trip along the frozen Debryan River to the abandoned village of Poskon. On the way back, a heavy snowstorm begins, obscuring the ski trail. The boys lose their way in the twilight and unexpectedly encounter a pack of wolves. Yellow, predatory eyes surround the teenagers in the middle of the snowy plain.

Vasily takes out a folding knife and is ready to fight to the last, protecting Tonya. The girl refuses to run to the tree alone and stands back to back with her friend, clutching ski poles. The boys’ courage and the light from their phone’s flashlight force the predators to retreat. After standing in the freezing cold for several hours, the frozen teenagers take refuge in the branches of an old willow, then find a river and return home safely.

Family reconciliation

In the morning, Vasily’s uncle Prokhor arrives for him, sent away by his angry parents. Later, at the request of Vasya’s mother, Prokhor sends Tonya a false message demanding she forget him. The shocked girl falls into despair. However, Vasily escapes again, wearing his grandmother’s old felt boots, "Goodbye, youth!" and runs to Tonya through the bitter cold.

The parents find the fugitive in the Fedotovs’ home. Varvara, seeing Tonya’s sincere concern for her son and the depth of the teenagers’ feelings, softens. The Roma family decides to help the orphans. They buy Tonya’s surplus jam and potatoes, and bring meat, groceries, and chopped firewood. Vasily’s father negotiates with the school for his son to return to school.

The long-awaited spring

With the arrival of spring, life in Lastochki is transformed. Tonya is actively growing seedlings on the windowsills, enlisting Varvara’s help. Vasily regularly attends school and accompanies Tonya to classes. Tonya finally overcomes her fears and begins attending school discos with her friend.

On May 1st, a long-awaited guest arrives in the village. Mama Tatyana, fully acquitted thanks to the efforts of lawyer Alexei, returns to her daughters. The entire village celebrates this happy event at a large communal table under the spring sky. The sisters prepare to temporarily return to Moscow to process the paperwork for their reclaimed apartment.

Vasily promises to wait for Tonya’s return all summer. Standing on a hill above the Debryan River, the boys say goodbye before their long separation. Fast cars whisk them away, but in their hearts, the flame of true, tested love burns, a love that will surely help them live to see each other again.