This year, we literally shuddered when we learned that one of the “pioneers” of MMA, the American fighter Kevin Rendelman, had died. The disease brought this fighter to the grave almost instantly, and this fact became an even greater horror for the public. Until now, many of his fans cannot get used to the idea that their idol is already gone, and now definitely forever. But his memory will live long, so let's look at his life in as much detail as possible.
Birth
Kevin Rendelman was born on August 10, 1971. The disease is for him childhood was something unknown, since initially he was healthy and strong. The future champion was born in the city of Sandusky. He got into sports while still a university student, where he was actively involved and even twice won the championship among students.
Sports career in the UFC
(illness was rare for him in the initial years of his performances) was one of those who were in the forefront of the world's best MMA promotion. He competed in both the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions. In 1999, the American fought for the championship title with the Dutchman Bas Ruten, but after all five rounds he still lost by decision. Soon Bas retired, and Kevin again became a participant in the battle for the belt. This time he fought Pete Williams. The fight again went the entire distance, but with a positive result for the “Monster” ( sports nickname Rendelman).
In the summer of 2000, Kevin defended his title in a fight with Brazilian Pedro Rizzo, but during the second defense he lost to Randy Couture by knockout. This defeat prompted our hero to move to a lower category. In the new division, Kevin began with a loss to Chuck Liddell. However, already in next fight he recovered and defeated Renato Sobrall.
Fighting in Pride
The Japanese promotion, which had sunk into oblivion, was something like a swing for the American. He won and then lost again. Kevin had his first fight in this organization in September 2002. The debut was successful. That same year, he scored two more victories, after which he received the status of an official contender for the title. At that time, Vandreley Silva was the champion. But the management decided differently: they brought Rendelman together with In this fight, “Taran” knocked out “Monster” in the seventh minute.
After this fight, Kevin Rendelman (the disease was already showing the first signs at that time) suffered another defeat from Kazushi Sakuraba. After which the American returns to heavyweight again and takes part in the Grand Prix. In the first fight, Kevin met with the favorite - Mirko Filipovic. The result of the fight was that the Croatian was knocked out in the second minute.
In the next round of the tournament, Rendelman met with Russian Emelianenko, to whom he lost by painful armbar. It was in this fight that Kevin performed a simply crazy throw, which to this day is included in many video clips mixed martial arts. As it turned out later, Fedor suffered broken ribs after the fall, but was still able to win the fight.
These losses gave rise to a whole chain of subsequent defeats for the “Monster”. His last loss in the promotion came in October 2006. The role of his offender was played by the Brazilian Mauricio Hua.
Performances in Sengoku
Kevin Rendelman was forced to take a break from fighting for almost a year and a half. A disease caused by the use of colossal amounts of anabolic steroids and other chemicals, did not allow him to train and perform in full force. But, nevertheless, in May 2008 he defeated Ryo Kawamura by unanimous decision. Subsequently, a fight between “The Monster” and Monson was planned, but due to Kevin’s shoulder injury, the fight never took place.
In November of the same year, the Sengoku 6 tournament took place, where the American lost to Bulgarian Stanislav Nedkov by decision.
Transition to Strikeforce
By the time of signing a contract with this fighting organization best fights Kevin Rendelman was already behind. In the first match against Mike Whitehead, the American performed extremely unconvincingly. In the first two five-minute rounds, “Monster” definitely lost, in the third he tried to take the initiative into his own hands and was even able to shake his opponent, but in the end he failed to finish off Mike. The result was another defeat on points.
In May 2010, Kevin was confronted by Roger Gracie. The Brazilian was able to strangle the American, which drew a line under the latter’s performances in MMA fights.
Wrestling
Kevin Rendelman's biography states that he was a participant in several wrestling matches. He held his first performance in such shows back in 2004 under the auspices of the Japanese organization HUSTLE. In 2009, the American challenged WWE representative Kofi Kingston to a fight.
Family
In the spring of 2009, Kevin officially legitimized his relationship with his girlfriend Elizabeth. The couple raised two children: son Calvin and daughter Jasmine.
Conclusion
To the great regret of many people, today a man named Kevin Rendelman is no longer with us. The disease, whose name is Staphylococcus aureus, has done its detrimental work and simply “ate” the athlete’s body. For many years internal organs The fighters slowly stopped working normally. This was largely because Kevin was taking many of the same drugs that are now on the banned list. But in those days there was no question of any full-fledged doping control, so each fighter survived as best he could.
According to the martial artist himself, he was often hospitalized, since any abrasion or bruise received as a result of training allowed the infection to become more active. It goes without saying that this state of affairs could not continue indefinitely. And as a result, on February 12, 2016, Kevin was hospitalized with pneumonia, which caused heart failure. It was she who caused the death of the famous athlete.
The news of the death literally blew up the fighting world. Many of his former “colleagues” expressed their condolences and spoke extremely respectfully of Kevin as a person, sincerely regretting that he is no longer with us. Even the head of the UFC, Dana White, said that Rendelman was one of those who created martial arts as it is today, and can be considered one of the founders.
It came as a surprise to all the fighters who knew him and saw his fights. Ex- UFC champion, Pride FC veteran Kevin died in hospital due to heart failure while battling pneumonia, leaving behind a wife and three children.
Dana White:
“Sad to hear that the legendary Kevin Randleman has passed away. Rest in peace Kevin "The Monster" Randleman."
I’m so sorry to hear about the passing of the legend Kevin Randleman. RIP Kevin “The Monster” Randleman pic.twitter.com/MTC4nFAF29
Dana White (@danawhite) February 12, 2016
Bas Rutten:“I heard that the news was confirmed. Kevin passed away. This is the worst news. My condolences to Elizabeth and her children. Rest in peace my friend."
Harry Goodridge:“UFC legend Kevin Randleman has passed away at the age of 44. I can't believe my friend passed away. The second one in two months.”
Frank Trigg:“Kevin Randleman. An amazingly competitive spirit and an excellent athlete. He truly believed he could achieve what he believed in.”
Tyson Griffin:“It’s hard to realize that I will never see him, his smile, or feel the energy around him again... Last year at the MMA Awards I last time I was lucky to be next to him. My thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, children and entire family. I will never forget my time with Kevin "The Monster" Randleman. Rest in peace, brother! You will remain forever in the hearts of those whose attention you attracted!!!”
James Te Huna:“It is very sad to hear that Kevin Randleman has passed away. At one time, one of the coolest guys on the planet. I became a fan of his as soon as I saw his aggressive fighting style in the Octagon and his modesty outside the cage.”
Justin Fuchs (FoxSports journalist):“I was with Mark Hunt when I heard the news about Kevin. “It can’t be that he’s dead? Wow,” Mark Hunt said. - This is sad news. I remember the times when we played at Pride tournaments. It was me, Kevin and Mark Coleman in the elevator. The melody of entering the fight began to play and Kevin began to dance. He was charged with energy... Very sad news. We will all die sooner or later."
Antonio Silva:"Rest in peace, Kevin Randleman."
Lance Palmer:“Legendary wrestler and UFC and Pride veteran, husband, father and wonderful person! I've always looked up to Kevin, as a wrestler and as a fighter. Rest in peace my friend."
Scott Jurgenson:“I just found out about Kevin. I looked up to him long before I decided to connect my life with MMA. I knew Kevin personally and trained with him. He was a giant, but it was always a pleasure to train with him. His energy was contagious."
Urijah Fiber:“This guy was cool! I remember how he entered the room where we, several young fighters, were. He pointed at the three of us and said, “You will become rich. You will become rich too. And you will become rich. Sports are developing at an explosive pace. So... Who's going to borrow fifty?' We all laughed, and then he started having a friendly fight with Mark Coleman on the marble floor."
Roy Nelson:“My heart goes out to Kevin Randleman’s family. I was lucky enough to train with him, know him personally and see one of the pioneers of the sport fight.”
Michael Bisping:“Very sad to hear that Kevin Randleman has passed away. I only met him a few times, but during that time I saw him as a great man and one of the true pioneers. Rest in peace."
Chuck Liddell:“Oh damn. I was the corner in that fight [Kevin and Mirko Filipovic]. It's sad to hear such news."
Rodrigo Nogueira:“I have a lot of respect for Kevin Randleman for what he has done in the sport. Rest in peace, warrior!!”
Dan Henderson:“It is very sad to hear of the passing of Kevin Randleman. A true legend of wrestling and MMA. My sympathies go out to his family, friends and everyone who was lucky enough to know him.”
Quinton Jackson:"Rest in peace, Kevin."
John Jones: “This is very sad. I met him once and he was a gentleman."
John Fitch:“Today would have been Evan Tanner’s birthday. And today we lost the Monster. Time is fleeting and takes away many of us."
Ray Sefo:“A sad day for the MMA world, we have lost one of the pioneers of the sport. Rest in peace my friend!!”
Kevin made his debut in June 2009 against Mike Whitehead at the . The first two rounds were left to Whitehead, who successfully carried out takedowns, which, however, did not bring any serious damage to Randleman. In the third round, Kevin was forced to start more aggressive actions in order to end the fight early. He managed to knock down his opponent and rain down many blows on his fallen opponent, but Randleman could neither knock out Whiteman nor force him to surrender and lost by decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
In May 2010 at the tournament Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery Redleman acted as a “gatekeeper” (from English. gate keeper- “gatekeeper”) for Roger Gracie, who recently signed a contract with the organization. Their fight ended with the Brazilian winning via rear naked choke.
Thus, Randleman has lost 10 of his last 13 fights.
Professional wrestling
Randleman has taken part in several wrestling shows. The first time he participated in an evening held by the Japanese organization HUSTLE in January 2004. And five years later - in February 2009 - on the show Absolute Wrestling Radio challenged Kofi Kingston of the WWE organization.
Death
He died on February 11, 2016 in the hospital, where he had previously been taken with pneumonia. The cause of death was heart failure.
Titles and achievements
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Fifth UFC heavyweight champion
- Universal Vale Tudo Fighting
- Tournament Winner
- Tournament finalist
Performance tables
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17 Wins(5 by knockout, 8 by decision), 16 Losses (4 by knockout, 4 by decision)
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Personal life
In April 2009, he married his longtime girlfriend Elizabeth. They had two children: a son, Calvin, who plays American football, and a daughter, Jasmine.
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Notes
Links
- on the Sherdog website
- (English)
Excerpt characterizing Randleman, Kevin
But the countess did not agree to let the count go: his leg hurt all these days. They decided that Ilya Andreevich could not go, but that if Luisa Ivanovna (m me Schoss) went, then the young ladies could go to Melyukova. Sonya, always timid and shy, began to beg Luisa Ivanovna more urgently than anyone not to refuse them.Sonya's outfit was the best. Her mustache and eyebrows suited her unusually. Everyone told her that she was very good, and she was in an unusually energetic mood. Some inner voice told her that now or never her fate would be decided, and she, in her man’s dress, seemed like a completely different person. Luiza Ivanovna agreed, and half an hour later four troikas with bells and bells, squealing and whistling through the frosty snow, drove up to the porch.
Natasha was the first to give the tone of Christmas joy, and this joy, reflected from one to another, intensified more and more and reached its highest degree at the time when everyone went out into the cold, and, talking, calling to each other, laughing and shouting, sat in the sleigh.
Two troikas were accelerating, the third troika of the old count with Oryol trotter at the root; the fourth is Nikolai's own with his short, black, shaggy root. Nikolai, in his old woman's outfit, on which he put on a hussar's belted cloak, stood in the middle of his sleigh, picking up the reins.
It was so light that he saw the plaques and eyes of the horses glinting in the monthly light, looking back in fear at the riders rustling under the dark canopy of the entrance.
Natasha, Sonya, m me Schoss and two girls got into Nikolai’s sleigh. Dimmler and his wife and Petya sat in the old count’s sleigh; Dressed up servants sat in the rest.
- Go ahead, Zakhar! - Nikolai shouted to his father’s coachman in order to have a chance to overtake him on the road.
The old count's troika, in which Dimmler and the other mummers sat, squealed with their runners, as if frozen to the snow, and rattled a thick bell, moved forward. The attached ones pressed against the shafts and got stuck, turning out the strong and shiny snow like sugar.
Nikolai set off after the first three; The others made noise and screamed from behind. At first we rode at a small trot along a narrow road. While driving past the garden, shadows from bare trees often lay across the road and hid the bright light of the moon, but as soon as we left the fence, a diamond-shiny snowy plain with a bluish sheen, all bathed in a monthly glow and motionless, opened up on all sides. Once, once, a bump hit the front sleigh; in the same way, the next sleigh and the next were pushed and, boldly breaking the chained silence, one after another the sleighs began to stretch out.
- A hare's trail, a lot of tracks! – Natasha’s voice sounded in the frozen, frozen air.
– Apparently, Nicholas! - said Sonya's voice. – Nikolai looked back at Sonya and bent down to take a closer look at her face. Some completely new, sweet face, with black eyebrows and mustache, looked out from the sables in the moonlight, close and far.
“It was Sonya before,” thought Nikolai. He looked at her closer and smiled.
– What are you, Nicholas?
“Nothing,” he said and turned back to the horses.
Having arrived on a rough, large road, oiled with runners and all covered with traces of thorns, visible in the light of the moon, the horses themselves began to tighten the reins and speed up. The left one, bending its head, twitched its lines in jumps. The root swayed, moving its ears, as if asking: “Should I start or is it too early?” – Ahead, already far away and ringing like a thick bell receding, Zakhar’s black troika was clearly visible on the white snow. Shouting and laughter and the voices of those dressed up were heard from his sleigh.
“Well, you dear ones,” Nikolai shouted, tugging on the reins on one side and withdrawing his hand with the whip. And only by the wind that had become stronger, as if to meet it, and by the twitching of the tensioners, which were tightening and increasing their speed, was it noticeable how fast the troika flew. Nikolai looked back. Screaming and squealing, waving whips and forcing the indigenous people to jump, the other troikas kept pace. The root steadfastly swayed under the arc, not thinking of knocking down and promising to push again and again when necessary.
Nikolai caught up with the top three. They drove down some mountain and onto a widely traveled road through a meadow near a river.
“Where are we going?” thought Nikolai. - “It should be along a slanting meadow. But no, this is something new that I have never seen. This is not a slanting meadow or Demkina Mountain, but God knows what it is! This is something new and magical. Well, whatever it is!” And he, shouting at the horses, began to go around the first three.
Zakhar reined in the horses and turned around his face, which was already frozen to the eyebrows.
Nikolai started his horses; Zakhar, stretching his arms forward, smacked his lips and let his people go.
“Well, hold on, master,” he said. “The troikas flew even faster nearby, and the legs of the galloping horses quickly changed. Nikolai began to take the lead. Zakhar, without changing the position of his outstretched arms, raised one hand with the reins.
“You’re lying, master,” he shouted to Nikolai. Nikolai galloped all the horses and overtook Zakhar. The horses covered the faces of their riders with fine, dry snow, and near them there was the sound of frequent rumblings and the tangling of fast-moving legs and the shadows of the overtaking troika. The whistling of runners through the snow and women's squeals were heard from different directions.
Stopping the horses again, Nikolai looked around him. All around was the same magical plain soaked through with moonlight with stars scattered across it.
“Zakhar shouts for me to take a left; why go left? thought Nikolai. Are we going to the Melyukovs, is this Melyukovka? God knows where we are going, and God knows what is happening to us - and it is very strange and good what is happening to us.” He looked back at the sleigh.
“Look, he has a mustache and eyelashes, everything is white,” said one of the strange, pretty and alien people with a thin mustache and eyebrows.
“This one, it seems, was Natasha,” thought Nikolai, and this one is m me Schoss; or maybe not, but I don’t know who this Circassian with the mustache is, but I love her.”
-Aren't you cold? – he asked. They did not answer and laughed. Dimmler shouted something from the back sleigh, probably funny, but it was impossible to hear what he was shouting.
“Yes, yes,” the voices answered laughing.
- However, here is some kind of magical forest with shimmering black shadows and sparkles of diamonds and with some kind of enfilade of marble steps, and some silver roofs of magical buildings, and the piercing screeching of some animals. “And if this really is Melyukovka, then it’s even stranger that we were traveling God knows where, and came to Melyukovka,” thought Nikolai.
Indeed, it was Melyukovka, and girls and lackeys with candles and joyful faces ran out to the entrance.
- Who is this? - they asked from the entrance.
“The counts are dressed up, I can see it by the horses,” answered the voices.
Pelageya Danilovna Melyukova, a broad, energetic woman, wearing glasses and a swinging hood, was sitting in the living room, surrounded by her daughters, whom she tried not to let get bored. They were quietly pouring wax and looking at the shadows of the emerging figures when the footsteps and voices of visitors began to rustle in the hallway.
Hussars, ladies, witches, payassas, bears, clearing their throats and wiping their faces frosty from the frost in the hall, entered the hall, where candles were hastily lit. The clown - Dimmler and the lady - Nikolai opened the dance. Surrounded by screaming children, the mummers, covering their faces and changing their voices, bowed to the hostess and positioned themselves around the room.
- Oh, it’s impossible to find out! And Natasha! Look who she looks like! Really, it reminds me of someone. Eduard Karlych is so good! I didn't recognize it. Yes, how she dances! Oh, fathers, and some kind of Circassian; right, how it suits Sonyushka. Who else is this? Well, they consoled me! Take the tables, Nikita, Vanya. And we sat so quietly!
- Ha ha ha!... Hussar this, hussar that! Just like a boy, and his legs!... I can’t see... - voices were heard.
Natasha, the favorite of the young Melyukovs, disappeared with them into the back rooms, where they needed cork and various dressing gowns and men's dresses, which through the open door received the naked girlish hands from the footman. Ten minutes later, all the youth of the Melyukov family joined the mummers.
Pelageya Danilovna, having ordered the clearing of the place for the guests and refreshments for the gentlemen and servants, without taking off her glasses, with a restrained smile, walked among the mummers, looking closely into their faces and not recognizing anyone. Not only did she not recognize the Rostovs and Dimmler, but she also could not recognize either her daughters or her husband’s robes and uniforms that they were wearing.
-Whose is this? - she said, turning to her governess and looking into the face of her daughter, who represented the Kazan Tatar. - It seems like someone from Rostov. Well, Mr. Hussar, what regiment do you serve in? – she asked Natasha. “Give the Turk, give the Turk some marshmallows,” she said to the bartender who was serving them: “this is not prohibited by their law.”
Sometimes, looking at the strange but funny steps performed by the dancers, who had decided once and for all that they were dressed up, that no one would recognize them and therefore were not embarrassed, Pelageya Danilovna covered herself with a scarf, and her entire corpulent body shook from the uncontrollable, kind, old lady’s laughter . - Sashinet is mine, Sashinet is that! - she said.
After Russian dances and round dances, Pelageya Danilovna united all the servants and gentlemen together, in one large circle; They brought a ring, a string and a ruble, and general games were arranged.
An hour later, all the suits were wrinkled and upset. Cork mustaches and eyebrows were smeared across sweaty, flushed and cheerful faces. Pelageya Danilovna began to recognize the mummers, admired how well the costumes were made, how they suited especially the young ladies, and thanked everyone for making her so happy. The guests were invited to dine in the living room, and the courtyard was served in the hall.
- No, guessing in the bathhouse, that’s scary! - said the old girl who lived with the Melyukovs at dinner.
- Why? – asked the eldest daughter of the Melyukovs.
- Don’t go, you need courage...
“I’ll go,” said Sonya.
- Tell me, how was it with the young lady? - said the second Melyukova.
“Yes, just like that, one young lady went,” said the old girl, “she took a rooster, two utensils, and sat down properly.” She sat there, just heard, suddenly she was driving... with bells, with bells, a sleigh drove up; hears, comes. He comes in completely in human form, like an officer, he came and sat down with her at the device.
- A! Ah!...” Natasha screamed, rolling her eyes in horror.
- How can he say that?
- Yes, as a person, everything is as it should be, and he began and began to persuade, and she should have occupied him with conversation until the roosters; and she became shy; – she just became shy and covered herself with her hands. He picked it up. It's good that the girls came running...
- Well, why scare them! - said Pelageya Danilovna.
“Mother, you yourself were guessing...” said the daughter.
- How do they tell fortunes in the barn? – asked Sonya.
- Well, at least now, they’ll go to the barn and listen. What will you hear: hammering, knocking - bad, but pouring bread - this is good; and then it happens...
- Mom, tell me what happened to you in the barn?
Pelageya Danilovna smiled.
“Oh, well, I forgot…” she said. - You won’t go, will you?
- No, I'll go; Pepageya Danilovna, let me in, I’ll go,” said Sonya.
- Well, if you're not afraid.
- Luiza Ivanovna, may I? – asked Sonya.
Whether they were playing ring, string or ruble, or talking, as now, Nikolai did not leave Sonya and looked at her with completely new eyes. It seemed to him that today, only for the first time, thanks to that corky mustache, he fully recognized her. Sonya really was cheerful, lively and beautiful that evening, like Nikolai had never seen her before.
“So that’s what she is, and I’m a fool!” he thought, looking at her sparkling eyes and her happy, enthusiastic smile, making dimples on her cheeks from under her mustache, a smile that he had never seen before.
“I’m not afraid of anything,” said Sonya. - Can I do it now? - She stood up. They told Sonya where the barn was, how she could stand silently and listen, and they gave her a fur coat. She threw it over her head and looked at Nikolai.
“What a beauty this girl is!” he thought. “And what have I been thinking about so far!”
Sonya went out into the corridor to go to the barn. Nikolai hurriedly went to the front porch, saying that he was hot. Indeed, the house was stuffy from the crowded people.
It was the same motionless cold outside, the same month, only it was even lighter. The light was so strong and there were so many stars on the snow that I didn’t want to look at the sky, and the real stars were invisible. In the sky it was black and boring, on earth it was fun.
“I’m a fool, a fool! What have you been waiting for so far? thought Nikolai and, running onto the porch, he walked around the corner of the house along the path that led to the back porch. He knew that Sonya would come here. Halfway along the road there were stacked fathoms of firewood, there was snow on them, and a shadow fell from them; through them and from their sides, intertwining, the shadows of old bare linden trees fell onto the snow and the path. The path led to the barn. The chopped wall of the barn and the roof, covered with snow, as if carved from some kind of precious stone, glittered in the monthly light. A tree cracked in the garden, and again everything was completely silent. The chest seemed to breathe not air, but some kind of eternally youthful strength and joy.
Feet clattered on the steps from the maiden porch, there was a loud creaking sound on the last one, which was covered with snow, and the voice of an old girl said:
- Straight, straight, along the path, young lady. Just don't look back.
“I’m not afraid,” answered Sonya’s voice, and Sonya’s legs squealed and whistled in her thin shoes along the path towards Nikolai.
Sonya walked wrapped in a fur coat. She was already two steps away when she saw him; She also saw him not as she knew him and as she had always been a little afraid. He was in a woman's dress with tangled hair and a happy and new smile for Sonya. Sonya quickly ran up to him.
“Completely different, and still the same,” thought Nikolai, looking at her face, all illuminated by moonlight. He put his hands under the fur coat that covered her head, hugged her, pressed her to him and kissed her on the lips, above which there was a mustache and from which there was a smell of burnt cork. Sonya kissed him in the very center of his lips and, extending her small hands, took his cheeks on both sides.
“Sonya!... Nicolas!...” they just said. They ran to the barn and returned each from their own porch.
When everyone drove back from Pelageya Danilovna, Natasha, who always saw and noticed everything, arranged the accommodation in such a way that Luiza Ivanovna and she sat in the sleigh with Dimmler, and Sonya sat with Nikolai and the girls.
Nikolai, no longer overtaking, rode smoothly on the way back, and still peering at Sonya in this strange moonlight, looking for in this ever-changing light, from under his eyebrows and mustache, that former and present Sonya, with whom he had decided never again to be separated. He peered, and when he recognized the same and the other and remembered, hearing that smell of cork, mixed with the feeling of a kiss, he deeply inhaled the frosty air and, looking at the receding earth and the brilliant sky, he felt himself again in a magical kingdom.
- Sonya, are you okay? – he asked occasionally.
“Yes,” answered Sonya. - What about you?
In the middle of the road, Nikolai let the coachman hold the horses, ran up to Natasha’s sleigh for a moment and stood on the lead.
“Natasha,” he told her in a whisper in French, “you know, I’ve made up my mind about Sonya.”
-Did you tell her? – Natasha asked, suddenly beaming with joy.
- Oh, how strange you are with those mustaches and eyebrows, Natasha! Are you happy?
– I’m so glad, so glad! I was already angry with you. I didn't tell you, but you treated her badly. This is such a heart, Nicolas. I'm so glad! “I can be nasty, but I was ashamed to be the only happy one without Sonya,” Natasha continued. “Now I’m so glad, well, run to her.”
- No, wait, oh, how funny you are! - said Nikolai, still peering at her, and in his sister, too, finding something new, extraordinary and charmingly tender, which he had never seen in her before. – Natasha, something magical. A?
“Yes,” she answered, “you did great.”
“If I had seen her before as she is now,” thought Nikolai, “I would have asked long ago what to do and would have done whatever she ordered, and everything would have been fine.”
“So you’re happy, and I did good?”
- Oh, so good! I recently quarreled with my mother over this. Mom said she's catching you. How can you say this? I almost got into a fight with my mom. And I will never allow anyone to say or think anything bad about her, because there is only good in her.
- Is that good? - said Nikolai, once again looking for the expression on his sister’s face to find out if it was true, and, squeaking with his boots, he jumped off the slope and ran to his sleigh. The same happy, smiling Circassian, with a mustache and sparkling eyes, looking out from under a sable hood, was sitting there, and this Circassian was Sonya, and this Sonya was probably his future, happy and loving wife.
Arriving home and telling their mother about how they spent time with the Melyukovs, the young ladies went home. Having undressed, but without erasing their cork mustaches, they sat for a long time, talking about their happiness. They talked about how they would live married, how their husbands would be friends and how happy they would be.
On Natasha’s table there were mirrors that Dunyasha had prepared since the evening. - Just when will all this happen? I'm afraid I never... That would be too good! – Natasha said getting up and going to the mirrors.
“Sit down, Natasha, maybe you’ll see him,” said Sonya. Natasha lit the candles and sat down. “I see someone with a mustache,” said Natasha, who saw her face.
“Don’t laugh, young lady,” Dunyasha said.
With the help of Sonya and the maid, Natasha found the position of the mirror; her face took on a serious expression and she fell silent. She sat for a long time, looking at the row of receding candles in the mirrors, assuming (based on the stories she had heard) that she would see the coffin, that she would see him, Prince Andrei, in this last, merging, vague square. But no matter how ready she was to mistake the slightest spot for the image of a person or a coffin, she saw nothing. She began to blink frequently and moved away from the mirror.
