by Kanat Malim
Ataq: - Okay, give it here.
He snatched the tape from her hands and quickly left the room. Britney didn’t see his tears... But her family sitting in the hallway saw Ataq slam the door and wipe the tears from his eyes.
15. Life without Britney
Ataq had already left the city before her plane departed. He arrived home late that night. Aina Apa only learned about the incident the next morning.
The whole day he didn’t leave the yurt. While he and Britney were in the city, according to the project plan the shepherds were supposed to be merging their flocks and herds.
Ataq wasn’t worried about his livestock, because all the animals were under the care of shepherds. He didn’t know how to proceed now. He just didn’t know what to do next.
People didn’t know that he had returned. According to the schedule, they would be returning in 10 days.
For the next 10 days he toured the steppe on his horse, with no one else around.
He went secretly to the shaman to ask him for a tape recorder. The shaman refused to admit he had one until Ataq told him the whole bitter truth of what happened.
The shaman promised not to say anything about it, and Ataq picked up the recorder. The machine was from Soviet times, but it was in good condition.
From that day on, he listened endlessly to the tape recording until the batteries ran down. He couldn’t stop thinking about Britney, all the more because everything around him reminded him of her.
After 10 days had passed, at Ataq’s request, people learned about everything from his mother.
He hadn’t planned to move forward on the plan without Britney, and Ataq didn’t know what to do. The thought occurred to him to distribute their livestock to the others, and use that as an excuse to leave with his mother for the city in search of a new life. But this was just one option for getting out of the current situation.
Another month went by. The shepherds hadn’t yet met with Ataq personally, understanding his state of mind. His mother asked people to be patient, not to harm the health of her son.
One time Ataq invited a group of musicians, and all day long he played with them the music composed by Britney.
Then it seemed to Aina Apa that her son was going crazy. She didn’t know that the batteries in the tape recorder had long been drained.
Another month went by. Autumn was coming.
People wanted to know more, because the livestock needed to be prepared for winter. Some shepherds had withdrawn their livestock and restored their farms to the way they were before.
16. Ataq in America
And then one day people came to visit from the city, and one of them was from the United States. Their visit was made at the initiative of Britney, to help in the implementation of the project. They brought a ready-to-launch plan of action.
Ataq realized that with their help the 10-year plan could be reduced to 2 years. Now they didn’t need to attract bank financing, because these people had already funded the main part of the project.
Promising to give a definitive answer after a conversation with Britney, he asked for her contact information. They gave him her phone number.
Taking the tape with him, he left the city.
The telephone number was that of her producer; Ataq would have to tell their intentions to him first.
Communication took place through an interpreter. The producer offered to have Ataq come and discuss all the issues there. Thanks to the producer, Ataq quickly obtained an American visa.
He arrives in America. He’s met by Britney’s producer. Ataq immediately offers his own action plan. The producer advises Ataq to present his plan on the day of her concert, scheduled a week later, because the result of their conversation can affect the future of both Britney and Ataq.
The days crawled by quietly to welcome a new week. After about the fourth song, on a signal from the producer, Ataq went onto the stage.
Britney couldn’t believe her eyes. In Ataq’s hands was the same tape... and Britney already guessed what was going to be discussed.
The audience froze. Putting the tape into Britney’s hands, Ataq read his text in English:
“Britney, you remember giving me this tape, and you asked for it back when I decided to forget you. And indeed, the song you recorded on this tape always reminds me of you. Listening to you, I was always there with you in my mind. I listened to it as long as the batteries in the shaman’s tape recorder lasted. Each time I played it, the recording quality deteriorated, and the last time the sound was gone altogether. Now I leave you with this tape... And I ask you to put your song in a digital format for me so that I can listen to you until I am very old and start to lose my hearing.”
At this point, there was the sound of the musical arrangement without vocals that Ataq and Britney’s producer had been preparing for a week. It sounded just like the Qazaq traditional instruments were being played live.
The producer handed Ataq a dombra so that he could accompany Britney.
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