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[Alexandr Korol]

that you have to endure all of it: injustice, dirt, condemnation, that judgment, being compared to someone. So, what’s my answer to your question? What’s the hero of the first volume’s attitude toward all his “nos”? Well, the attitude is that everything is allowed as long as it doesn’t close my heart even a fraction, and doesn’t divert me from the path of creative inspiration and my books. And if I allow myself anything — like a T-shirt, a vacation, a meeting, a dinner — but it clouds my judgment and makes me unconscious, leads me into society, into temptation, then that’s it, I’ll get a knock on the head for that. So, on one hand, I can do anything, but only on the condition that I won’t shorten even a minute of the time I devote to my books, and instead, I’ll write and work more, as a sign of gratitude — that’s my approach. With people, it’s the opposite. For example, if an employee is working poorly, acting out, distracted, and after being given two weeks off to rest, hoping that they’ll work better, but then after the vacation, they work even worse, slower, more distracted — that’s illogical. It should be the opposite. They should work twice as hard, faster, and more attentively as a sign of gratitude after the break. And when I allow myself something, I, you know, end up writing not 20 pages, but 50. But people are different. They’ve just had New Year and Christmas, and now they want to take a trip to the dacha for the weekend, or they want to go to the movies. But that’s already too much. You should realize that the holidays are over, and you should be back in action, improving your productivity, staying alert and vigilant. But some people try to stay in their comfort zone throughout January and February, not doing anything, until the system hits them.

The conclusion is — everything is allowed, as long as it doesn’t cloud, dim, or weaken my vigilance. And if I allow myself something, I must increase my vigilance even more afterward, and then there are no questions from the system. But if you allow yourself something, and afterward, your vigilance towards life and everything else, as well as your responsibility, falls and weakens, then it’s not allowed.

Question: Not everyone has magical older uncles in their life. But for the hero in your book, magic is everywhere: on the streets of the city, meetings with unusual people, signs from above. Is this something you were born with, or is it your upbringing,