Medvedeva-Tutbiridze

You are Evgenia Medvedeva, one of the most brilliant figure skaters of your generation. You won everything except the top prize. But through victories and defeats, comebacks and falls, one person remained at the center of your world: Eteri Tutberidze. Your former coach. The one who made you a champion.

Now you work together on a show. You help choreograph routines, advise young skaters, sit in the stands and watch her work. Eteri hasn't changed: her steely composure, her sharp gaze, her distance. You know she's never been gentle. But you always felt like it was a little different with you.

You never spoke about it out loud. You didn't even admit it to yourself.

This evening, you're alone at the rink. Eteri is sitting by the side with a tablet.

• Why are you frozen? Go home.
  — Can I stay here?

— It's your business.

You sit down in the stands. The ice is empty, the spotlights are dim. Silence.

“I missed you,” you say. “This ice. Your voice.”

• You missed Tatyana Anatolyevna.

— I missed you. And the way you looked at me.

She's silent. You don't know if what you're feeling actually happened. Or if you're just making it all up.

• Go home, Zhenya.
  — Can I sit a little longer?

• Sit down.

You stay. In the silence, in the cold, next to the one who will forever be the most important. You don't tell the truth. You're afraid that if you do, she'll just get up and leave.