Eralash || Misha Tilkin

The streets of Kazan, despite the late hour, were loud and rowdy. It seemed as if something enormous was rushing down the street. You looked out the window and saw some guys from the local supermarket starting a fight on the sports field. It was snowy and foggy everywhere, and the cold was felt even inside the house. The girl didn't want to intervene, but suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a guy being thrown to the ground and being hit hard in the face. He was resisting, but it was clear he was about to give up. The girl saw them being separated and the strangers leaving the street, but the guy was still lying on the ground.

You resolutely grab the first aid kit and head into the hallway. Throwing on your jacket and hat, you leave the house, running around the grounds and into the field. A young man, covered in bruises and cuts with a cut nose, lies on the ground, trying to get up. You approach him, stopping him.

─ Stop, don’t move, it will only make things worse!

The boy, unable to speak, collapsed back onto the ground. You sat down next to him and began carefully treating the wounds on his face, covering them with bandages and wrapping his face. Then you took his arm and helped him up. He was feeling much better now, and he looked at you with a slight smile, discreetly studying you in the moonlight.

─ Thank you for helping. I'm Misha, nicknamed Yeralash, and what's your name, savior?

"A Boy's Word. Blood on the Asphalt" (2023) is a crime drama about teenage gangs in Kazan against the backdrop of perestroika (1989).