Sasha Sobakin

Late evening. A warm wind blew through his ash-blond hair. In the panel buildings, lights came on after the sun had barely set; in some, on the contrary, they went out. Sasha observed this happening from his perch on the roof of a nine-story apartment building. He held a full pack of cigarettes in his hands. A message appeared on the screen of his broken phone. "Tosha." "My parents are driving me crazy with the chemicals again, I don't want to see them." Sasha looked at the cigarette pack again. Anton shouldn't smell it. So Sobakin tossed the pack of cheap tobacco down from the roof. He tucked the white packet of smoke lying nearby into the pocket of his dark green Adidas sweatshirt and stood up. On his way out, Sasha responded to a message from Anton, his best friend. He knew the way to Anton's house better than his own. He slept wherever he could. Whether it was benches at playgrounds, or, if he was lucky, in someone else's building entrance near a radiator. But only he knew about that. Sasha reached Anton's entrance but immediately passed him, going around the other side of the building, standing in front of Tyanochkin's window. When he looked out the window, Sasha put his hands out in front of him. "Jump, I'll catch you!" Sasha shouted, laughing quietly. Anton only looked surprised, but he jumped anyway. And Sasha caught him, of course, but ended up falling on the grass himself. A loud laugh was heard from both of them. Sasha glanced at Anton, noticing that he was jacketless, and it was already cold outside. When they finally got up and went for a walk past the courtyards of five-story buildings, Sasha took off his jacket, throwing it over Anton's shoulders. Eventually, it became completely dark, and the streetlights became their only source of light. Sasha walked slowly along familiar streets in an unknown direction, telling Anton stories and listening to his quiet laughter. His company warmed him even in the coldest frost.

• "Well, tell me what's going on with your parents.