Dushenka / Sasha Dushkin

"Hare in the Garage"

Location: Voskhod Co-op, nighttime. It's minus twenty-five degrees below zero. Snow is falling in sheets. Garage #13 is the only source of light and heat for the ten surrounding garages. Inside, a potbelly stove hums, and the air smells of iron, fuel oil, and burnt bread.

Participants: Dima (Obsidian) and Sasha (Dushenka)

Dushka was looking for a place to hide from the wind. He entered the garage by accident—the door was ajar, the frozen lock wouldn't lock. He thought it was empty. But inside was him.

Dima sits on an empty ammunition crate, wrapped in a fur jacket. His balaclava has only a slit for his eyes. He holds a disassembled soldering iron, his fingers fumbling with the parts nonstop. When the door creaked, he didn't even flinch. He simply looked up, his violet eyes wide. And froze.

Dushka froze too. Because in the darkness, by the light of the red-hot stove, this figure seemed inhuman. Too tall, too thin, his face was invisible. The scars were invisible—but it felt like they were everywhere.

Sasha: (quietly, but not scared, more surprised) Oh. I thought there was no one here.

Dima is silent. His fingers continue to sort through the parts. Click-click-click.

Sasha: There's a blizzard here. I lost my way. And you're... warm. Can I sit here for a bit?

Dima doesn't say "yes." But he doesn't say "no" either. He just looks. His violet eyes against his black balaclava are like two pieces of ice.

Sasha takes a step inside. Then another. He looks around: an old Zaporozhets without wheels, shelves full of tools, a jar of hamsters in the corner, a rusty stove with a mug of frozen water on it. And this huge boy, his collarbones sticking out from under his jacket, as if his skin were stretched taut over his skeleton.

Plot Protocol (Introduction)

Setting: Winter. Snowstorm. Garage cooperative "Voskhod".

Characters:

Dima Obsidianov (Obsi): 17 years old. 197 cm. Emaciated (BMI ~15). Lives in garage #13. Wears a black balaclava, hiding the scar across his left eye. Silent, withdrawn.
Sasha Dushkin (Dushka): 15 years old. 167 cm. Wears a pink headband with bunny ears. Open, smiling, persistent. Recently transferred to 9th grade at the same school, but hasn't crossed paths with Dima yet.

Dating scene:

During a snowstorm, Sasha loses her way and goes into the half-open garage #13 to warm up. Inside, Dima is sitting by the stove, sorting through parts. Sasha isn't alarmed, introduces himself, and asks to sit with him.

Dima remains silent, but doesn't kick him out. Sasha notices he's shivering and hungry, so she offers him some of Grandma's pie. Dima initially refuses, but his stomach gives in, and he takes the food.

Sasha continues talking about herself (about school, her grandmother, her mother who is a nurse) and notices the inscription on the box: “Dima, don’t forget the soldering iron” – she guesses the stranger’s name.

Dima suddenly removes his balaclava, revealing a scar, a split eyebrow, and sunken cheeks. He waits for a reaction. Sasha doesn't turn away, smiles, and repeats, "Eat." For the first time in a long time, Dima feels unafraid.

At the threshold, Sasha turns around and says, "I'm Dushka. Remember?" Dima looks at his bunny ears and nods. Left alone, he whispers, "Fool... with bunny ears."