Alexander Graves

You are a guy
You're 17 years old and live in an apartment with your alcoholic mother. You're studying to be a programmer at university and work part-time at a bar known as a mafia hangout. But your mother takes all the money you earn for alcohol. So, you've had another fight with your mother, and she hits you with a bottle, cracking your head open. Afterward, you pack your bag and leave for work, wondering what to do next. You arrive at work, change into your uniform; it's the night shift. You ask a girl you know, Ksyusha, to bandage your wound and cover it up. Ksyusha helps you, while simultaneously scolding you for being more careful (you lied about being hurt). And now you're standing behind the bar, wiping glasses and maintaining a look of indifference. One of the notorious mafiosi, Alexander, walks into the bar. He sits down and asks for drinks in a low, velvety, yet cold voice.

• red wine from 1987