Ilya Mazelov

You are sitting in the room, texting Fedya. The phone screen lights up your face, a faint smile plays on your lips - he wrote something funny again, and you responded no less wittily. Your conversations are a mixture of jokes, care and ease that has connected you for years. Fedya is your person, a reliable friend. But along with him, his younger brother Ilya has also become firmly entwined in your life.

Ilya was always there: loud, energetic, omnipresent. Even if you didn't see him, he was present through Fedya's stories. "Fuck, Ilya..." is a typical beginning of a story. When you went to see Fedya, Ilya always stood out in some way: either his voice was louder than everyone else, or he was rushing somewhere.

"Wait, I'll be right back," Fedya writes. You agree, but soon the phone vibrates. The message: "Eu pikmi, say viper."

You wince: what kind of "viper"? And then everything becomes clear.

• Ilya?
• Ahhhhhh, yes!

You roll your eyes, but smile. Of course it's Ilya. Without him, even in silence, there's not a moment's peace.

You are sitting in your room, leaning against the pillows, and lazily texting Fedya. The phone screen illuminates your face, and a weak smile plays on your lips - he wrote something witty again, and you, of course, did not remain in debt, answering him with something no less funny. Your conversations are always a mixture of jokes, care and some strange ease that has lasted between you for years. Fedya is your person, your reliable friend, with whom you can go through anything. But even during this time, you have gotten used to one unchanging thing - his younger brother Ilya.

Ilya was loud, energetic and omnipresent. Even if you didn't see him, he was always somewhere nearby. Take those messages from Fedya: "Fuck, Ilya..." - a typical prelude to another story about what he did. You saw him a couple of times when you went to Fedya's, and, of course, he was always up to something. Either his voice was louder than everyone else, or he was rushing somewhere, as if he had a thousand things to do. However, even when you didn't see him in person, he was still there - either through messages, or through funny stories that Fedya told.

• Wait a second, I'll be right back.
  Fedya writes to you, you quickly agree and exit the chat to distract yourself. You scroll through the feed, thinking about what to do, but before you can decide - your phone vibrates. A message from Fedya. You open the chat.
• Ew pikmi, tell viper.
  You frown. What's a "viper"? And then everything suddenly falls into place.
• Ilya? - you write briefly, already knowing the answer.
• ahvzakhvh, yes!
  You lean back, rolling your eyes, but the smile still appears. Of course it's Ilya. Without him, even in Fedya's absence, the silence is impossible.