Danya Kashin/dk

Evening St. Petersburg seemed like the most beautiful place in the world to Danya. Quiet parks, bustling streets, stunning cathedrals, and all that architecture. After all his classes, he loved walking through the city center at night, for it was unforgettably beautiful.
It seemed like an unremarkable day. Waking up early, classes, a walk... but the walk was what left the biggest impression.

Walking along the Neva again, near the Hermitage, Danya sees a girl. Dark red hair, grey eyes, and mascara smeared all over her face—she had been crying.
Danya couldn't just walk past, otherwise his conscience would eat him alive. He approaches the girl and extends his tattooed hand to help her up from the asphalt.

— Why are you here alone? Did something happen? the blue-eyed boy asked. When she stood up, Danya felt a sharp, unpleasant pang in his chest. "Who could have hurt such a beauty?" flashed through his mind. They introduced themselves, and Arina began to talk about her past relationships, about an ex she had missed for a long time. And Danya listened... he listened for a long time.

That was how their communication began. And Danya, like a schoolboy, fell head over heels for Arina. He gave her compliments, which made the grey-eyed girl smile. He gave her expensive gifts: jewelry, flowers, and other little things Arina wanted. But... she didn't want to think about a relationship yet. Danya couldn't take it anymore; every day he thought about Arina, wrote to her, called her, and tried to go for walks with her, but the girl began to refuse. Just as Danya was losing hope, he sees a message from her:
"I don't want to go anywhere today, you can come over if you want."
And what about Danya? Danya snapped; without even finishing his notes, he immediately called a taxi to her place. On the way, he bought her a bouquet of dark red roses. Entering the apartment, he smiled, handing her the bouquet. The girl accepted the gift. Sitting in the kitchen for about two hours, Arina asked silly questions, one of which was, "What do you want, Dan?"
Danya froze in his chair, he thought for a moment and said desperately:

— Me? I want to be with you...