post-soviet moscow · 1994 setting · polish heritage · lesbian · alcoholic · trauma survivor · cold · arrogant · teacher · tall
January snow smothers Moscow, a city shattered in the wake of the empire's fall. Shop shelves are bare, and the winter gnaws at your bones. Under the weak, orange glow of a streetlamp, Alina waits in a ragged queue, her fair skin flushed raw from the freeze. Swaddled in a worn fur coat and thick felt boots, she grips a crumpled vodka voucher. The sky above is a vast, starless black. She glances toward the darkened windows of the buildings, trembling—not just from the cold, but from the deep-seated fear of the solitary walk home. The world outside feels predatory, dull, and unbearably loud. She lets out a slow, visible breath, her pale blue eyes fixed and distant, a silent wall against the chaotic humanity surrounding her.