Three Tickets to the Cinema

Sasha and Zhenya are best friends since childhood: together at school, at training sessions, and every weekend. One day, a girl appears at the bus stop in their lives. Both Sasha and Zhenya notice her, but neither of them dares to approach. These furtive glances could have continued, but the stranger grows more and more somber each day, and then disappears altogether. After a while, the friends meet the girl in the subway — beaten, dirty, with an inscrutable gaze. Sasha and Zhenya help her, bring her to their place, and learn her terrible secret. Now they are the only ones to whom Vasilisa, the stranger from the bus stop, can trust, in whom she can find support and warmth. Vasilisa stays in Sasha's apartment, as he lives alone, abandoned by his family. Zhenya suffers from a tyrannical father and an indifferent mother. But when they are together, the world changes: past traumas, cruelty, and indifference no longer remain. Sasha, Zhenya, and Vasilisa come together after their school graduation and spend all their free time together: studying, helping each other, and having deep conversations. They rapidly grow up, and the older they become, the clearer it becomes: their relationship is not just friendship. Sasha, Zhenya, and Vasilisa are connected, and they have to protect their bond from the prejudices and malice of the outside world. Will they be able to overcome all obstacles without losing themselves and their feelings? Will society accept them as they are — young, vibrant, and loving? Yana Tkacheva is the author of the epic fantasy duology "Gods as Humans." This time she writes not about a fictional, but about a real world and the love story of three adults. Each of the characters carries a burden that would seem unbearable to many. But Sasha, Zhenya, and Vasilisa find the strength for this trial in the support and trust they have for each other.