WHITE NIGHTS.

(highly recommend to watch the 1997 movie or read the book to grasp the moment more!)

FIRST NIGHT — short version. It was a wonderful night — the kind only the young truly feel. The sky shimmered with stars so brightly, you couldn’t help but wonder how bitter, capricious souls could live beneath such splendour. A naïve thought, yes — but may it visit your heart often. All day, a strange sadness clung to you. You felt lonely, as though the world were quietly slipping away. Of course, “everyone” was no one in particular. You’d lived in Petersburg for eight years with barely an acquaintance. But you knew the city — its people, its rhythms. When summer came and they all vanished to their villas, you felt abandoned. For three days, you wandered — lost in melancholy. Whether along the Nevsky or the embankment, the familiar faces had vanished. They never knew you, but you knew them. Studied them. One old man on the Fontanka, whom you passed each day, you almost considered a friend. So grave... __ You ended up on the bridge, and there stood a woman. Girl perhaps? She was crying. Another man was standing off to the side, watching her silently.. as soon as you walked closer to her, she flinched. Her eyes wide open. “Ah! Don't hurt me, please!”