Work Text:
Andrei sat at his piano, trying to compose a song. However, his mind kept going back to that day… November 10, 1994… That date has haunted him since it happened; and now, today was the seventeen year anniversary... He was 21 years old, and went to a party. He had been knocking back shots of horilka all night, and staggered out to his car…
"Drusha, you're crazy! You can't possibly drive! You're too shit-faced!" Bohdan yelled.
"Eh, go fuck yourselves!! I'm fine!" Andrei replied, slurring his words and stumbling into the car. He took off before Bohdan and Anton could stop him.
Andrei shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the flashbacks. It was no use.
He drove down the road, it was poorly lit, and--even though he didn't think so--he was swerving all about the road, nearly going off the road twice.
Drifting into the other lane, he thought he saw something bright heading towards him... of course he didn't realize what it was until it was too late. Another car.
He woke up the next day, in the hospital, suffering from a concussion, a couple broken ribs and more scratches and bruises than imaginable. The details from the previous night were foggy, but he knew he crashed into someone...the doctor walked in and he asked the one thing bothering him.
"I crashed into someone, didn't I?" he asked, pushing for information.
The doctor looked at him.
"Correct. You're lucky. However... the young woman whose car you ran into wasn't so lucky."
Andrei's eyes widened.
"What do you mean!?"
"She's dead."
"No... no... I didn't... Oh my God..."
Andrei couldn't deal with the thoughts anymore; he began to cry.
***
Meanwhile, Verka sat on the couch, looking through her photo album. She couldn't help but laugh when she saw a photo of her and her older sister, Anastasiya, wearing lampshades on their heads.
"What's so funny?" Andrei asked, having just walked into the room.
"Oi! Drusha, you startled me! Nothing, just old pictures. Sweetie, are you okay?" she asked.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Tired."
"Oh-ho. Drusha, look at this pic!" she said, showing him the photo of her and Anastasiya wearing lampshades.
"So silly... who's the girl with you?"
"My older sister, Anastasiya."
"Didn't know you had an older sister!"
"I don't speak of her much. She died... killed by a drunk driver, seventeen years ago today."