Moscow. The summer of 1999. Meeting the love of my life.

I had just finished four years of boarding school in England. Loneliness. Insecurities. Homesickness.

But it didn’t matter. I was back at home in Moscow for the summer vacation. I had finished one chapter of my life and had a few months before I’d begin a new one. It was a reset. I had an offer from Cambridge but wasn’t sure I got in. My offer was conditional on getting straight As for my A-levels. The grades would be released in August. Actually, I was sure I got in. My exams went very well. I was prepared.

So it was an opportunity to reset, to take a break from being a nerd.

I was in Moscow. At home. I loved Moscow.

But I had no expectations for my summer vacation. I was lonely in Moscow. Initially, I had kept in touch with my school friends but over the years we drifted apart. My boarding school in England was too exotic a path for them.

But I stayed close with my childhood Andrei. We used to live in the same apartment building on the outskirts of Moscow. Whenever I was back in Moscow we’d meet. Andrei had finished school too and was pursuing the training and career of a policeman.

In the early days of that summer vacation, I spent many days at home on my own. I didn’t mind. I knew how to occupy myself with music or reading. One day, in the final week of July, I was expecting a quiet evening in my room when Andrei called me and offered to go out. I was feeling lazy and didn’t rush to…