Leonid Romanovich Kuznetsov was a strange man and altogether one that I am incapable of sufficiently describing. He was pale-skinned, nearly to the point of looking ill. This complexion was heavily contrasted by his dark hair and eyes, which gave his face the distinct appearance of being shrouded in shadow. In terms of his wealth, he could be considered bourgeoisie, but he never attended gatherings of those in his class, nor did he care much for his money, and thus I don’t see him as such. Leonid Romanovich spent most of his time wandering the streets, or else he was shut up in his palacelike manor which stuck out like a sore thumb against the backdrop of the poor and dirty city he and so many others called home. What he did there was unknown to the public, and when questioned by passerby, he would explain (rather enigmatically) that he was a scientist. This did not clear things up, and if anything, it prompted more rumors. The story I am to tell you today does not, however, regard solely the life experiences of the young man Leonid, whom I will affectionately refer to as ‘the prince’ in later sentences, despite his lack of monarch blood. The story of our peculiar city spreads further than him alone, mostly due to the influence of another young man (though vastly different in all regards aside from age) by the name of Dmitry Matteovich Adoratsky. Dmitry Matteovich was, too, a strange man, but in much the opposite fashion. In terms of appearance, he had coffee-colored hair and vaguely grayish eyes. He was short, lithe, and carried himself in an overconfident manner that bordered upon arrogance. He flitted from place to place, all over the city. Everyone either knew him or knew of him, and the majority boasted a good opinion of the man. The strange part was that nobody, despite being certain that they liked him, could list with certainty any singular fact about him. In other words, everyone was quite sure that they adored him, and simultaneously, they did not know who he was. The answer to that question— who is Dmitry Matteovich?--- would be answered by only one person, and far later in time. Our story begins on one of Leonid’s routine walks when two worlds collide. One might call it a coincidence, or fate, or perhaps one might be so bold as to call it destiny, but in all reality, the meeting was entirely orchestrated by Dmitry Matteovich, who walked straight into him on ‘accident’, and exclaimed, as he had rehearsed it in his mind, “I’m terribly sorry! I just don’t watch where I’m going, do I? Here, allow me to pick up your books…” Dmitry knelt down and gathered the books from the sidewalk. Leonid Romanovich watched him with a dazed expression, as if he had never seen a human before, and the appearance of one was rather striking. “Here you are, sir.” “Thank you,” Leonid said, taking the books from him and again tucking them beneath his arm. He made to walk away, but Dmitry followed on his heels. “I’d like to apologize again for— Oh, never mind, anyway. There’s no point in pretending I don’t know who you are— everyone knows who you are. You must be the Kuznetsov gentleman.” “The very same,” Leonid Romanovich said. He did not seem particularly disinterested, though he was somewhat awkward, and Dmitry had his work cut out for him to scrape up a conversation. “Well, my name is Dmitry Matteovich Adoratsky, it’s good to meet you, sir. I was— well, I was intrigued by your reputation. I’m sure you’ve heard what people say about you. Some of the rumors are absolutely ridiculous!” “I know who you are, Adoratsky. I have heard of a few of the rumors. I am no… vampire, if that is what you’re asking.” The prince turned his dark eyes upon Dmitry, who would have been afraid, if he had the depth for such a thing. Instead, he laughed in a forced and uncertain-sounding manner, hoping that Kuznetsov had intended to make a joke. “... Right, well, I’m glad that’s out of the way!” A smile crossed the oddity’s lips, and he turned his head to watch where he was walking. Dmitry continued to scamper after him.
“Anywho, let’s just put all that aside. You have caught my interest, Mr. Kuznetsov— that is the pure truth of the matter! You are a scientist, is that right, or is that another falsity?” “That is right. I am a scientist.” “And you are a believer, too?” “Indeed.” “How might one be both a scientist and a believer?” Adoratsky asked, though in a soft voice, as if to himself. He continued quickly, without waiting for the prince to respond, which he would have waited in vain for. “Alright, forget that, too. How about you come to this party I’m having? It’s not a terribly grand event, a smaller one. I don’t have the money to throw anything with any real splendor.” For a while, Leon Romanovich didn’t respond, and Dmitry added, “It's a fundraiser for charity! Helping the poor! Haven’t you an interest in that sort of thing? Well, I mean, everyone does, it is a moral inclination, a civil—” “I will not go to any party.” “What?” Dmitry was taken aback, probably because he was so used to winning the favor of his peers with very little effort. “I will not go to any party,” Leon Romanovich repeated verbatim, without the slightest inclination in his tone. “Well… that’s a shame.” Dmitry said, still as if confused. “It is, you say?” Leonid furrowed his brow and again cast his dark eyes towards the man who was half-running to keep up with him. “Well… yes, I think so.” The truth is, for Adoratsky, Leonid Romanovich’s denial of his offer was fatal to the party— in fact, the entire purpose of the party was for Leon to attend, and thus for Dmitry to say that he and Leon were acquainted. This in itself would be a very fascinating aspect in the eyes of the other partygoers, who would have a newfound admiration for Dmitry, and an interest in his enigma. Now, the party would still progress, and the partygoers would be amused by it, but still much of the strategy of it was lost for Dmitry Matteovich. However, what Leonid Romanovich took Adoratsky’s words to mean was quite different from what he meant. Kuznetsov naively believed that the man wanted to get to know him. Such an absurd idea came to him, perhaps, from his isolation, and his fantasy that someone would have a genuine interest in him. The innocent prince was unaware that many people fostered such an interest, but were too intimidated to come to him about it. Dmitry was not one of the people that experienced anything genuinely aside from ambition. Simply, Leonid was very unfortunate to encounter such a scoundrel as Dmitry Adoratsky, and more than that, he was a fool to put his trust in the filthy snake. “Well, if it distresses you so, perhaps you might dine with me, on some separate occasion, and we might converse then.” Kuznetsov said. Like a shark to blood, Adoratsky lunged for this fresh opportunity, and his face lit up with a grin. “It would be an honor! An honor, sir!” Perhaps the strangest aspect of the whole Kuznetsov-Adoratsky story was that by associating himself with Adoratsky, Leonid Romanovich saved himself from certain death. Of course, all of this will become plainly known to the reader in later chapters. ---- > Chapter 1/8 > Next: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1214240111 > Notes - I'm actually sooo excited for this story, it's very complex, but the writing style is fun to play with. Keep your eye out for character development throughout chapters! This chapter is really just an introduction, so it's not super interesting just yet, but by next chapter you'll see where I'm going with this.
