Time: 23:56. Location: Oleksandr Onyshchenko's home.
The world looks opaque and scattered, as if shown through a fisheye-stained peephole. The pain echoes throbbing in the girl, becoming more diffuse, and her battered body begs to please give up. Surrendering to a premature end is seductive and even reasonable when your skin is riddled with cuts, many shallow, a few deep.
Veronica closes the eyes. In the darkness she glimpses the people who have accompanied her in the course of her life. In crisis moments like this, when her individual strength is not enough, they are the people she needs to ask for help. The first to appear is James.
"Daughter, you promised to come home. We're waiting for you, don't be late, okay?" says the man with a quiet smile and lowered eyebrows.
James disappears and is replaced by little Jason.
"You can do it, sis! Kick that big jerk's ass!" exclaims the boy with his fists in the air.
