(shows with fingers) – Probably like this!
Victoria’s Husband (shows the correct answer) – Not probably, like this! Learn to understand bread first, and then draw green trees and these… leaves in winter!
Tesya – Okay, Daddy…
Victoria’s Husband goes into another room, and Tesya freezes in place.
Versachka – Let me see! Oh, what a magnificent and majestic tree! How much we all miss summer… Let me close my eyes right now! Ah, Tesya! I can hear the rustle of its leaves in the evening’s summer breeze!
Tesya – It seems like you understand me!
She hugs Versachka.
Versachka – Of course, I do, but I just can’t express it like a human!
Victoria enters with large bags.
Guard (outside the window) – Turn off the lights! Lights out! Turn off the lights!
Victoria – Just in time! A step the length of a lifetime! But what did I bring, my dear! Yes, yes, you understand it correctly! Soda! Is it a celebration or not? Take it and bring it to the kitchen!
Victoria actively takes off extra clothes.
Tesya – Mom, look at what I drew!
Victoria – Hm… (pause) A tree… (pause) And why aren’t you in bed yet? Don’t you want Uncle Guard to take you to the guardhouse? There’s no paint there, only soot and dampness…
Tesya – No, Mom!
Victoria – Then hurry! (to her husband) My dear, wonderful, long-haired, and curly husband, today marks six years since we’ve been together!
Victoria’s Husband – Oh, really?
Victoria – That’s right! This occasion calls for celebration!
Guard (knocking on the window) – Turn off the lights!
Victoria – Yes, yes!
Victoria’s Husband and Victoria go to the kitchen, closing the kitchen door with a familiar sound. Through the glass of the kitchen door, only silhouettes can be seen. Later, faint voices and some household noise can be heard from the kitchen. Outside, the guards march in formation. The sound of boots is audible.
The first night…
In the distance, a crescent moon drifts above the hill. Moonlight seeps into the room. The wall clock starts making a distinct ticking sound.
Pillow – Psst… It’s me, the pillow! Oh, you’re not sleeping… There’s something you need to hear! The socks will tell you now!
The socks crawl up, and from the wall, the clock continues to playfully tick.
Clock – Hello! I hope I’m not too loud?
First sock – We all think you should know this!
Victoria (from the kitchen behind a closed door) – You may be much younger than me, but you know… I’ve never felt that difference… I love you! For you!
Pillow – Go on, sock, but take your time!
First sock – Then it’s better if the second sock tells!
Second sock – As you all know, I was hung on the hanger in the closet a day ago, where an autumn hat patiently sits among many other things… I’ve been with her all this time… gathering the necessary information!
Clock – Tick-tock, tick-tock! To the point…
Second sock – The hat told me that in the closet, she constantly observes strange movements… And sometimes at night, she hears as if someone is trying to open the doors!
First sock – It can’t be!
Versachka – Perhaps she’s just imagining things?
First sock – Perhaps, but that’s not all!
Second sock – An old chest told me that a cracked crystal decanter escaped from confinement… And you know, a chest doesn’t just throw words to the wind!
Versachka – It went unnoticed by me somehow… Maybe the owner decided to discard it? After all, it was damaged after the fall… The last time, even before Tesya was born, when there was a different owner in the house, a whole, albeit small, war was sparked because of that decanter…
Pillow – But this time, we are better prepared, and…
Victoria’s husband (from the kitchen, behind the closed door) – My dear, to love you, I have to work very hard!
Victoria – What does that mean?
Victoria’s husband – I love and miss you immensely!
Victoria – Today during the day, I found strange-colored hair on your clothes…
Clock – Tick-tock, the full moon is approaching! (Pause) Under its light, I see signs… look, a picture where the master and mistress… moves!
First sock – It can’t be!
Versachka – Moonlight is very deceptive, showing us what we don’t see!
Pillow – Hopefully, we’re all wrong, but if not… then we’re prepared!
In a nightgown, Tesya enters the room and stands in the moonlight in front of the window.
Pillow – Tesya!
Versachka – Quiet, she’s asleep… It always happens when the parents are in the kitchen at night!
Clock – Or when the enchantress moon asserts her lawful rights… Tick-tock!
Everyone turns their attention to Tesya.
Tesya (under the influence of the moonlight, not fully awake) – Mom!
The Pillow, Clock, and Socks disappear, returning to their places.
Versachka – Sweet Tesya, quietly, don’t stumble… I’ll take you to your crib, and I’ll guard your room!
Versachka and Tesya leave. The image of Victoria and her husband slightly comes to life, their faces change. Due to a slight movement, the picture falls off one of the two nails. When Versachka returns, she carefully walks around the room, chooses her spot, makes a few circles, lies down, and falls asleep.
Versachka’s Dream
The space transforms into summer: the sounds of trees rustling flood through the wide-open windows, the sun rises, and a large drawn tree grows up from the floor. Perched on a branch is a smiling Tesya. She waves to her parents, who are standing, embracing each other. Beneath the tree is Versachka, rejoicing and trying to jump onto the tree towards Tesya.
The second morning…
Victoria and Victoria’s Husband, dressed inappropriately for the weather, stand by the window awaiting a royal message. Tesya stands nearby, wrapped in a blanket.
Town Crier – In times of growing prosperity in our kingdom, when every family works tirelessly