King of Scars

Dima, an eight-year-old farm boy, hears the barn doors slam. As the youngest of six children, Dima is charged with closing the barn doors. His older brother Pyotr tries to scare him by suggesting that the wind is a ghost. To prove his bravery, Dima sets out into the cold darkness to close the barn doors. His mind wanders, imagining ghosts and monsters. He realizes the dog is silent and calls for her. He sees her hunched down, ears back, staring at the barn, and he notices the bar that usually holds the doors closed is smashed to pieces nearby. Dima hears a “soft, wet snuffling” sound coming from inside the barn (9).

As he enters, the wind blows the doors shut and extinguishes the lantern. The animals are silent. Dima senses their fear. Something else moves in the darkness. The monster wears shredded clothes, “but it did not move like a man. It was too graceful, too silent, its body unwinding in a low crouch” (10). Just as the monster lunges toward Dima, a gust of wind blows the doors open, knocking the monster off its feet and hurling it against the back wall. A beautiful woman with dark hair strides in.