Although Masha and Veronika rarely share screen time, their stories intersect through shared spaces: a dilapidated railway station, a riverbank where Veronika sketches and Masha plays. The station becomes a liminal zone where the industrial and the natural converge. Here, the “hard avid” motif is most pronounced: a train whistles, its metallic roar echoing Veronika’s scribbles, while Masha releases a stone into the river, causing ripples that disturb the train’s reflection. This moment captures the thematic crux: personal myth can ripple into the larger, hard-edged narrative of society.