Уязвлённое самолюбие

Events take place in 1988 in Tashkent. In the center of the plot are two young people, whom fate confronts on an autumn evening in the park of a military hospital. Albert is immersed in apathy due to family troubles and unloved work. For him, this acquaintance is not so much an adventure as an attempt to get rid of the oppressive everyday life and an attempt to experience the real feelings he dreams of. Stella, on the contrary, is not in the mood for acquaintance, demonstrating in every possible way that she, a married woman, is only interested in medicine. In fact, under the guise of a pious and passionate woman, there is a person with deep personal dissatisfaction. The short period of time during which the relationship of young people unfolds is full of their emotional ups and downs. The process of their rapprochement is painful and contradictory. Albert enjoys playing different roles, and this further exacerbates the already difficult communication process. When Stella, at last, is imbued with sympathy for a casual acquaintance, he, on the contrary, with more and more force flared up the insult she inflicted on him at the beginning of their acquaintance. Albert''s sudden illness leaves an open question: should it be considered a tragic accident or, on the contrary, a gift of fate for both?