Black cats crossing your path bring bad luck

[Scene: A snowy Moscow sidewalk near a cozy café. Misha and Anya are walking together with coffee cups in hand.]

Misha:
Hold on—Hold on! Did you see that?

Anya:
What? The snowplow? Or the babushka jaywalking with two baguettes?

Misha (pointing nervously):
No! That black cat that just ran across the sidewalk! It went right in front of us. Anya, we have to go back. Take a different street. I’m not messing with this today.

Anya (laughing):
You can’t be serious. It’s just a cat. Probably on its way to its next nap or plotting world domination.

Misha (gravely):
Anya, it’s not just a cat. Black cats crossing your path bring bad luck. Everyone knows that. I have a meeting with my boss this afternoon—I’m not risking bad vibes.

Anya:
Misha, you work remotely. Your boss is in Novosibirsk. Over Zoom. What’s the cat going to do, crash your Wi-Fi?

Misha (deadpan):
Wouldn’t be the first time strange things happened. Remember last year when a black cat crossed my path on my way to the post office? That same day, I dropped my phone in the toilet and got a parking ticket.

Anya (smirking):
You dropped your phone because you were watching TikToks while brushing your teeth. And you got the parking ticket because you parked in front of a fire hydrant.

Misha (waving her off):
Coincidences. But too many coincidences start to feel like patterns.

Anya:
Misha, our brains are wired to see patterns—even when they’re not there. It’s called “apophenia.” You’re connecting dots like it’s some cosmic Sudoku, but black cats are just cats. Science hasn’t found a single shred of evidence that they cause bad luck.

Misha:
Maybe science just doesn’t understand everything. My бабушка always said black cats were witches in disguise.

Anya:
Your бабушка also said whistling indoors summons demons. You know what it actually summons? Me, with a karaoke mic.

Misha (grinning):
Still… why tempt fate? What’s the harm in just being careful?

Anya:
Because it affects how you live. Imagine avoiding half the city because a cat happened to walk across your path. Poor cat probably just wanted to cross the road without being judged.

Misha:
Maybe. But what if I’m right, and you’re wrong?

Anya:
Then I’ll buy you a bottle of that ridiculously expensive Georgian wine you like. But if I’m right, you have to pet the next black cat we see.

Misha (dramatic sigh):
Fine. But if my Zoom crashes, I’m calling you and the cat into the meeting.

Anya:
Deal. And you know what? I’ll even make you a lucky charm—with actual science in it. Like a USB stick with backup internet.

Misha (laughing):
That might actually be more useful than my rabbit’s foot.

Anya:
Exactly. Let’s fight superstition—with technology and tea.

Misha:
But if we pass a ladder leaning on a wall, we are crossing the street. No arguments.

Anya (grinning):
You’re lucky I love walking in circles.