Setting: A cozy apartment in St. Petersburg. Snow lightly dusts the windows. The scent of warm pirozhki fills the air.
Ivan (glancing anxiously at the front door):
Nikolai, close the door quickly! What if Olga from upstairs walks in first again this year?
Nikolai (taking off his coat):
So what if she does? She’s bringing you pie. That’s the only curse I see—calories.
Ivan (lowering his voice dramatically):
You laugh, but remember last year? Olga came in first on Christmas morning, and by spring, my mother had bronchitis, Lena twisted her ankle, and Aunt Zoya had shingles!
Nikolai (suppressing a laugh):
Ivan, Zoya always has shingles. It’s practically her hobby.
Ivan (waving a hand):
Coincidence? You say that every time. But it’s in the sayings, Kolya—“If a strange woman is the first to enter your home on Christmas, illness will follow the women of the house.”
Nikolai (grabbing a pirozhok):
Right, and I suppose if a strange man comes in first, the vodka stays cold forever? Look—our brains are designed to find patterns. But not all patterns mean something.
Ivan (defensive but curious):
But why would people keep saying it if there wasn’t some truth?
Nikolai:
Old sayings stick around because they’re catchy. Like fairy tales. Doesn’t mean Baba Yaga is gonna swoop in and steal your cabbage.
Ivan (narrowing his eyes):
Tell that to my cabbage harvest last year. Ruined.
Nikolai (laughs):
Alright, fine. But seriously—have you ever tested your theory? Like, if a man enters first, do the women stay healthy?
Ivan (thinking):
Actually… the year Uncle Petya barged in at 8am, nothing happened. Hmm.
Nikolai:
Exactly. And remember—Petya also brought three bottles of cognac and fell asleep under your Christmas tree.
Ivan:
Yes, and no one got sick. That was a good year.
Nikolai (smiling):
Maybe it’s the cognac. Maybe Petya is the cure.
Ivan (laughs):
You always have to ruin my beliefs with logic, don’t you?
Nikolai:
I prefer “enhance with clarity.”
Ivan (grinning):
Fine, Doctor Clarity. But this year, I’m still asking my cousin Misha to barge in first. Just in case.
Nikolai:
Deal. But only if he brings pie too. Scientific curiosity makes me hungry.
Ivan (raising his tea cup):
To strange men and healthy women!
Nikolai (clinking cups):
And to questioning every superstition—one pirozhok at a time.
End Scene
Science Vs Superstition 
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