| L Y C A N T H R O P Y |
A full moon rises majestically above Buda Castle, bathing its ancient roofs and spires in ethereal silver light. This is the earliest memory of Jurii Kirnev, from the age of three. It was at this age that he first began to perceive himself as a being apart, and from this luminous moment his conscious life truly began.
The first recollection that remains with him is of the time when he lived with his father, mother, and brother in a remarkably cosy and mysterious apartment at Budapest, Naphegy u. 59, 1016. Perched upon the hill, the apartment offered from its balcony one of the most breathtaking views of the entire city… above all, of the majestic Castle. As a small child, Jurii would often stand transfixed, gazing endlessly at this panorama. Nearby rose Gellért Hill, where he wandered constantly and where much of his early spirit took root and grew. To this day, nothing evokes the sacred essence of childhood for Jurii more deeply than the sweeping view of the Danube and the beautiful springtime Budapest seen from the heights of Gellért Hill.
I called that apartment mysterious because it truly was. No one knows exactly what had happened there in the past, but it carried a strange and unsettling reputation. For years, no tenant had ever been able to stay long; the apartment simply could not be rented out. Only when the Kirnev family moved in did Jurii’s mother begin to understand the reason.
The dwelling was inhabited by a ghost… a woman dressed in black. Nadezhda saw her both in dreams and in waking reality. The apparition was neither hostile nor friendly; she simply existed in parallel, like a shadow from another age. According to recollections, this mysterious spectral woman would often play with Jurii, keeping him company. She would read him old Hungarian fairy tales, and later Jurii's mother would often wonder in quiet amazement: where had little boy learned those ancient Hungarian words, if he did not communicate with other children and everyone at home spoke only Russian? Jurii himself, though only faintly and through a child’s hazy memory, also recalls a dark silhouette.
Jurii’s mother recalls that in those years, her children were often left at home alone. She had a surgery that kept her confined to hospital for long periods. Meanwhile, their father, Zahar, was frequently away on extended business trips. Thus, the little boys remained by themselves for weeks at a time. In this way, five-year-old Evgeny took care of his three-year-old brother Jurii. Even at such a young age, the children were remarkably independent and wise beyond their years. The brothers have always been exceptionally close, and they remain so to this day.
For his part, Jurii remembers that period through the sweet, intoxicating scent of apricots and the profusion of flowering, beautiful plants that adorned the balcony. Thus, his earliest memories which form the very foundation of his personality revolved around beauty, grand architecture, and mystery.
He remembers exploring every roof and playground in the surrounding neighbourhood, his small hand held securely by his father and mother, while his elder brother Evgeny could walk freely on his own. It was during these years that Jurii began to understand that he was somehow different from all the other children laughing upon those playgrounds.
Firstly, Jurii did not fear the cold. Unlike other children, he could stand effortlessly in icy water, finding it strangely pleasant, while others recoiled in fear. Secondly, Jurii noticed that other children could move with an ease that he himself was not capable of. By the age of three, all children had long since ceased crawling on all fours and walked confidently upon two legs. Yet Jurii could not stand normally upon his own. He was able to do so only for brief moments, or when leaning against a wall or some other support. He completely lacked any natural sense of balance within his body, and therefore always required something to hold on to.
No doctor has been able to comprehend not only the cause, but even the true nature of what was happening within Jurii's organism. His diagnosis — to this day — has not been established. The medical record exists and even lists some diagnosis, but it is immediately followed by a note in parentheses stating that this diagnosis is only approximate and written purely to comply with bureaucracy. In reality, there is no diagnosis. And if it were to have any name, that name would be Jurii Kirnev himself, because he is officially… yes, officially the only one of his kind on the planet throughout all documented medical history.
What it actually is, no one knows. It is clearly something neurological; however, many processes occurring in Jurii Kirnev’s body contradict the vast majority of neurology textbooks. Looking ahead, it is worth noting that he was examined by the best doctors of the Soviet Union and Russia, as well as Germany, Israel, the United States, and many other renowned minds. He was even examined in Houston on the same equipment used to check American astronauts after their space flights. In other words, this is unequivocally the best modern medicine. And every doctor facing Jurii Kirnev simply throws up their hands, admitting their ignorance. This is a completely unstudied area of medicine, to such an extent that many professors do not even suspect that something like this is possible.
In many ways, he became something of a living legend within neurological circles — known as The Unique Child, the Wunderkind. Experienced professors from all over the world, whenever they visited Budapest, expressed a desire to see Jurii. He remembers how, throughout his childhood, he would sit naked in the anatomical theatre before rows of doctors as they examined him. Every time a new professor arrived, he would look at Jurii with scepticism, thinking there was nothing particularly remarkable about the boy, for visually he resembled any other neurological patient. Yet as soon as they began reading his medical papers and conducting their analyses, everything descended into pure chaos. Physical impossibility.
As his attending physician and good friend, Dr. Herczegfalvi Ágnes — whom I ask you to note is the most educated pediatric neurologist in all of Hungary and one of the most respected doctors in the world — once said: “Jurii, for us (doctors), it is easier to simply close our eyes to you and admit that you simply do not exist, to recognize you as a mathematical error, than to rewrite all medical textbooks for your sake alone. To all doctors, you are like a bone in the throat — by your very existence you shame us all.”
However, the truth is that the professors do not want to close their eyes to Jurii… quite the opposite. They want to perform an autopsy on him, dissect him organ by organ, and study him thoroughly so they can write dissertations about him and receive awards as discoverers of new medical frontiers. Many even said, half in jest, that Jurii is a living Nobel Prize — one only need to open him up correctly. This attitude toward Jurii’s body led to major problems, because doctors began using him as a lab rat, conducting medical experiments on the child… even without the parents’ consent. Naturally, as soon as Jurii’s mother and father learned of this, they quickly cut off all contact with such doctors (which was almost all doctors) and took his treatment into their own hands.
If you want to be healthy, stay far away from doctors. Your condition is their business.
In Jurii’s biography, I will not dwell long on his health, since I am not writing his medical record. No matter how much one says about his body, it will never be enough. This is truly a unique case. I believe it would be more interesting and appropriate to write an entirely separate new encyclopedia about it. However, his body is something that cannot be passed over in silence, as in many aspects of his life it is the cornerstone from which everything begins and on which everything stumbles. From the moment of Jurii’s birth, all subsequent events have always passed through the prism that he is different. And this is not just a figure of speech… he actually has a medical certificate of his uniqueness that others are unable to understand, no matter how hard they try.
By the way, all those brilliant professors were quite certain that Jurii would never be able to speak. He had not uttered a single word until the age of three. Yet that changed under rather peculiar and amusing circumstances. One day, his family went to the beach and, quite by accident, found themselves on a nudist beach. They remained fully clothed and sat discreetly in a corner so as not to draw attention. Still, naked figures occasionally wandered past. Three-year-old Jurii, upon seeing one such person, suddenly burst into laughter and loudly proclaimed the most vulgar Russian word possible for “arse”. His parents were not even sure where he could have learned such a word, but far more shocking was the fact that he had spoken at all. That crude word became the very first word he ever pronounced. One might say it was a form of shock therapy… and it worked remarkably well. From that moment on, Jurii had no difficulties with speech… especially when it came to colourful language.
Jurii’s entire childhood unfolded among hospital beds, anatomy posters, and ancient-looking encyclopaedias. He learned to read by deciphering the analyses of his own medical records, poring over illustrations of his X-rays and MRI scans of his brain and nervous system. From the very earliest age, he already knew human anatomy as intimately as one knows the lines upon one’s own palm. In parallel, his father regularly took him to sessions of Chinese acupuncture. There, the small child would be covered from head to toe with countless needles. In those quiet rooms filled with the scent of incense and herbs, Jurii absorbed this ancient art so completely that even now he performs acupuncture upon himself with masterful precision.
If Jurii was asked directly about his health, he would always jokingly refer to his diagnosis as “Lycanthropy” — a mythological condition and the magical ability to transform into a wolf under the full moon or due to a curse. This fake diagnosis is, in fact, just as true as all the nonsense doctors write about Jurii in their papers without even understanding what he is. In a certain sense, “Lycanthropy” is actually quite accurate — not because he howls at the moon at night… although, as his wife, I can confirm that it does happen from time to time… but because the shape of his body truly resembles that of an animal, and he still walks on all fours. Jurii takes pride in this, since every human being moved that way in their very first steps.
Since the day we were married, whenever anyone asks Jurii why he is in a wheelchair, he always points his finger at me with a theatrical gesture and declares that BDSM games sometimes go too far. Then he adds: “And you know what? It is entirely worth it.”
