A cold winter morning had enveloped the land with the thinnest layer of frost, as if someone with an invisible hand had dusted it with tiny diamonds. The sky was just beginning to lighten, and the air was so clean that it seemed crystalline. Each breath stung the nose and cheeks, a reminder: winter was […]
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Irina stared blankly, seeing through the window the blurred edges of snowflakes descending in St. Petersburg. On the other end of the phone, her husband’s voice, a tone she knew too well, filled her with a routine emptiness. Yura was in Moscow, on another «business trip.» Their conversation, like their last dozen calls, was about […]
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Marinka, have we run out of normal food? Why did you heat up yesterday’s chicken for me?» Maxim yelled from the kitchen, dissatisfied. «And am I supposed to just flush it down the toilet? You’re forever unhappy about everything; how much longer can this go on? Maybe you should get a job? Starting tomorrow, you […]
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«I need surgery…» my voice trembles, like a thin thread ready to snap. «The doctors say that if I don’t, my legs might completely fail me…» My sister’s laughter, cold and prickly like an icy wind, cuts through the air: «You’re almost a cripple already, what’s the difference?» There’s malice in her words. «You should […]
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Anna stood by the window, holding her son, who had just begun to recognize her face. The difficult day was drawing to a close, and the evening light barely made its way through the curtains. The house was nearly empty: an old sofa, a worn-out nightstand, and a baby crib bought with the last of […]
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Not a child, but a real punishment! You’ll grow up just like your mother, and then you’ll torment some poor woman’s nerves, just like your mother torments me!» grumbled Elizabeth Viktorovna about her daughter-in-law’s daughter, Oksana. The girl sat at the table and looked at the plate, which had a smear of mashed potatoes on […]
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Peter walked across the field with an unsteady gait, pondering why fate had decided to unleash a whole waterfall of problems on him. Fortunately, the health of his loved ones remained in order, but this brought little consolation. All the difficulties concerned one thing—money. When Peter learned of an inheritance in the form of an […]
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As it happened, Larisa Nikolaevna returned from her business trip two weeks earlier than planned. She managed to resolve all work issues in a short time, effectively twice as fast. She had already missed the hustle and bustle of the capital after ten days in a provincial town. She was glad that she did not […]
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The soft hum of the kettle filled the kitchen as Elena perused her selection of teas: chamomile, mint, and the black tea with bergamot that Vika had brought back from her last business trip to London. A smile played on Elena’s lips as she remembered the day, five years earlier, when Vika had presented her […]
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Setting off for a getaway with my sister, I envisioned a restful pause, a chance to rejuvenate before returning to my cozy family of three. However, my return spiraled into an ordeal I hadn’t anticipated. After nine years, my husband’s actions during my absence shook the foundation of our family, pushing my daughter and me […]
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