Entering the apartment, Dasha froze in place. She had expected her husband to greet her after a long business trip, but there was no one in the hallway. “Maxim? Are you home?” In the dark, Darya reached for the light switch, but suddenly someone touched her hands. “Don’t, don’t turn on the light,” came her […]
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Svetlana woke up from a strange sensation — silence. Not just any silence, but such complete and dense silence that it seemed to buzz in her ears. She hadn’t paid attention to such silence in her own apartment for a long time, where every day began with Lisa’s crying and Misha’s stomping. But today was […]
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— Vasily, do you see this? — Anna Sergeyevna stood in the middle of the vegetable garden, pointing at a gray gas pipe that snaked right through the potato beds. — What pipe? — her husband tore himself away from fixing the fence and came closer. — What kind of miracle is this? — There […]
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Svetlana blushed with shame; her temples began to throb, and her palms grew damp. She realized her husband had been right: gathering all the relatives around one table was a bad idea. They should have celebrated at home, in a family way, but now it was too late, and she had to deal with her […]
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Elena was rubbing her hands with antiseptic after finishing the last session of therapeutic massage. The patient — an elderly woman suffering from sciatica — nodded gratefully while paying for the procedure. Elena carefully folded the money into her wallet. Every bill counted: tomorrow she needed to buy groceries, the day after — pay for […]
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“Here,” the young woman practically shoved a bundle right into my hands, followed by a heavy, dense bag. “Please.” The electric train jolted at the rail joint, and I barely managed to steady the unexpected burden. Something stirred inside the bundle. I unfolded the edge of the fabric—and met the gaze of a child. An […]
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— Masha, look what I brought you! — Andrey burst into the house carrying a huge bouquet of peonies and an elegant vase. I put my laptop aside and gave a weak smile. Three years ago, he brought flowers every Friday — just as joyful, as if it wasn’t just an ordinary weekday, but a […]
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The light green curtain on the kitchen window fluttered softly in the gentle breeze. Outside the glass, irritated voices of Igor and Zhanna could be heard. Down in the yard, their children were playing on the playground — seven-year-old Kristina and ten-year-old Tolik. But every now and then, they glanced up sadly toward the windows […]
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Natasha carefully folded the tiny baby shirts into a bag and zipped up her purse. Tomorrow she would be discharged from the maternity hospital, and she could hardly wait for the moment when she would finally be home with little Masha. At forty-two years old, she was becoming a mother for the first time, and […]
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Elena ran her palm over the dusty surface of the old dresser, leaving a light streak on the dark wood. Grandma Klavdiya’s little house seemed frozen in time — the same faded wallpaper with a small floral pattern, the same heavy furniture covered with white sheets. “Can you imagine, Andrey, how cozy it could be […]
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