Author: admin

I knew this conversation would happen sooner or later. Dmitry was sitting in the kitchen, turning a cup of cold coffee in his hands and clearly trying to work up his nerve. In ten years of marriage I’d learned to read him like an open book—especially when it came to his sister, Olga. — “Len, […]

The silence in the apartment was oppressive—thick as jelly, and just as sticky. Only the soft scrape of a fork along the rim of an almost empty plate disturbed it. At the table sat a small nine-year-old girl, her gaze fixed on the single spoonful of mashed potatoes smeared in a thin, pitiful layer across […]

Marina opened her eyes and immediately squeezed them shut against the bright sunlight filtering through the not-quite-drawn curtains. Her first thought was a happy one—Saturday! Their first weekend in three weeks with no trips, no meetings, nothing urgent. She stretched luxuriously, savoring the softness of the bed and the quiet of the apartment. Beside her, […]

Maxim clenched the ticket in his hand and looked at the familiar station. Three years away from home, three years of hard work at the logging camps—all for this moment. In his backpack were gifts for his mother and his sister Tatyana, and in his pocket—the cherished ring for Irina.   “Maxim? Is that really […]

Veronika opened the antique mahogany jewelry box and ran her fingers over the velvet lining. The diamonds shimmered in the morning light. Veronika’s heart tightened at the memories. Her grandmother had given her the set a month before she passed away: a ring with a large center stone, elegant earrings, and a pendant on a […]

Ten-year-old Grisha was hurrying home from school. His mother had warned him sternly not to linger. During the night their cow had calved, and Lyudmila Sergeyevna had spent the whole day with Zorya and the newborn. He was supposed to heat up lunch, wash the dishes, and finish his homework. But the chores weren’t what […]

“Yes, Mom, we’re fine. Misha’s working late, and I just got home,” Sofya tossed her keys onto the console and froze when she saw an unfamiliar pair of slippers in the hallway. “I’ll call you back, something’s—” Voices drifted from the kitchen. One was her husband’s. The other—female, with that unmistakably commanding note—Sofya couldn’t be […]

Marina reread the document for the third time, unable to believe her eyes. An official letter from the notary’s office lay on her kitchen table beside a half-finished cup of tea. In dry legal language, the letter stated that her brother Viktor had filed a claim to recover from her half of the amount spent […]