Natasha opened the refrigerator and, with annoyance, discovered that there was no milk again. Yesterday she had bought two cartons, but this morning not a drop was left. Well, almost none—there were literally a few sips rattling at the bottom of the package, which someone had put back on the shelf. “Dimochka, the milk’s finished,” […]
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Nadezhda was climbing the stairs after a hard day working in the accounting department of a medical center. The hot July evening made her damp blouse cling to her back, and the bag with documents felt heavier than usual. Her parents had left for their aunt’s dacha a week ago, leaving their daughter the keys […]
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A snowstorm covered the quiet provincial village of Yasnaya Polyana, as if throwing over it a spotless white blanket that muffled all sounds. Ice patterns spread over the window glass like embroidered lace, and the wind moaned along the deserted streets, carrying with it whispers of long-forgotten memories. The temperature had dropped to minus twenty-eight […]
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— What’s wrong with your face? Roman tossed his keys onto the hallway table and walked into the kitchen. Sveta was sitting at the table, resting her head on her hand, staring at a single spot. An untouched cup of cold tea stood before her. She wasn’t crying, no. Her face looked like a mask […]
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Alena loved the quiet of morning. The kind when the kettle only just begins to tremble on the flame, the coffee smells so good it feels like you’re breathing in flavor, and the sun lies softly across the old tiles, lighting up every scratch like a biography of the kitchen. In those moments she felt […]
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“I asked you,” he began irritably, following his wife into the kitchen. “To set a proper festive table. And what’s this? You had the time. Mom isn’t pleased.” “Your mom is never pleased. It’s impossible to satisfy her,” Milana replied calmly. It was Sunday. As usual, Kirill and his wife, Milana, were visiting his parents. […]
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“The wallpaper here is newer,” I said, running my fingers over the wall behind the bulky bookshelf. Dust had settled deep into my skin. Oleg waved wearily without turning around. “Anya, what does it matter? Let’s just sort through her books and go home. I feel like this house has absorbed the smell of medicine […]
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“Oleg, the payment is due tomorrow,” Vera’s voice was even, stripped of emotion — just a statement of fact, like reminding someone it would rain in the morning. She laid a neat stack of bills on the kitchen table. They landed next to his elbow like a silent reproach to his complete inaction. He sat […]
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The scrape of the lock made me freeze, a damp rag still in my hand. I’d been scrubbing a sticky jam stain off the parquet floor—jam brought by Irina Borisovna—and that sound was all too familiar to me. Pasha was still asleep. Sunday, half past eight in the morning. The door opened, and there stood […]
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“What did you just say?” Tatiana couldn’t believe her mother-in-law would even think of something like that. “What you heard! I don’t understand—what kind of reaction is this? I’m his mother, and Anton can sometimes fulfill my wishes too, not just yours. Isn’t that right? Or are you against it?” “I don’t even want to […]
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