Having been released from the colony on parole, not knowing where to go, she took the wrong address—and spent the night in the house of complete strangers.

— You’ve over-salted it again,” Nadezhda Petrovna demonstratively pushed the bowl of borscht aside. “At my age, food like this was simply considered sabotage.” Valeria clenched a napkin under the table. That borscht had taken three hours to make.   “Sorry, I’ll be more careful next time,” Valeria replied quietly. “Apologies won’t make this slop […]

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The boy was kicked out of the house by his parents on New Year’s Eve. Years later, he opened the door for them… What awaited them was a twist no one expected.

Outside the windows of the houses, warm lights of garlands were glowing, Christmas trees were reflected in the glass, and sounds of New Year’s melodies could be heard. And beyond these walls—there reigned a white silence. Snow fell in thick flakes, as if someone invisible was endlessly sprinkling it from the sky. The silence was […]

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— Sir, today is my mom’s birthday… I want to buy flowers, but I don’t have enough money… I bought the boy a bouquet. And some time later, when I came to the grave, I saw this bouquet there.

When Pasha was not even five years old, his world collapsed. His mother was gone. He stood in the corner of the room, stunned by confusion — what was happening? Why was the house filled with strangers? Who were they? Why was everyone so quiet, so strange, speaking in whispers and avoiding eye contact? The […]

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— Now we have two more children, I found them in the forest under the oak tree, we will raise them as our own!” — my husband declared, holding two twins in his arms.

— Now we have two more children. I found them in the forest under the oak tree; we’ll raise them as our own! — Artem’s voice sounded muffled, as if breaking through a thick layer of water. Olga froze by the stove. Steam from the boiling water rose, fogging the window. Through the haze, she […]

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— Didn’t you buy it? Anna glanced at him over her cup. — We have separate budgets, — she reminded him. — I only buy what I need.

This month we have a separate budget,» said Mikhail, setting aside his mug with unfinished coffee. Anna raised her eyes to him. There was no surprise or outrage in them. «Alright,» she said. Mikhail blinked. He had expected something different: questions, complaints, perhaps even tears. He had prepared arguments, phrases like «It’s fair,» «This will […]

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