“Alla, it’s me!” Polina’s voice echoed in the narrow hallway. Keys jingled as they fell into a ceramic vase—a ritual established by their mother back in childhood. She slipped off her shoes and smoothed down her tousled hair, then headed to the living room, mentally picturing the meeting with her sister and the aroma of […]
Продолжение...
Nina stood by the window, watching children play in the yard. The apartment had been inherited from her grandmother three years ago, and after the wedding, her husband Sergey moved in with her. A spacious three-room flat in an old building, with high ceilings, parquet floors creaking underfoot — just like in childhood. Only now […]
Продолжение...
“Yul, can you imagine? Pasha and Amina are coming for the weekend!” Roma approached his girlfriend, holding his phone and smiling. “Seriously? How long has it been since we last saw them… Five years?” She smiled. “Well, there will be something to talk about.” “Yeah, they’ve wanted to get away for a long time. Pasha […]
Продолжение...
— It’s interesting that I’m supposed to take care of grandma, but her apartment will go to some distant relatives? — I said bitterly, addressing my mother, who stood silently by the window avoiding my gaze. Mom took a deep breath, as if the weight of the whole world rested on her shoulders. Her hands […]
Продолжение...
Exactly three weeks ago, Andrey and I signed the final documents. Our house. Not a mansion, not a luxurious villa outside the city — just a cozy, neat little house with lilacs by the porch, an old wooden fence, and a shady garden. The city noise was left behind, as if we stepped out of […]
Продолжение...
The day Svetlana had dreamed about for many years had finally come. But instead of the expected relief, she felt her hands nervously trembling. Fifty-eight years old—is that not too old for a new life? That thought haunted her all morning. She scrutinized herself in the hallway mirror. A strict suit, minimal makeup, hair tied […]
Продолжение...
— Tanya? Zhanna did not expect to see her ex-husband’s sister at the doorstep. The girl was completely soaked, water streaming down from her long hair. — On the way here, a downpour started. My things got wet, I need to wring them out… Can I come in? — Well… come in. Zhanna understood that […]
Продолжение...
A draft cut straight through as Irina walked through the empty waiting hall of a provincial train station. She wrapped her four-year-old daughter more tightly in a scarf. Katya, pressed against her mother, curled up on the hard bench, her breath settling in the cold air as tiny clouds of vapor. Outside the dusty windows, […]
Продолжение...
Several weeks of agonizing waiting passed. Boris Petrovich lay in the intensive care unit—his life hanging by a thin thread, like a bird hesitant to leap from a branch into the abyss. The doctors were doing everything possible, but the man’s body, worn out by severe bilateral pneumonia, was exhausted to the limit. Mechanical ventilation […]
Продолжение...
Trying not to make any noise, 27-year-old Elizaveta Andreevna Malinkina cautiously moved down the corridor toward the room of Alisa — the 14-year-old daughter of the house owner. She needed to check if the girl was asleep so she could finally go to bed herself. For two weeks now, Liza has been working in the […]
Продолжение...