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Lera was sitting on the floor of her tiny one-room apartment, surrounded by boxes of garlands, pompoms, and cardboard unicorn figures. Her phone wouldn’t stop ringing — yet another mom wanted to discuss her daughter’s birthday, Frozen theme, medium budget but with ambitions of grandeur. Lera smiled as she opened her notebook. Six months ago … Read more

When Artyom checked for the third time that evening whether the cutlery was arranged perfectly, my inner patience reached its very last limit. Not his patience, which seemed limitless when it came to my supposed mistakes, but mine. He froze over the festive table like an experienced commander studying a flawless battle plan, and a … Read more

Margarita was rushing about the apartment like a little bird desperately trying to find a way out of a cage that was far too spacious. Her hands kept straightening the perfectly arranged cushions on the back of the sofa; then she would glide into the dining room to check once more the shine of the … Read more

Anna stood in front of the mirror, and her gaze slowly slid over her own reflection. The snow-white dress, woven, it seemed, from air and light, fit her figure perfectly, and the light veil, like morning mist, gently fell over her shoulders. Every detail—from the finest lace to the neat pearls woven into her hair—was … Read more

The morning began with a lie. It slipped into the house together with the first rays of sun, which were carelessly playing on the perfectly polished parquet floor. Mikhail, my husband, kissed me on the temple with that carefully measured tender care he had been honing for many years. This gesture, which once made my … Read more

The autumn wind drove withered leaves along the asphalt, as if urging all the passersby to hurry and shelter from the damp chill. Sofia walked slowly down the street, noticing neither the wind nor the bustle of the city. She had just pulled shut behind her the heavy, insulated door of a certain institution, and … Read more

Sunlight, warm and alive, streamed gently through the tall window of my office, playing in highlights on the polished surface of my desk. I sat there, buried in the routine of sorting through mail, opening envelopes with bills and business proposals, when my fingers came across something different. Completely different. The envelope was thick, weighty, … Read more

“Your mother called. She was asking for money again. Maybe it’s time to tell her we can’t afford to support her?” Anna had never said anything like that to Sergei before. There was no anger in her voice, only a tired anxiety, as if she had been carrying a heavy load for a long time … Read more

The cold autumn wind chased colorful leaves along the asphalt, and little Artyom felt just as lonely and abandoned as one of them. The orphanage was not a home to him, but a state institution where life flowed by in dull, joyless gray. And once again he ran away, unable to bear the weight of … Read more

Gray office walls seemed especially dreary that day, swallowing the dim light of an autumn morning. Anna Igorevna stood by the window, staring at the rain-soaked rooftops, and felt a heavy stone rise to her throat. The news she had just learned had turned her familiar world upside down. — “Anna Igorevna, are you listening … Read more