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We’re up to our ears in debt, collectors are already ringing the doorbell, and you’re thinking about going to the sea?” the mother-in-law shrieked, clutching the left side of her chest. “You’ve got no conscience, Irka! Hand over your vacation pay if you’re so rich!” Lyudmila Arkadyevna collapsed theatrically onto a worn kitchen stool, her … Read more

Lena stood in front of the hallway mirror, studying her reflection. A gray turtleneck, old jeans, hair pulled into a careless ponytail. When was the last time she bought herself something new? Six months ago? A year? She ran a hand over her face, noticing the new little wrinkles near her eyes. Thirty-two, yet she … Read more

Mom didn’t open the door right away. First the chain slid, then her face appeared—older now, deep lines gathered around her mouth. I was holding a basket of fruit, my fingers gripping the handle so hard my knuckles turned white. Palm Sunday. Aunt Elena had talked me into trying. “Mom, I wanted to…” She looked … Read more

Marina had always been proud of her apartment. A two-room place on the fourth floor of a prefabricated panel building—not luxury, of course, but her own. She’d saved for the down payment for four years, working as a manager at a trading company, denying herself trips and new clothes. When she finally got the keys, … Read more

Elena set the grocery bag down on the floor so she could fish her keys out of her purse. The fourth floor, as always, left her a little out of breath—the elevator in their building had been out of order for three weeks now. She lifted her head and froze. On the landing in front … Read more

Alena opened the door and immediately saw Tamara Viktorovna on the threshold. Her mother-in-law came in without waiting to be invited, took off her shoes, and went straight to the kitchen. Alena closed the door behind her and sighed. Here we go again. The remarks, the advice no one asked for, the disapproving looks. Tamara … Read more

Ksenia opened the banking app on her phone and once again counted the amount in her savings account. Two million three hundred and seventy thousand rubles. Five years. Five long years of cutting back on everything. Ksenia and Andrey lived in a cramped one-room apartment—thirty square meters—which they rented for eighteen thousand a month. The … Read more

Yana stood by the window with a cup of coffee and looked out at the city. This apartment was her pride—the result of five years of relentless work and saving. A two-room place in a new building, bright, with a view of the park. Every square meter was bought with her own money—no loans, no … Read more

The door slammed with an indifferent loudness, cutting off the sounds of the stairwell. Vadim stepped aside, letting her go in first. A girl. I knew they would come. He’d called earlier that day—his voice saturated with that brisk, businesslike cheerfulness I’d learned to hate—and told me an “important talk and a surprise” were waiting … Read more

The glass in Oleg’s hand flashed predatorily under the light of the crystal chandelier. The dinner he’d thrown for “his closest people” was in full swing. An expensive apartment in the city center, a table set as if for a reception at an embassy, exquisite dishes whose aromas barely broke through the cold scent of … Read more