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Anastasia stood by the window of her one-room apartment, looking at the gray high-rises beyond the glass. Thirty-two square meters—a small space for two adults. She had bought the apartment five years ago, before the wedding, with the money she’d saved over years of work and from selling her share in her parents’ apartment. The … Read more

— “I’m very tired,” Anfisa Tikhonovna shook her head. There was a plaintive note in her voice. “And it’s late already.” — “As if I’m not tired!” Anna shot back, surprised at her own boldness. “And you’re right, it is late. And I don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen till morning after your … Read more

— “Nastya, any plans for the weekend?” Pasha asked his fiancée as they lay cuddled on the couch in the evening, watching a series. — “Me?” She turned her head toward him. “I haven’t even thought about it! Why, do you have something in mind?” — “It’s just that my folks are planning to come … Read more

The refrigerator turned out to be empty. Vera Stepanovna sighed wearily and reached for her wallet. She’d have to go to the store again. Spend her pension on groceries for the whole family again. “Mom, you’re retired. It’s not hard for you,” Lena said as she got ready for a meeting. Despite having a four-month-old … Read more

— “Valya! Valentina! What’s wrong with you?” With each passing second, Boris’s loud voice grew quieter and quieter. Within a minute, the woman could no longer make out her husband’s words. She couldn’t hear or see anything at all. After an emotional conversation, Valentina suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed. She came to when her husband … Read more

— “Just look at that body line, that deep cherry color!” cooed the manager, smoothly running his hand along the glossy curve of the fender. “This isn’t just a car, it’s a feeling. Japanese assembly, top trim. You’ve made the right choice.” Inna didn’t hear him. She stood beside it, her palm resting on the … Read more

— Yana, will you drive Mom to Aunt Vera’s? She’s been getting ready since morning, leave around ten. The words fell into the kitchen’s silence like pebbles into a still pond. Yana didn’t turn around. She kept looking out the window at the courtyard flooded with morning sun, where a sleepy janitor was lazily chasing … Read more

“Lyuda, here’s the thing… Mom’s jubilee is in two months. Sixty.” Vitaly’s voice sounded behind her—loud, deliberately cheerful, brimming with the self-satisfaction of a man about to bestow happiness on someone. Lyudmila didn’t turn around. She sat at her desk in the living room, which looked more like mission control. A big monitor glowed with … Read more

— Mom, what’s wrong? Nikita walked into the kitchen, drawn by a sharp, medicinal smell that overpowered even the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee. Marina Gennadyevna sat at the table, deliberately slowly dripping a dark liquid from a bottle into a faceted glass. Corvalol. Her battle standard, her shield, her weapon. She didn’t look … Read more

“Polina, hi! We bought the tickets—we’ll be at your place in a week!” Masha’s voice—her husband’s sister—was thick as honey in the receiver and rang with open, almost childlike excitement. At that moment, Polina was standing on the narrow balcony of their two-room apartment, hanging up freshly washed laundry. A warm June breeze pleasantly brushed … Read more