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Late autumn. The wind lashes against the shoulders, driving fallen leaves between the tombstones. The sky is low and gray, like a hospital sheet hung out to dry. The cemetery feels forgotten here: no living voices, no movement — only withered grass and heavy silence. By one of the graves stand three people. Maria stands … Read more

Anna pulled the keys out of her bag and pushed the apartment door open, trying not to wake Sergey. It was dark in the hallway, smelling warm and spicy—apparently, he had eaten late and was reheating delivery pilaf again. His boots lay on the floor, one toppled to the side as if they had been … Read more

Dasha didn’t want to admit even to herself that after seven years of marriage, almost nothing was left of her. Something important was disappearing piece by piece, imperceptibly, day by day — her sense of self-worth, joy, dreams. Sometimes she would catch her reflection in the mirror and not recognize the woman looking back — … Read more

— So you really think a vacation in Turkey is more important than helping my mother? — Igor’s voice rang out like a taut wire. Alina turned away from the window, where she had been watching the shameless spring rain splattering against the glass. She was wearing a home T-shirt and had her hair in … Read more

Every night, the girl sleeps on a hard bench — it’s her only way to shield herself from the cold and bad weather. Curled up into a ball, she tries to keep warm and dreams of having her own home where she could sleep in warmth and safety. She has no parents and must face … Read more

A man was sitting on the steps of the service entrance to a large supermarket, slowly taking drags from a cigarette. He had recently helped unload a truck — the pay was decent, and there was also a rare chance to rest a bit. He was nowhere near seventy, but also not thirty — his … Read more

“What?” I froze in place, not immediately realizing that these words were directed at me. “I found you a room in a communal apartment,” he continued in a flat tone, as if discussing bus schedules. “Lisa and I need a place for the baby. It’ll be cramped in the two-room apartment with you when there … Read more

I’m tired, Andrey. Every weekend it’s the same thing — guests, cooking, cleaning. I don’t even get a chance to just rest! Lying down on the bed is a rare thing for me.” “So what?” he shrugged. “That’s normal! You’re the hostess, you have to welcome guests so they want to come again and again.” … Read more

— Mom is coming to stay with us for a month, — said Grigory, drying his hands with a kitchen towel. — Olga met some guy, and they need to live together. Mom just gets in their way. Nadezhda froze, holding a half-washed plate. Soap suds slowly ran down her fingers into the sink. — … Read more

Andrey dreamed again that nightmare: his father was kicking his pregnant mother out of the house, shouting in her face: “Just die, Verka, but I won’t raise someone else’s child!” Little Andrey grabbed his father’s sleeve, crying, begging him to stop. His mother called him, stretched out her arms, but the blizzard drowned out her … Read more