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Ksenia adjusted the strap of her backpack once again and glanced at her phone screen. There were still thirty minutes left before check-in for her flight closed — more than enough time to make her way calmly to the right terminal. Domodedovo Airport hummed with voices, announcements, and the clatter of luggage carts. Ksenia smiled … Read more

Mila was still counting. Not out loud — only in her head, out of an old habit that neither a new apartment, nor a full refrigerator, nor the fact that there was now more than enough money could erase. Valeria noticed it that morning when she walked into the kitchen. Her mother was standing in … Read more

Taisia had never been the kind of woman who looked for a savior in a man. She earned her own money, paid for her own apartment, and handled the things many of her friends managed only with someone else’s shoulder to lean on — or someone else’s wallet. Her two-room apartment in a good neighborhood … Read more

Anatoly stood in the kitchen doorway with his hands in his pockets. He looked down at his wife as she peeled potatoes. For almost two minutes he said nothing, as if enjoying the tension in her back. “Give me the apartment keys,” he finally said. “You understand why.” Zoya did not turn around. The knife … Read more

The door opened. Viktor stood on the threshold, and behind him loomed a woman with two suitcases. Irina recognized her mother-in-law and felt something inside her tighten like an invisible spring. “I brought Tamara Sergeyevna to stay with us,” Viktor said, avoiding his wife’s eyes. “Temporarily. For about a year.” “A year?” Irina repeated, stepping … Read more

Kirill was scrolling through his banking app with the expression of a tired but generous patron. He loved propping his chin on his hand, letting out a heavy sigh, and saying something profound about the difficult burden of being the family provider. “Oxana, you have no idea how expensive everything has become,” he said, swiping … Read more

Galina Petrovna had a rare gift. She knew how to say the most monstrous things with the face of an angel who had descended from heaven to save lost souls. Every remark, every critical glance of hers was wrapped in such a thick layer of motherly concern that it was almost impossible to challenge. “Svetlanochka, … Read more

“Miss… does this bus go to the train station?” the old woman asked quietly. At first, Nina did not even realize someone was speaking to her. She was standing at the bus stop, clutching a grocery bag to her chest, staring at the road where cars crawled through a gray mess of snow and slush. … Read more

Marina stood at the check-in counter at Sheremetyevo Airport, clutching two passports tightly in her hands. One was hers. The other was not. There were less than twenty minutes left before check-in closed. In just a few moments, she would do something her husband and mother-in-law would remember for the rest of their lives. But … Read more

The coffee machine in the CEO’s reception area was wheezing so desperately it sounded as if it was about to launch itself out the window. I was standing by the large window on the twenty-fourth floor, looking down at the lights of the Garden Ring barely visible through the November drizzle, and tiredly thinking that … Read more