Mom, you’re just a pauper!” Pashka yelled, slamming the door of his room. Larisa froze in the hallway, clutching her son’s unironed T-shirt to her chest. His words hit harder than a slap. She leaned against the wall, feeling her knees tremble treacherously. Such scenes had been happening more frequently lately. “Pash,” she called quietly, … Read more
He just used me. It’s like my eyes have finally opened. Why didn’t I notice anything before? I guess I was too naive. Trusted people too much. Now I’ll be more cautious. I somehow thought that this could happen to anyone, but not to me. But no, it turns out no one is immune. Until … Read more
Can we just have a Saturday without cleaning today? Let’s not do anything useful!” Oksana looked hopefully at her husband. “Let’s have a lazy day! Because… I’m starting to quietly hate the weekends.” Vyacheslav, without getting up from the bed, groped for his phone and, squinting, looked at the screen. Almost twelve o’clock. “We sure … Read more
Nikita fell in love with the devout Serafima while still in school. He would meet her at the entrance of her building every morning and follow her to school. After classes, he would do the same. Sima would hide in the entrance of her building, and Nikita just stood there. He didn’t want to go … Read more
Finally, Nastya got lucky with a man!” Varvara Andreevna, Nastya’s mother, gushed as she looked at her daughter’s wedding photo. “She always ended up with some poor suitors before! Now that’s a businessman for you!” Varvara’s husband, Ilya Petrovich, silently finished his modest breakfast, nodding his head as Varvara continued to muse: “Finally, we can … Read more
Ninka, are you up to your tricks again? They’ll put you in solitary!” her friend cast a reproachful glance at the girl. “So what? At least I’ll get to play soccer, and if they lock me up for a week, so be it—better away from those matrons,” Nina shrugged and smiled slyly. Looking around, she … Read more
Anya, open up, it’s cold out here!” a voice called from behind the door, drowning out the howling wind in the hallway. Anna, standing in the hallway with a towel in her hands, froze. She expected to see her neighbor Ira, who always dropped by for some salt or advice. But the voice was unfamiliar. … Read more
In the city, there was a stifling heat, it seemed even the asphalt was melting, with temperatures soaring above thirty degrees Celsius. In a residential area, a young pregnant woman wandered confusedly through the courtyards of apartment buildings. She carefully looked for numbers on the corners of the houses but couldn’t find the address she … Read more
You know, sometimes fate presents such surprises that you spend your whole life marveling at how everything turned out? I still remember that chilly October day when I was returning from the market in the neighboring village. Back then, buses came once in a blue moon, and I had to trudge home on foot, cursing … Read more
Yevgenia and her friend Inna had been sitting in a cafe for over an hour, staring out the window, afraid of missing an important moment. They had already drunk two cups of coffee each and stuffed themselves with pastries, yet nothing was happening on the other side of the glass. Yevgenia decisively broke the ensuing … Read more