Autumn came into the city soundlessly, on tiptoe, as if afraid to disturb someone’s sleep. It painted the leaves in crimson and gold, but quickly grew tired of its own beauty, washed it away with long, fine rains, and left on the streets only the smell of wet asphalt, rotting foliage, and a damp, penetrating … Read more
Alyona was washing the floor in the hallway, trying not to miss a single gap between the baseboards. The water was warm, smelled of pine, and outside the window evening was slowly settling in. She could hear their daughter, little Veronika, softly snuffling in her sleep behind the wall. In these quiet moments the house … Read more
Elena stared at the phone and felt everything inside her tighten into a hard knot. “Len, pick up,” her husband called from the kitchen. “She’s calling for the third time already.” “I know,” Elena answered, but she didn’t pick up the phone. She already knew what her sister would say. Always the same: they’d arrived, … Read more
Fifteen people, at least!” Sergey’s loud voice carried from the living room. “Yeah, at our place—why waste money on a restaurant!” Anna froze at the sink. A mountain of unwashed plates loomed before her—the remains of last night’s dinner, which she’d spent three hours cooking. Warm water ran over her hands, and a familiar knot … Read more
Valentina woke up to the sound of the garden gate slamming. Her right arm wouldn’t obey—hung there like it belonged to someone else. Her tongue moved slowly, clumsily in her mouth. It had only been two weeks since the stroke, but each day stretched on forever. The doctors had said recovery would come gradually. The … Read more
Vika came home around nine in the evening. Her mother-in-law’s familiar shoes were in the entryway. The woman exhaled and squared her shoulders—another little performance was about to begin. In the kitchen, Galina Sergeyevna sat at the table drinking tea. Denis was next to her, glued to his phone. “Good evening,” Vika hung her bag … Read more
Alexei listened to the phone, not believing his ears. On the other end of the line his mother, Galina Sergeyevna, was speaking in her usual tone—dry, confident, as if it wasn’t about her son’s future but about buying potatoes at the market. “I’ve changed my mind, Lyosha. I won’t give money for the renovations. Lena … Read more
— “What inheritance?” Pavel asked incredulously when Anya pulled away from him, walked into the living room, and sank onto the sofa. His anger instantly turned into greedy curiosity. “From whom?” “From my cousin-grandmother,” Anya answered, still trying to grasp the news. The bag was still standing in the hallway, a symbol of her interrupted … Read more
— Mom, what’s this? The deed of gift trembles in my hands. Mom freezes at the stove but doesn’t turn around. — What—what? — The apartment is registered to Olya? Fifteen years ago I moved back in with my parents for a month—to help with Dad after his stroke. Olya had just left for Germany … Read more
The air in the room was heavy, saturated with the smells of age, medicine, and something else—sickly sweet, like flowers wilting in a vase. For twenty years I had hated this woman. For twenty years she’d returned the feeling. Our hatred was quiet, domestic, but no less poisonous for that. It lived in the way … Read more