Ruslan sat opposite the elderly woman, staring hard at her face as if he hoped to find a clue there—or a justification for what he was doing. But in her eyes he saw only quiet, calm appraisal: the gaze of someone who had lived a life not without bitterness, yet with dignity. And in that … Read more
Denis, so she’s still a tomboy. And where did you find this little pauper?” Tatyana Viktorovna looked at her son in alarm. “After work I stopped by the church to light a candle for the late Olenka, for the repose of her soul. When I came out, the beggars had gathered again, and this big-eyed … Read more
How I Accidentally Exposed My Husband’s Affair in a Furniture Store The day I decided to stop by a furniture store, I had no idea what kind of secret my husband had been hiding from me for months. When I came face-to-face with the truth, the shock hit so hard that it pushed me to … Read more
Alexandra stood in the middle of the living room, her back straight. An unfamiliar firmness rang in her voice. Leonty, sprawled on the sofa with a tablet in his hands, didn’t even look up. “Sasha, don’t talk nonsense,” he muttered, scrolling through the news feed. “You’ll get your paycheck soon—then you’ll give Mom money for … Read more
Tatyana stood in the middle of the living room, unable to believe her own ears. Valentina Petrovna—her husband Oleg’s mother—was seated on the sofa with the kind of calm air someone has when they’ve just announced they’re going to the store for bread, not demanded that the family dacha be handed over. “By tomorrow evening, … Read more
Margarita was slowly turning the pages of an old photo album when a sharp ring at the door cut through the quiet. She set the album down on the coffee table and went to answer, puzzled about who could be calling at such an hour. On the threshold stood a young woman in a bright … Read more
The evening looked exactly the way November usually paints it: dark, glued together by drizzle, the windows of the apartment blocks fogged over as if every resident were hiding something of their own. Olga’s apartment smelled of cooled borscht and blood-pressure pills—the familiar scent of family dinners after fifty. A cup of tea sat on … Read more
“We need your card,” my husband announced while I, with my heart in my throat, stared at the endless string of zeros on the ATM screen. The hum of the old machine spitting out stacks of crisp banknotes sounded deafening in the silence of the half-empty branch. I felt like either a lucky robber or … Read more
Larisa, hi! I’ve got news—and not just any news, great news!” Yegor’s voice, booming and smug, burst into the cozy silence of the kitchen like a draft into a heated room. He tossed his briefcase onto a chair—it landed with a dull thud—and strode in after it, looking like a triumphant conqueror. Larisa lifted her … Read more
“Hi! I was just thinking what to cook… Maybe pasta with mushrooms, the way you like it?” Sasha walked into the kitchen, shrugging his jacket off onto a chair as he went, and froze. Lena didn’t turn around. She was sitting at the table with her hands on her knees, staring at one spot in … Read more