— 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
The weather turned out warm and sunny, and Sima decided to take advantage of the opportunity — to air out her “pillows” and “blanket.” For pillows, she used paper bags stuffed with sawdust, and for a blanket, an old wall carpet with a deer pattern. She carefully stretched it on a rope between the trees, … Read more
He was her brother only by their father; their mothers were different. When her mother was sick and spent weeks in the hospital, her father had already started seeing this Darya. Darya worked at the local hairdresser’s, but her mother never went there, saying it was too expensive. Ulyana didn’t know why her father went … Read more
The inheritance fell on Galya literally like a snowstorm: she was coming out of the entrance when she heard her daughter shouting from the balcony: “Mom! A letter came for you, I forgot! Wait, I’ll put it in a bag and throw it down now.” To keep the bag from blowing away in the wind, … Read more