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Alexei was sorting through documents when Svetlana walked into the kitchen and tossed medical papers onto the table. — The doctors said the surgery is inevitable. Six hundred thousand rubles, — she sank onto a chair, massaging her lower back. — We’re selling the dacha. — What dacha? — Alexei looked up from the papers. … Read more

— Olya, I’m leaving. Olga froze, a plate clenched in her hands halfway to the sink. A thin stream of water trickled from the faucet—the only sound in the heavy silence that followed his words. She turned slowly. Igor stood in the doorway already wearing his jacket, a travel bag at his feet. Not the … Read more

Anna slammed the archive cabinet door a shade harder than usual. Her phone had rung for the third time in an hour—the ringtone boring into her like a nagging drill. — Where are you hiding? — Mikhail’s voice cut through the storage room’s silence. — Playing your paper games again? — I’m at work, — … Read more

“Oleg, the payment is due tomorrow,” Vera’s voice was even, stripped of emotion — just a statement of fact, like reminding someone it would rain in the morning. She laid a neat stack of bills on the kitchen table. They landed next to his elbow like a silent reproach to his complete inaction. He sat … Read more

— You bought the wrong bread again,” my daughter-in-law Katya’s voice sliced through my ears as I unpacked the grocery bags in the kitchen. “I asked for yeast-free. For the fifth time.” She picked up the loaf I’d brought and turned it in her hands as if it were some exotic poisonous caterpillar. “Katya, I … Read more

Artyom Volkov stepped across the threshold of the luxurious lobby of his new headquarters with his usual confidence. The surroundings—crystal glass, polished marble, the cold gleam of metal—seemed like an extension of himself: flawless, sharp, and inaccessible. The secretary instantly jumped to her feet as soon as she caught sight of his reflection in the … Read more

When Pasha was not even five, his world came crashing down. His mother was gone. He stood frozen in the corner of the room, his little mind swirling with confusion. The house was full of strangers—faces he didn’t recognize, voices lowered to whispers, eyes that wouldn’t meet his. Why was everyone acting so strange? Why … Read more

My name is Tamara Alexeyevna. I’m seventy-four. Once, my life was full—filled with love, work I adored, a warm home, and three beautiful children. But everything changed ten years ago when my husband passed away. His heart simply gave out. After he was gone, the house felt cold and hollow, and slowly, I began to … Read more

Elena Nikolaevna stopped at the familiar door, took out her keys, and stepped into her son’s apartment. A woman’s laughter and the scent of perfume greeted her in the hallway. She walked into the living room and froze—the sofa was occupied by an unfamiliar woman in a bathrobe, clearly just out of bed. — Artur! … Read more

Maxim slammed the refrigerator door shut and turned to his wife with a displeased look. — Elena, what are these sausages for three hundred rubles per kilo? Have you lost your mind? Elena froze at the stove, continuing to stir the contents of the frying pan. Her fingers gripped the wooden spatula tighter. — Maxim, … Read more