Part 1. A Reeking Feast in a Puppet Kingdom The scent of pork fat frying with onions—thick, greasy, almost tacky—pushed through the workshop door as if it weren’t even shut. It clung to velvet stage costumes, seeped into the porous wooden heads of unfinished marionettes, and settled everywhere like a stain. Jeanne winced and set … Read more
Part 1. The living room’s icy shine The living room darkened into a thick, evening half-light, as if it could sense a storm gathering. The windows threw back the glitter of the big city, and what used to feel like a warm family nest suddenly resembled a cold aquarium: outside the glass, someone else’s life … Read more
Part 1: The Geometry of Greed The keys rested on the dark stone countertop—heavy, cold, like tiny metal skeletons meant to unlock the future. Alla stared at them, and an odd, unfamiliar spaciousness spread through her chest. The three-bedroom apartment her father, Viktor Sergeyevich, had purchased wasn’t just square footage. It was oxygen. It was … Read more
Part 1. Metal Shavings and a Dream of Sea Air The workshop throbbed like a disturbed hive of gigantic steel bees. The stench of warmed rubber and machine oil clung to everything—soaking into skin, hair, even thoughts—until it felt like her mind itself carried that heavy industrial burn. Marina tugged her headscarf back into place … Read more
“Len, you don’t mind if my mom stays with us for a little while, do you?” Kirill tried to sound like the calm, reasonable type—though his eyes made it obvious: the decision was already final, and her opinion was just a courtesy. Lena glanced up from her laptop for a second, peered at him over … Read more
The notary’s office was bright and impersonal, as if it had been built for one purpose—to bring stories to an end. Masha sat across from Alexey, slowly running her fingers along the edge of a folder filled with documents. He was smiling—wide and carefree—like this was the best day of his life. “Well, that’s everything,” … Read more
Gleb slammed the keys onto the table so hard they rang against a ceramic vase. “And what are you moaning for?” he barked. “Yeah, I cheated on you—but I’m happy now! And I’m taking the house and the car. I’m tired of your hysterics, you get that? I put up with it for thirty-two years. … Read more
When Denis received the letter from the court, it took him a moment to even grasp what he was looking at. “Claim for division of property. Plaintiff: Valentina Sergeyevna Ponomaryova. Defendant: Denis Viktorovich Ponomaryov.” He actually coughed—not out of rage, but from shock. The anger showed up right after. It had already been six months … Read more
The last client was running late, and Polina had slipped out of her schedule—her own schedule, carefully built for herself. She was already imagining the rest of the evening: stopping by her favorite supermarket near home, picking up fresh salmon for dinner and a bottle of that sauce Artem adored. It was Friday, after all. … Read more
Ira stood by the window of their rented two-bedroom place on the outskirts, watching the city lights blink on one by one. In the glass, her reflection seemed to smile back—Friday at last, the end of a hard week. Andrey would be home any minute, and tomorrow they could sleep in and spend the whole … Read more