Irina stood by the window of the tiny kitchen, watching her seven-year-old twins—Dima and Maksim. They were playing in the yard, and the setting sun painted the sky in soft pink hues. Their house on the city’s outskirts was plain but warm and cozy: two stories, with a small garden and an old apple tree … Read more
Elena slowly flipped through the photos in the worn leather album she had carefully kept all these years. Her fingers gently touched each picture, pausing on those where Olga—her adopted daughter—genuinely smiled during school celebrations, the graduation party, her first day at university, and birthdays. Twenty years of motherhood had flown by in the blink … Read more
— Open up! We know you’re home! Marina froze in the narrow hallway of her one-room apartment, clutching her phone to her chest. Her father’s voice sounded hoarse and demanding from behind the door — the same way he used to shout at her in childhood when she broke a cup or brought home a … Read more
— Dima, look what I have on my phone, — Lena held out her smartphone to her husband, frowning. Sunlight filtered through the curtains, lighting up their cozy living room. Dima looked up from his laptop, lazily glancing at the screen filled with some unknown audio files. — Some unnamed recordings. Weird, — he shrugged. … Read more
Lena moved a tiny vase with a sprig of gypsophila to the center of the table to better see her mother-in-law’s face. Anastasia Ivanovna looked especially good today — her hair neatly styled, a string of pearls around her neck, a light shawl draped over her shoulders despite the warm weather. “Didn’t he tell you?” … Read more
Just rest, dear,” Stas’s sticky voice sounded overly caring. “A couple of weeks in a good sanatorium — and you’ll be fine again. You’ll regain your strength.” I tried to focus my gaze on my husband. My head was buzzing like it was stuffed with wet cotton. “I don’t want to go to a sanatorium,” … Read more
“Maria Andreevna, there’s a call for you,” the nurse peeks into the office, cautiously looking through the door. “Some woman, she says — urgent, family matter.” Maria barely tears herself away from the medical record. She’s been sitting with that folder for two hours already! Outside, it’s long since dark, and the ward is filled … Read more
Marina spent a long time looking through ads on the internet until she came across the perfect option. A small summer house about thirty kilometers from the city, with an eight-hundred-square-meter plot and an old but sturdy little cabin. The price was quite reasonable for their family budget. “Sergey, look!” she called to her husband, … Read more
Ekaterina Dmitrievna stood by the fresh grave, framed by a gray autumn sky and the bleak landscape of the cemetery. Yellow leaves swirled around her, torn from the trees by the cold wind and restlessly flying over the wet earth. It had been raining for several hours straight, but the woman didn’t notice how soaked … Read more
Natasha slowly ran her palm over her cheeks, wiping away the last tears. Her eyes still burned, and her heart ached from the deep wound left by the words of cruel people. She sighed and shifted her gaze to Lena—her old friend, the only person who always spoke the truth without sugarcoating. Lena sat at … Read more