“Can I ask one question?” Valeria placed a bowl of borscht in front of her mother-in-law and looked at her sternly, maybe even too sternly. “Why do you come here every single day? Is this some kind of free canteen or a club called ‘Humiliate the Daughter-in-Law’?” Nadezhda Petrovna, a lady of sixty-four with a … Read more
Valentina froze by the slightly open balcony door, listening to her husband’s phone conversation. The hot July air barely stirred the light curtains, and Dmitry’s voice came clearly and carelessly from the kitchen. “Just one signature left — and the apartment is out!” her husband giggled into the phone. “Can you imagine, Svetka, how easy … Read more
Tatiana was pouring the evening tea into cups when a sharp knock at the door made her flinch. The clock showed half past ten. Who could come to the dacha at this hour? “Sergey, someone’s here,” she called to her husband, but he was already heading to the door. A minute later, familiar voices were … Read more
Larisa was sitting in the kitchen as usual—in a tank top, with stretched-out knees on her pants, staring at her phone. She wasn’t scrolling or zoning out, just looking at it like it was an icon. There was a zero blinking, then a three, then a bunch more zeros… three million. Real money. In her … Read more
I always knew that my in-laws were very cunning and mercenary people who loved freebies, but I never suspected how far they could go. And when we went on a family vacation together to Georgia, their audacity showed itself in full glory. They clearly forgot that every patience has its limit. Including mine! “What a … Read more
— Didn’t understand?! — Misha’s voice cut through the silence of the stairwell, echoing off the concrete walls. — What is going on here?! The key wouldn’t turn. The lock… the lock was different. Completely different. Misha crouched down, staring at the metal lock plate as if it could explain what had happened to his … Read more
“Dima, come have breakfast!” Katya called to her son, setting a plate with golden pancakes on the table, a small bowl of thick jam, and cups of steaming tea. The ten-year-old boy, as usual in a downcast mood, slowly entered the kitchen, sat down on a chair, and looked gloomily at his mother. “Mum, can … Read more
Nika stood by the window, thoughtfully looking out into the yard, holding a cup of tea in her hands, long since cold. Outside the glass, ordinary life was bustling: children were playing on the playground, and their mothers sat on benches, absorbed in their own affairs. Some chatted nonstop, some buried their faces in their … Read more
Anna stood by the gray, peeling doors of the maternity hospital, like a figure carved from stone — motionless, compressed inside by the weight of loneliness. In her arms, she tightly held newborn Svetka, wrapped in a thin blue blanket that seemed too bright for this gloomy night. Blue — the color they had so … Read more
A snow-white veil, pure and fragile like a cloth just taken from an ancient loom, wrapped the earth. The frosty air trembled in the pre-dawn silence, and the sky above — muffled, ink-black, as if smeared with thick shadows of past sins — was slow to release the new day into the light. Along the … Read more