— I’ve found a buyer. For your one-room apartment. The words landed on the kitchen table along with a thin folder made of cheap plastic. The slap was quiet but definitive, like the crack of a starter pistol. Larisa didn’t flinch. The knife in her hand, which had been methodically slicing a juicy stalk of … Read more
— “I told your sister not to come today. The guys are coming over—we’ll play poker.” The morning was perfect. The kind that happen only in a new apartment, when the smell of fresh paint hasn’t fully faded and the sunbeams, slipping through perfectly clean glass, seem especially bright and full of promise. Liza sat … Read more
“I need to talk,” he said, standing in the doorway. Uncertainty in his eyes, a bouquet of white chrysanthemums in his hand. Alisa didn’t move. She just looked at him—long, slow. “You walked out that door yourself, and now you want to come back like nothing happened?” He stepped into the kitchen and sat down. … Read more
Tatiana set the heavy bags on the floor in the hallway. Her back ached after a long day at work. The girl took off her shoes and massaged her sore feet. The sound of footsteps from the bedroom made her lift her head. — Tanya, why isn’t dinner ready yet? — Nikolai’s displeased voice cut … Read more
“Miss, may I help you?” the man called, noticing how the woman was struggling under the weight of two bulging shopping bags. “Sorry to come up out of nowhere, but it looks like they’re about to slip right out of your hands. Let me take them for you.” “Oh, really? Are you sure? Aren’t they … Read more
“Girl, do you even realize what you’ve done?!” Semen barked, brandishing a ladle like a weapon. “Soup on the floor, the customer’s soaked, and you’re just standing there like a statue!” Alyona’s gaze dropped to the dark stain spreading across the man’s expensive suit. Her stomach knotted. This was it—her job was over. Six months … Read more
“Recognize the voice?” — the voice on the other end of the line was nauseatingly familiar. Soft, ingratiating — the same one that had once promised me forever. I stayed silent, staring at the frost patterns on the windowpane. A call from my ex-husband, Dmitry, after nearly two years of complete silence — that couldn’t … Read more
The door to the auto repair shop squeaked unpleasantly. The smell of gasoline and engine oil hit my nose— the scent of my past, from which I had been running for so long. In the center of the room, under the “Ford” hanging from chains, stood he. Sergey. My ex-husband. The same as before— in … Read more
Who is this?” Sonya’s voice was even, almost indifferent, but Artyom flinched as if struck. He stood in the middle of their small kitchen, where only a minute ago the air had been filled with the warmth of almost-domestic bliss. Spread across the table in a fan were samples of wedding invitations—cream-colored card with gold … Read more
— What’s wrong with your face? Roman tossed his keys onto the hallway table and walked into the kitchen. Sveta was sitting at the table, resting her head on her hand, staring at a single spot. An untouched cup of cold tea stood before her. She wasn’t crying, no. Her face looked like a mask … Read more