Sofia, nursing a grievance, had hidden from her daughter Viktoria for twenty years that her father, Alexander, lived in Siberia—but then the girl accidentally found his old letters and photos in the attic.

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Sofiya stood for a long time at the old window, its glass lightly veiled with frosty patterns, following with her eyes the receding figure of her daughter. Wrapped in a bright down scarf, the girl waved to her from the bus window, and Sofiya’s heart clenched with the familiar—yet no less sharp—anxiety. Viktoriya was going … Read more

The ex-husband, who came to gloat over his ex-wife and daughter he had thrown out of the house three years earlier, got a harsh dressing-down.

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The quiet of our cozy Saturday morning was shattered by a sharp, insistent knock at the door. Sunbeams danced across the floor of our modest but beloved living room; the air smelled of freshly brewed coffee and vanilla croissants. My daughter, gentle and radiant Alisa, was happily building the castle of her dreams from colorful … Read more

— And what did you think—that he married you for nothing?” the mother-in-law smirked, demanding they sell the apartment for the sake of their family business.

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Anna was flipping the fried eggs in the pan when Dmitry’s sharp voice sounded behind her. “More extensions? What do you mean, more extensions?” Her husband pressed the phone to his ear, pacing nervously around the kitchen. “I told you—by the end of the month… No, it won’t work any earlier!” Anna froze with the … Read more

“What do you mean ‘separate property’? The house will be joint!” my mother-in-law screeched while I was signing the papers at the notary’s.

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Raisa sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the suitcase. Two years ago, Arkady had assured her it was temporary. Just a couple of months, until his mother recovered from knee surgery. “Raya, please,” Arkady had taken her hands then and looked into her eyes. “Mom is lonely. And she’s afraid to … Read more

The Age of Unlimited Possibilities My grandmother became a grandmother at forty-four. And in that very moment she started living up to the status.

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My grandmother became a grandmother at forty-four—and in that very moment she began to live exactly as the title suggested. No, of course she didn’t wear a floral kerchief or hobble with a cane, and even in very old age she looked neat and dignified. But I remember once we sewed a bright red dress … Read more

Take your brat and get out. Spend the winter in a communal flat,” the husband barked, shoving his wife and child into the snowstorm.

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Snowflakes slowly swirled in the light of the streetlamps, like ballerinas dancing in white dresses. Maria Andreevna, standing at the window of her fourth–floor apartment, was lost in the February darkness. Each time the headlights of passing cars lit up the courtyard, her heart began to beat faster. She knew that soon Andrei would return … Read more

I warmed an old woman in a bitter freeze. In the morning she was gone, but a brand-new foreign car was standing in the yard.

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Frost clenched our old wooden house like an icy fist, making the beams creak and forcing us to curl up under a thin blanket. Outside, in the pitch-black village night, the thermometer stood mercilessly at minus thirty. Inside it wasn’t much warmer—there was barely any firewood left, and I was saving the last logs for … Read more

— Did you think I’d end up on the street without you? That I’d beg you to come back? — I watched my ex-husband’s face contort.

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Alina wiped her hands on her apron, glancing at the clock. Twenty minutes until Viktor arrived. The stew was almost done, the salad chopped. — “Mein Gott…” Alina froze with a ladle in her hand, silently running through a grammar rule. She hadn’t used her knowledge in practice for a long time. She didn’t want … Read more

— And what made you think you can barge in every year and live at my place like it’s a hotel?

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— What do you mean, ‘we can’t’? Come on, drop this nonsense! We always used to come—why can’t we now?” Larisa still didn’t believe it; she didn’t want to accept that her plans were collapsing like a house of cards. And all because of the whims of her former sister-in-law. Just yesterday, Larisa had been … Read more