Anna tiredly climbed to the fourth floor after work. She used to love coming home: the quiet apartment in the panel high-rise was her oasis of calm. But as soon as she opened the front door, she noticed unfamiliar men’s sneakers on the doormat. Her heart sank with anxiety: she wasn’t at all ready for … Read more
There’s someone there,” Anya said quietly, directing the weak beam of her flashlight under the bridge. Cold seeped under her skin, and the autumn mud stuck to the soles of her shoes, making each step heavier. After a twelve-hour shift at the medical post, her legs were aching from exhaustion, but this strange sound—a quiet … Read more
My name is Nikolai. And one day I did something that forever changed my life. That evening — smelling of spring, but still as sharp as an icy morning — I couldn’t even imagine that it would become a turning point. Where did it all begin? With the trash? With the child? Or with the … Read more
— So, how do you plan to live from now on? — her mother-in-law cast a disdainful look around the one-room apartment, as though it were the site of a particularly heinous crime. — You think you can handle three? You could hardly manage with one, and now… Eh! Alina silently picked up the toys … Read more
– Are you sure? – Dmitry looked at his wife intently. – This is the same mother-in-law who ruined your life. – The very same, – Yana sat down beside her husband on the couch. – I have to do this. Not for her – for myself. – I’m coming, I’m coming, oh, this is … Read more
Misfortune came to this happy family so suddenly that it was hard even to believe. Just yesterday, everything was still fine. Mom was at home with her younger son, Dad was earning a decent living, the middle daughter was attending school and had started taking piano lessons, and the eldest had just entered university. They … Read more
Where’s my dinner?” came the hoarse voice from deep inside the apartment as soon as Marina stepped over the threshold. She froze, still wearing her coat, and sighed heavily. The workday had been especially tough — her boss had overloaded her with reports, the bus had broken down, and she had to walk three stops … Read more
Alyona, my dear, help me…” — Maria Nikitichna’s voice trembled as she crossed the threshold of the house, tightly holding two small bundles to her chest. Alyona froze by the sink, the half-washed plate still in her hand. Outside, the rain poured, and the dog hesitated to come inside, huddling by the wall and howling. … Read more
It all began when Nina, a fifty-four-year-old widow, finally received a two-room apartment in an old building from her parents. The concrete high-rise had cracked walls, creaky floors, and outlets that almost fell out of the walls — but to her, it symbolized a new chapter. Her children had grown and moved away, her husband … Read more
— Dad, did you see that cool car parked by our entrance?!” — Zhenya burst into the apartment, her hair tousled like a sparrow’s, and then froze. There was a woman in the room with her father. He was holding her hand and didn’t let go, even when his daughter entered. Zhenya immediately forgot about … Read more