The aroma of fried onions wafted throughout the apartment. Lyuda mechanically stirred the gravy while glancing at the clock. Valera was supposed to return from work in half an hour, and dinner needed to be served hot—her husband couldn’t stand cold food. Lately, Lyuda found herself more and more thinking that she was cooking like … Read more
Hello?” Tatiana picked up the phone. An unfamiliar number appeared on the screen. “Tatyana Vasilyevna Kuznetsova?” “Yes… It’s me.” “Your mother, Elvira Stanislavovna Kuznetsova, has passed away. Come to Moscow. The funeral will be next week,” the voice on the other end was cold and emotionless. Tatiana froze. She definitely did not expect such news. … Read more
The day turned out to be extraordinarily quiet. Marina sat on the veranda of the summer cottage, sorting through herbs for drying. Her entire life had been measured like the ticking of a clock in a hospital corridor—second after second, day after day. Twenty years of marriage with Andrey had turned into a habit, like … Read more
Today, from the very morning, the weather was magnificent. The bright sun, as if missing after two rainy days, generously showered the city with its rays. Perhaps that was exactly why Alisa decided to drop by her husband’s workplace. Alisa was a cheerful and impulsive young woman. She adored surprises and often arranged them for … Read more
With Zakhar, our meeting took place at a book presentation by an author. We started talking then and soon delved into a discussion about literary works. Zakhar left his phone number, and I shared mine. We continued communicating after that. Our interaction didn’t develop too fast, but that pace suited me. A year after we … Read more
Masha finished the remaining coffee and tossed the disposable cup into the trash can. Grabbing her purse, she strode energetically toward the crosswalk. “What a wonderful morning!” she thought, feeling a surge of joy from the first moments of awakening. And for good reason—the day had started exceptionally well: she had woken up earlier than … Read more
He clearly did not expect this meeting; his face stretched into a look of astonishment, and his eyes widened. The woman stared at the guest in amazement, not understanding what he was doing there. The banquet was in full swing—guests were chatting animatedly and frequently raising their glasses in a toast to the birthday woman, … Read more
Her head was spinning; she was on the verge of believing in the existence of magic, but everything turned out to be much more prosaic. Nastya stood by the bookcase, holding a large school album filled with photographs from those years, and she gazed at each picture with tender admiration. For half an hour, the … Read more
It seemed that the whole village knew that the general was coming to live with them permanently. Moreover, there were rumors that he was a local. Vera was the most anxious of all. First of all, she would become his neighbor, and the old owner had given her the keys to his two-story cottage so … Read more
A phone call shattered the morning silence so unexpectedly that Natasha jumped. The screen displayed the name: “Aunt Lyuba.” — “Natashenka!” an excited voice came from the other end of the line. “Can you imagine, we’re coming to your country house!” Her cup of coffee froze mid-air. Aunt Lyuba was the very one who had … Read more