The old cemetery in the village had long ceased to inspire fear. The locals had grown accustomed to the crooked fence and the lopsided crosses, but even by early evening very few people appeared there – it just felt unsettling to wander among abandoned graves. Behind the cemetery stood a lonely shed. It was said … Read more
The phone trembled on the bedside table for a long time, yet neither man nor woman stirred. The clock showed six in the morning. Alexey had anticipated that something like this might happen, so he had already switched both his and his wife’s phones to silent mode. Although he tried to convince himself that the … Read more
Are you sure?” — the realtor looked over the documents once more. “A deed of gift is serious. It will be hard to return it later.” “I’m sure,” — Yana signed the papers. Her hand didn’t shake — she had made up her mind. The May morning flooded the notary’s office with sunlight. The air … Read more
Lida lived with her husband, Oleg, for twelve years. But then she found a trace of another woman’s lipstick on his shirt. She was not a foolish woman and understood immediately. But just to be sure, she checked his phone and found several messages from a certain Varvara. At first, it was business correspondence, but … Read more
Igor sighed and winced as he heard the doorbell ring. The visit from his father-in-law and mother-in-law had been planned in advance, but up until the last moment, the man had hoped for a miracle—what if they changed their minds? Like a schoolboy who hadn’t prepared his homework, he wished fruitlessly for his teacher to … Read more
— Tanya, where is your granulated sugar? — Nastya rummaged again through her kitchen drawers, — Why do you keep moving it around? Tanya was thoroughly fed up with these sudden visits from Sasha’s sister. And it wasn’t just her—if it were only her, it might have been forgivable. No, she dragged along her entire … Read more
— “I have to leave because your sister is coming? And haven’t you gotten way too cheeky, my dear, by any chance? This is my apartment!” Marina protested as she and her husband had just returned home from work. Marina couldn’t believe her ears. For the past two years, their marriage had seemed perfect: they … Read more
— What happened? — asked Anya, watching her husband’s reaction. Vitya, clutching the phone tightly in his hand, slowly sank onto the sofa. “— My mom’s house burned down,” — he managed to say. “— How?” — Anya said, confused, as she sat down next to him. “— I don’t know; she just called and … Read more
Evening light softly filtered through the sheer curtains, leaving whimsical patterns on the living room floor. Rita placed two dinner plates on the table and glanced at the clock almost on autopilot. Eight o’clock. Oleg had promised to be here at seven, but in recent months his words had become worth nothing. Rita took out … Read more
Strange, why did she choose me?” Olesya pondered. Maria Aleksandrovna had three daughters-in-law, but she disliked the youngest the most. Perhaps it was because she was “always nearby” — after all, the other daughters-in-law had chosen to move to neighboring cities, far away from the meddlesome mother-in-law. Or maybe it was some personal antipathy. In … Read more