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Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Tonya let out a heavy sigh. Some people were spared a midlife crisis, but hers had hit like a real, knock-you-off-your-feet hurricane. She disliked everything about herself and wanted to change it all. “You look gorgeous, sweetheart! No one would ever say you’re forty!” her coworker would tell … Read more

Irina twirled the keys between her fingers. The keys to the new apartment—their new apartment—burned against her palm. Fifteen years of saving. Fifteen! And now… “Ir, why are you standing there?” Sergey tapped her shoulder. “Come on, open it already!” “Maybe you should open it? Technically…” “Ir, we’ve talked about this a hundred times. Mom’s … Read more

“Seriously, Katya? You want to ruin everything because of some two-hour drive?!” Igor’s voice trembled with outrage, and his face had turned red as if he’d just run a marathon. “Two hours?!” Katya whirled away from the kitchen window where she’d been standing, clutching a cup of cold coffee in both hands. “Igor, that’s four … Read more

The apartment went to Dasha from her grandmother when the girl turned twenty-four. A bright two-bedroom place with a view of the park. The inheritance was оформed quickly—there were no disputes, and no other heirs either. She received the documents six months after her grandmother’s death, as required by law. She simply came to the … Read more

The darkness of the December night thickened outside the windows, while inside the old, dilapidated house, a tense anticipation prevailed. Behind the kitchen door, on the floor stained by long-unwashed linoleum, children crowded together — three little ones huddled close like nestlings. Their eyes, full of hope and hunger, were fixed on the crack in … Read more

  I stared at my phone for a long time. Alexey was calling for the third time that evening, but I didn’t pick up. The screen showed the time—half past ten. Before, at that hour, I would already have been washing the dishes after dinner, wiping down the table, hanging up laundry. Now I was … Read more

  — What’s that? — I stopped halfway to the station, listening carefully. Crying came from the left — quiet but persistent. The February wind tickled my neck and flapped the edge of my coat. I turned toward the railway, where against the white snow, a dark abandoned switchman’s hut stood out. A bundle lay … Read more

  “Speak.” His voice in the phone receiver was even and a little tired, like someone who’d been pulled away from a complicated spreadsheet full of numbers. On the other end of the line, Olga stayed silent for a second, gathering her strength. When she finally spoke, her voice wasn’t trembling—it was completely empty, burnt … Read more

 Get your rags out of here—this is junk! We need to clear the room for Lenka!” the mother-in-law demanded, and the husband nodded. But they weren’t expecting the answer they were about to get. Anna was working on lace cuffs. A thin needle obediently dove through the weave of threads, leaving behind a barely visible … Read more

 Maxim suddenly sat up on the bed—this horrifying dream had tormented him for an entire decade, and each time he woke up drenched in cold sweat. The voices from his night visions continued to echo in his ears: — You only evoke hatred in me! I curse the moment of our meeting! Stay away from … Read more