Lyudmila Sergeyevna was carefully arranging porcelain cups on the shelf when she heard the familiar rumble of an engine in the yard. Her heart skipped a beat—the sound took her back to childhood, when her father would arrive in his old Volga. Now her brother Viktor drove one just like it. “Tolya!” she called to … Read more
The text message from the bank arrived at 7:15 a.m. “Debit transaction in the amount of…” I swiped the notification away without opening it. Dima often transferred money for building materials for the dacha. It was routine. The second came a minute later. The third—while I was pouring water into the kettle. The phone started … Read more
He just used me. It’s like my eyes finally opened. Why didn’t I notice anything before? I was probably too naive. I trusted people too much. Now I’ll be more cautious. For some reason I thought something like this could happen to anyone—just not to me. But no: it turns out no one is safe. … Read more
“Marina has been sleeping in the living room for the third month! The third month, Igor!” a woman’s voice trembled with anger. “She’s your wife, and you say nothing!” “Mom, stop…” “No, you stop! Your wife is not a servant!” Two hours before that conversation, Marina was standing at the stove, stirring soup. Klavdia Petrovna, … Read more
Anna’s very first memory was not of the warmth of a mother’s hands or the sweet scent of New Year tangerines. It was a pricking, ice-cold thing, stamped on the wrong side of her soul like a scar that would ache all her life. She was six. Into the neat, polished-to-sterility world of the orphanage—smelling … Read more
“Sign it, Kseniya Arkadyevna, and let’s be done with this farce.” Rodion carelessly slid a folder of documents toward me. His well-groomed fingers drummed on the mahogany desk, and on his lips played that very smirk I’d come to hate over the years. The smirk of a predator driving its prey into a corner. “What … Read more
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 news of her grandfather’s death reached Yana in the middle of the workday. She was sitting at her computer when a message came from her mother: “Grandpa Misha is gone. His heart. Come as soon as you can.” Yana didn’t cry—they hadn’t been especially close in recent years. But something snapped inside her, as … Read more
Larisa looked up from her computer when Andrei walked into the kitchen. From his face she immediately understood—something was wrong. Her husband stood in the doorway, shifting from foot to foot like a schoolboy outside the principal’s office. “What happened?” she asked, closing the laptop. Andrei came to the table and sat down across from … Read more
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