The city, shrouded in dark shadows, breathed a muffled, heavy silence, broken only by the occasional wail of an ambulance siren. Inside the city hospital, where every corridor held the echoes of other people’s suffering, a storm raged no less fierce than the tempest beyond the windows. The night wasn’t merely tense—it hovered on the … Read more
A dark night, shot through with cold and a storm wind, seemed to have stepped off the pages of a grim fairy tale. The sky, shrouded in clouds, appeared to be hiding the moon on purpose, leaving the world at the mercy of a relentless rain that lashed the asphalt as if trying to wash … Read more
“Valentina, this is no way to do business! What on earth is going on? This is outrageous!” Nadezhda shouted into the phone. “We transferred the full amount to you, didn’t we? Yes, we did! We paid you for all three months, just as we agreed! And what is happening here now?” The woman was speaking … Read more
The stack of documents on the lawyer’s polished desk looked out of place, like a shard of rock in the middle of a lake. I stared at my husband’s signature, and the line of his stroke seemed mocking, wrong. It looked similar, but it wasn’t his. “As you can see, Anna Viktorovna, everything is done … Read more
Sveta knew for sure—their keys were gone. She had turned the entire entryway upside down, checked the pockets of her jacket and Andrei’s jeans, even looked under the doormat. Nothing. “Andrei! Have you seen our keys?” she shouted nervously, opening yet another drawer. “Which ones exactly?” Her husband appeared in the kitchen doorway with a … Read more
Anna pulled the keys from her bag and pushed the door open carefully, trying not to wake Sergey. The hallway was dark, filled with a warm, spicy aroma—he must have reheated delivery pilaf again, probably late at night. His boots were abandoned in the middle of the floor, one knocked over as if kicked off … Read more
“Just take her and run, you understand? Right now…” “But why me? What makes me so special?” Thirty years have passed, yet those words still echo in my mind as if whispered only yesterday. That evening forever altered the course of my life. And now, looking back through the prism of time, I see it … Read more
Alice stood at the stove, stirring buckwheat in a pot. The same dish for the third day in a row. The fridge was empty, payday was still a week away, and the last of her money had gone to rent. “Buckwheat again?” Yaroslav walked into the kitchen and grimaced in displeasure. “Are we completely broke … Read more
— Kira, this is simply outrageous! The baby is already six months old, and you still carry her around like a crystal vase. At your age, I was already raising two kids, working, and managing a thirty-acre garden! — Berta Alexandrovna’s voice on the phone was, as always, categorical. Kira took a deep breath, trying … Read more
— Mommy, are we going to live here now? — Lisa’s small voice trembled like an autumn leaf in the wind. Svetlana hugged her daughter by the shoulders and looked at the little house. It was crooked, old, with peeling window frames, resembling a tired person whose eyes had long stopped marveling at the world. … Read more