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Katya woke up at 6:48 a.m. Not because she wanted to—because of the furious rustle of foil coming from the kitchen. At first an absurd thought flashed through her mind: a dream? Surely no sane person would be gutting “herring under a fur coat” at seven on a Monday morning? Especially not her. But alas, […]

— And the sauce for the meat—did you make it yourself, Len?” Katya asked, spearing a browned piece with her fork. I nodded, trying to smile as casually as possible. “Yeah. I’m trying a new recipe. Cranberry.” From the far end of the table my husband, Stas, gave a snort. That sound—like a fork scraping […]

The mother stood perfectly still. Only her lips were trembling. “Y-you… you’re throwing me out? Your own mother?” Tatyana nodded silently. And then something changed in her mother. Her face twisted, and her eyes flashed with something dark. “You’ll regret this,” she hissed. “You’ll regret it, Tanya.” She grabbed her old scarf from the back […]

A ringing silence hung over the kitchen—thicker and heavier than the densest fog. The plate of buckwheat and a cutlet Slavik had abandoned was slowly cooling, becoming a symbol of a shattered family dinner and, perhaps, their entire former life. “W-what… what did you say?” Svetlana Petrovna was the first to come to her senses. […]

— Yeah, I’m coming, I’m coming… Of all people—someone just had to show up,” I muttered as I opened the door. Standing on the threshold was a girl of about eighteen, a scuffed backpack slung over her shoulders and a steady, light-eyed stare. No confusion—just iron determination. “I’m staying with you for three months. My […]

The year had turned out surprisingly warm. Indian summer dragged on, painting the leaves in fiery gold. The air was clear and sweet, like thick honey, and a fine pre-winter web drifted through it. In such a setting, the news brought into the house felt especially bitter and unfair. “Varka, Varka,” came a tired voice […]

Vera was wiping dust off the windowsill when Maksim walked into the room and handed her a sheet torn from a notepad. “Here, sweetheart—these are my mother’s bank details. Take them to payroll so your salary will go to her.” She froze, rag still in her hand. “What?” “Send your salary to Mom. She’ll manage […]

The phone buzzed at ten at night, just as Marina was finishing the last column of her quarterly report. She swiped away the first notification without looking. The second made her lift her head. The third made her grab the phone with both hands. “Debit: Harvest grocery store.” “Debit: Pyschka café.” “Debit: Madame Chic tailor […]

—What’s this?! Zhanna Yegorovna pointed a finger at the plate with squeamish disdain, where a lonely mound of something beet-and-mayonnaise was slowly slumping outward. Gleb’s version of a “proper herring under a fur coat” looked more like the aftermath of a failed experiment in a chemistry lab. Alla walked into the apartment at exactly 5:30—just […]

The mother-in-law’s booming, authority-soaked voice cut through the stale air of the old two-room apartment on the outskirts of Moscow. “Olya, you’re not a stranger. You understand—we’re family. And in a family, how is it? Everything is shared. Shared joys, and so… shared opportunities too.” Olga, a literature teacher with twenty years of experience, silently […]