The lock refused to give in until the very last moment. Lena leaned her shoulder against the door, and it creaked plaintively open. Inside, the air smelled of old furniture and mothballs. “Hmmmm,” the girl drawled as she stepped inside. The floorboard creaked sadly under her feet. “The floor needs replacing,” she noted. Lena looked […]
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On that January morning, Sergey, as usual, arrived at work by nine. He greeted the security guard, Uncle Kolya, and made his way to his fourth-floor office. The office smelled of coffee as always—Mikhailych, his neighbor to the right, was busy brewing his strong coffee with cinnamon. Just another ordinary day, one of many over […]
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Hey, Kovaleva, is it true that your mother washed our locker room yesterday?” Kirill Bronsky asked loudly, leaning on his desk and deliberately waiting until the class quieted down. Sonya froze, not even having time to put her textbook into her backpack. A tense silence fell over the classroom. All eyes turned to her. “Yes, […]
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You didn’t take good care of him,” he whispered, extending a framed photograph as a Women’s Day gift. “I hope you’ll do better with the children.” His smile was empty, lifeless. At first, I couldn’t comprehend what I was seeing. The world had narrowed, then shattered into pieces. In the photo, Alexey stood in that […]
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Nadyusha, how are you holding up over there?” came the caring voice of her sister. “Lil, I don’t even understand myself… I’m running out of strength. Last night I went another sleepless night.” “Maybe you should take a sedative? Or see a specialist? Look at how you’ve withered away…” I – Nadezhda – had recently […]
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In their family, everyone was used to seeing Grandma Katya as a gentle, non-confrontational person, ready to sacrifice herself for the well-being of her children and grandchildren. Her sons—Lyosha and Yuri—had long since started their own families and lived separately, but they regularly sent their children over to visit her. And no one ever doubted […]
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After the workout, Vika hurried home, having promised her husband that she would cook fish soup. When she entered the apartment, she saw her husband Leonid sitting in the kitchen, drinking wine. — Wow, look at you… Leonid, you couldn’t wait for me? At least let me prepare an appetizer… — No need, sit down; […]
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Maria stood motionless by the window, thrown wide open to the autumn wind. October had turned out to be especially cold and damp—dry leaves whirled around the yard, driven by gusts of wind, while the sky was hidden behind thick gray clouds. It seemed as if nature itself reflected her troubled state, as though foretelling […]
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Don’t talk nonsense! What do you mean you’re not going to let me back in? ME!” Vitaly stood in the doorway of his former apartment with a surprised look on his face. “You’re the one talking nonsense. And what brings you here, huh? Where is it written, in what laws, that all those moral… jerks, […]
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That morning, everything was as usual. I was the first to arrive at the office, turned on the computers, brewed coffee for my colleagues—just as I had done for the last ten years. An office manager is almost like the mother of a big corporate family. At least, that’s always what I believed. The monitor […]
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