Life in the village of Orekhovo was like an old, sun-faded photograph—achingly familiar, washed-out, but no less dear to the heart for it. For Alisa, this little world, tucked away among endless fields and whispering forests, was both cradle and cage. She grew up to the accompaniment of cows’ lowing and the morning clatter of […]
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When Irina walked into the hallway, the air smelled of tobacco. The light in the corridor wasn’t on—the bulb that Andrey had promised to replace a week ago was still dead. She fumbled for the lamp in the living room, switched it on, and saw her husband sitting on the couch with a weary face […]
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Yana turned the key in the lock and let out a sigh of relief. Finally home. Behind her was another exhausting day at the office, where clients demanded the impossible and management pressed with deadlines. Her two-room apartment greeted her with its usual order and silence—everything lay exactly where it was supposed to. She kicked […]
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Svetlana stood in the middle of the room. Her three-room apartment. Years of hardship and saving. All her efforts had finally paid off. — Daughter, why are you just standing there? — her mother entered with a bucket and mop. — Let’s start cleaning before your father brings the wallpaper. — Mom, I just… — […]
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Ksenia sat on the floor among the cardboard boxes, holding the keys to her very own apartment. Twenty-six years of life, and finally, she had a place of her own. “I can’t believe this is mine,” Ksenia whispered, looking around the empty room. Sunlight poured through the large windows. After years of renting tiny corners, […]
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Nina was sorting laundry in the basket, automatically separating light from dark, when Andrey peeked into the bathroom. Her husband’s face looked guilty, like a schoolboy who had forgotten his homework. “Nina, I’ve got a bit of bad news,” he began, leaning against the doorframe. “They’ve delayed our salaries again at work. We definitely won’t […]
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“Well, what do you say, Sveta?” mother-in-law Tamara Ivanovna gently stirred her tea with a spoon, not taking her eyes off her daughter-in-law. “Our Olechka has launched a new project. She’s got her own advertising agency now.” Svetlana forced a smile as she kept slicing tomatoes for the salad. Every movement of the knife seemed […]
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Svetlana felt like the happiest woman alive. In just a single year, her world had transformed beyond recognition. Only twelve months earlier, she had lived under the same roof as her aunt, who treated her less like a niece and more like a servant. The woman never lifted a finger around the house or garden—she […]
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“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 […]
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Maria’s white dress flowed over her figure in waves of expensive silk. She stood before the mirror, unable to believe her happiness. Today she was marrying Ivan. The very same Vanya who, three years ago, had literally saved her from loneliness. “Mashechka, are you ready?” her mother peeked into the room, her eyes glistening suspiciously. […]
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