Are you even listening to me?” Anna’s voice sounded sharp as she repeated her question for the third time. Maxim looked up from his phone and gave a guilty smile. “Sorry, I was distracted. What did you say?” Anna sighed deeply, brushed crumbs off the table, and folded a towel. Lately, Maxim had clearly been […]
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The call from the notary’s office caught Varvara off guard. The spoon with her morning porridge froze halfway to her mouth as soon as she heard the first words about her grandmother’s inheritance. Alexey, Varvara’s husband, turned away from the stove with a questioning look. “Yes, yes, I understand. In six months, I’ll have to […]
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The alarm rang exactly at six in the morning. Vika opened her eyes but didn’t move. Next to her, her husband was peacefully snoring, wrapped up in the blanket over his head. The alarm kept ringing desperately, but Arthur didn’t even twitch. Vika reached out and turned off the alarm. Time to get up. Her […]
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Grandma Lyuba struggled to lift the bucket of icy water from the pump and, heavily shifting her feet, walked along the well-trodden path to the house. The frost tickled her face, her fingers slipped uncontrollably on the rusty handle. Right at the door, she stopped to catch her breath: she placed one bucket on the […]
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Konstantin sat stunned, unable to grasp how he’d gotten himself into such a mess that now he couldn’t tell his head from his tail. Although, to be honest, he’d brought it on himself. He knew Rimma was married, but hadn’t given it much thought — he didn’t care. More than that, it was convenient: fewer […]
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The phone rang just at the moment Ella was taking off her noise-cancelling headphones — sharp, piercing, as if someone suddenly threw open a window in a quiet room. “Hi, Ellochka,” Vera’s voice sounded too cheerful, with that very intonation behind which unpleasant words usually hide. “Listen, my mom and I were thinking… You know, […]
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Marina woke up to noise from above — someone was moving furniture too vigorously. A dog started barking again behind the wall, and the March wind began to tap on the window as if on purpose. She lay there for a long time, hoping this day wouldn’t start. The hallway was cool. She threw on […]
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At the evening wedding anniversary, my husband solemnly raised his glass. I followed his example but suddenly noticed: he quietly slipped something into my glass. A cold, uneasy feeling clenched my stomach. I decided not to take any risks. When everyone was distracted, I carefully swapped my glass with the glass of his sister sitting […]
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A seven-year-old orphan boy lay in the hospital room, as if already cut off from life. He was a lonely child — without parents, without love, without a chance, or so it seemed to everyone around. Only the doctors, the ticking clock, cold walls, and the hum of medical machines. They were about to disconnect […]
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Let’s stop by the church,” suggested Polina. Vadim looked at his wife and smiled. They had been married for nine years, and throughout this time, they had been trying to have a child. They visited doctors and underwent examinations everywhere they could. They did everything they could, took every possible test, but nothing helped. Polina […]
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