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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Tamara Ivanovna walked slowly along the shelves of the huge supermarket, examining the brightly packaged products. She came here every day, like going to work. She didn’t need many groceries to feed a large family — she didn’t have one. So, every evening, the elderly woman would escape her loneliness into the brightly lit shopping […]
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Please, daughter, pity me,» I begged. «I haven’t eaten bread for three days, and I have no money left.» Tears were running down my cheeks, covered with fine wrinkles. In my hands, I only held a bag with empty bottles. «But how can this be?» they answered. «This is a bread stand. We don’t take […]
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The snow was falling in thick, heavy flakes, as if it was trying to cover the earth with a white blanket as quickly as possible. The evening was damp and cold—the sharp wind pushed the snow across the asphalt, and the streetlights only illuminated the nearest steps, while everything else disappeared into the gray mist. […]
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The market buzzed like a huge beehive. On this warm July day, the townspeople filled the narrow aisles between the stalls, piled high with vegetables, fruits, greens, and other summer bounty. Some bargained loudly, some laughed joyfully, hugging bags full of juicy peaches and fragrant tomatoes. Andrei, a tall man in his thirties with a […]
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An elderly man hesitantly approached the grand entrance of a fashionable restaurant. His suit was neatly pressed but noticeably worn — apparently, he had worn it many years ago and had only just put it on again after a long time. His gray hair lay in sparse strands, as if unsure whether to stay in […]
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