The taxi smelled of gasoline and a tiredness not its own, soaked into the seats. The driver glanced a couple of times in the rearview mirror at Katya and at the white envelope in her hands, but kept quiet. Wise guy, or just indifferent. Katya watched the city lights flicker by, smeared into dirty streaks […]
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The cedars rustled overhead as if trying to warn of something, their mighty branches swaying with the gusts, weaving a mysterious, almost mystical music. Liza had grown used to their language—the hiss in the wind, the creak of powerful trunks, the quiet whisper that told her stories through long winter evenings. Five years in this […]
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My childhood unfolded in silence. Not the silence you find in libraries or morning forests, but the kind born of constant tension—the need to keep quiet so as not to betray something that wasn’t supposed to exist. We lived in an old house on the edge of the city, in a neighborhood where the asphalt […]
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“Do you clean the toilets here?” Victoria threw out with a smirk, stopping by my desk. Her voice—loud and deliberate—spread across the office floor, making even the clatter of keyboards pause for a moment. She stood before me in a tight cream dress that fit her figure perfectly, with impeccable makeup and hair, as if […]
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My life split into two unequal parts: before the two lines on the test and after. That second part turned out to be much harder than I could have imagined. Every morning began with long minutes on the cold bathroom tiles, and the day turned into an endless struggle with my own body. The swelling […]
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That evening carved itself into my memory like sharp shards, each one searingly bright and painful. He stood in the doorway, and his stance, his gaze, every feature spoke of detachment and of a decision made somewhere far away, without me. — I’m leaving, — he said quietly, but to my ears it was the […]
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The little bell above the door chimed softly, almost inaudibly, but that sound had always been special to him. Viktor Orlov stepped into “Orlov Café,” the establishment that had once been his dream and had since become a network of four locations across the city. He wore a simple dark jacket, worn jeans, and a […]
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— “Sveta, you look absolutely stunning in that dress!” her friend exclaimed, taking in the bride. “We’ll do your hair next—and you’ll look like a real princess!” Svetlana ran a thoughtful hand through her hair, looking at herself in the mirror. “Maybe I should dye it darker? What do you think?” “Absolutely not! Dark shades […]
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When Vadik found out what had happened to his younger sister, he rushed home at once. He’d heard stories like this before, but never could have imagined it could happen to someone of his own blood. His mother had called a couple of hours earlier and told him everything. It turned out that classmates had […]
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Valya was no longer going to put up with it. She didn’t understand why Dima had started treating her this way—had he stopped loving her? Today again he came home late at night and went to sleep in the living room. In the morning, when he came out to breakfast, Valya sat down across from […]
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