Larisa wiped the sweat from her forehead and set the bucket of water aside. The August heat made working in the garden especially hard, but the tomatoes needed watering. The house she had inherited from her parents sat on the edge of town, and the plot that came with it let them grow vegetables for […]
Продолжение...
Rain drummed against the café windows where Kira was waiting for Pavel. A year of dating is no small thing, and at last the guy had decided to introduce his girlfriend to his mother. Kira was nervous, adjusting the dark blue dress she’d bought especially for the occasion. She wanted to make a good impression. […]
Продолжение...
“Igor, forgive me, please, if I’m interrupting,” Tatyana Yevgenyevna’s voice was quiet, almost apologetic, as if she were asking not for a favor but for some great, unthinkable indulgence. She stood in the kitchen doorway, her dry, pigment-spotted hands clasped in front of her. “The door to my room… it creaks terribly. I got up […]
Продолжение...
“Kirill, this isn’t funny anymore. It’s not even sad. It’s just humiliating,” Inna said in an even, almost indifferent voice, looking not at her husband but at the cloudy streaks the drizzling November rain left on the glass. They were sitting at a corner table in a faceless chain café where they’d run away to […]
Продолжение...
Yana pushed the apartment door open and immediately heard voices from the kitchen. Her husband Igor was talking with his mother—Valentina Stepanovna. The woman had arrived in the morning and settled in the kitchen, as usual. “So what’s going on with the TV?” Igor asked. “It’s gotten really old,” the mother-in-law complained. “The picture is […]
Продолжение...
Marina sighed, staring at the computer screen. The numbers in the report blurred before her eyes—it was already eleven at night, and she was still at the office. Being the head of the marketing department at a large IT company demanded total commitment, but the pay matched the effort. At thirty-two, she earned more than […]
Продолжение...
“Starting next month, my entire salary will go to my mom. She needs it more.” The words fell into the kitchen silence as casually as crumbs from the table. Stas didn’t even think it necessary to lift his gaze from his phone screen, which cast a cold bluish light across his serene face. He simply […]
Продолжение...
“Here. She… looked everything over again.” Kirill’s voice was muffled, guilty, like that of a schoolboy bringing home a report card with a failing grade. He didn’t enter the room—he seeped into it, trying to make as little noise as possible, as if hoping his presence would go unnoticed. In his hand, he held a […]
Продолжение...
“You finally came? I thought I wouldn’t live to see it.” Andrei stepped over the threshold of his mother’s apartment, shaking off the weight of a long workday. The air was familiar, dense, heavy with the smells of valocordin and fried onions. All he wanted was to collapse into the old armchair, drink tea, and […]
Продолжение...
“What do you think you’re doing? Are you out of your mind?” Igor’s voice was no louder than a whisper, but the steel grip of his fingers digging into Kristina’s forearm spoke louder than any shout. He nearly dragged her out of the brightly lit, noisy living room into a narrow, dim corridor, where the […]
Продолжение...