Anna parked her black BMW by the gates of the country house and let out a long breath. It had been a brutal day—an audit meeting, urgent reports for her father, a tense call with the bank about the loan to expand the warehouse. All she wanted now was a glass of dry red wine, […]
Продолжение...
When Natalya came home, she found her husband Nikita in a very worried state. He was nervously pacing from corner to corner, constantly dialing a number on his phone. “Hi, sweetheart,” Natalya said lightly, pretending not to notice how wound up he was. “What’s for dinner?” Nikita seemed not to hear her and kept calling […]
Продолжение...
Alyosha was skiing early in the_busy forest park one morning when he suddenly heard: “Help! People, help!” He stopped, listened, and hurried toward the pleading voice, straight through the snowdrifts. He hadn’t gone far. Nearby there was a pedestrian path, and on it lay an elderly woman. She was trying to get up, leaning on […]
Продолжение...
“Mom, I’m hungry!” Olya tugged at Anna’s T-shirt hem while Anna sorted through empty grocery bags in the kitchen. Anna swallowed a sigh. In the fridge there was a carton of milk and three yogurts. For three children. “We’ll think of something, sunshine,” she said, automatically stroking her daughter’s hair. “We’ll make sandwiches, okay?” “But […]
Продолжение...
Alevtina Petrovna unfailingly appeared at the store at exactly seven in the morning. By that time the 24-hour “Groceries” was usually empty—only night-shift workers and the occasional sleepless passerby came in. Her worn gray coat and faded headscarf had long since become familiar to the staff. The old woman came twice a week, like clockwork—on […]
Продолжение...
Everything began three years ago, when Artyom brought his fiancée and her mother to meet his parents. Tamara Viktorovna, Artyom’s mother, immediately understood: the girl was a good one. Katya was a student at the teacher-training college—modest, well-mannered, from a “decent family.” True, when it turned out that this “decent family” meant a single mother […]
Продолжение...