The key squealed as it turned in the lock, and the door swung inward with a heavy drag. Ekaterina almost floated into the hallway, tossing her bag—stuffed with folders—onto the small cabinet by the door. A whole day on her feet, endless reports, eyes aching from a glowing screen… all of that stayed outside. This […]
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“Are you seriously being stingy? It’s just tea, Ira! I asked for loose-leaf—what did you buy?” Egor shoved the box of tea bags away with open disgust. “Yes, I am!” Irina snapped, spinning around from the sink with the dish sponge clenched in her fist. “I’m stingy about throwing money down the drain—especially when it’s […]
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“The relatives came to ‘finish the salads’ after New Year’s. But this time, the surprise wasn’t on the table.” “Go on, Pash—open the door. Your mom’s calling,” Natalia said. Her voice was unnervingly steady, but inside her, that familiar string was already pulled tight—the one that usually snaps with a loud, ugly twang. Pavel choked […]
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“Starting January, everyone’s on their own,” my mother-in-law declared. My husband followed her advice—then got a New Year’s lesson he never saw coming. That year, the smell of mandarins and fresh pine brought no joy. December 31 in Ira and Zhenya’s apartment felt stretched tight, like an old guitar string ready to snap. Early that […]
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