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Misha banged the cold cup of coffee down on the table and pressed the coffee machine button. Five minutes before they had to leave. Their old apartment had become a cramped box to him, every corner reminding him of twenty years of marriage. A marriage he’d decided to end three months ago. — “You didn’t […]

“Good riddance! — his voice thundered through our tiny entryway. — Without you, I’ll only be better off!” He was so sure he was right. So drunk on his sudden “freedom.” He had no idea he’d just signed, with his own hands, a death sentence for his business and his future. He thought he’d gotten […]

Olga lined up three yogurt cups — raspberry, peach, and blueberry. Exactly in that order. A rule is a rule. The yogurts stood close together. Proper. Neat. The sound of a key in the lock broke the silence. Viktor came home from work earlier than usual. “Ol, you home?” her husband peeked into the kitchen […]

Anna stood by the stove, stirring julienne in individual clay pots and silently running through the evening’s plan. She’d need to take the pots out in ten minutes; the salads were already done; the meat in the oven would finish right as the guests arrived. Same as always. The perfect family dinner for her husband’s […]

Another supply contract for medical equipment blurred before her eyes. The numbers and clauses had long merged into a monotonous mush. Yelena rubbed the bridge of her nose and leaned back in her chair. A call from her husband came just in time. “Lena, hi. Listen, I’m going to be late today. The meeting’s dragging […]

Clinking crystal glasses rang through the spacious living room, where friends and relatives had gathered for the traditional summer celebration. Anna, as always, bustled around the table, arranging appetizers and checking whether everyone had enough napkins. Her slender fingers, adorned with a simple wedding band, fluttered over the table like birds. “Anya, sit down already!” […]

Marina had always been proud of her career. A good position, a high salary, the respect of her colleagues—she had earned all of it through hard work. At forty-two, she confidently headed the marketing department at a large company. People considered her a successful woman. At least, that’s what they said to her face. Her […]

Elena climbed to the fourth floor without an elevator, as always, and already on the landing she heard voices coming from the kitchen. Her mother and Katya were discussing something, speaking quietly but with that particular tone that meant: “an important conversation.” Elena stopped at the door and listened. No, they weren’t talking about her. […]

The first weeks in the new apartment felt like a breath of fresh air after a long suffocation. I stood at the kitchen window, looked out into the courtyard, and couldn’t believe it—no one would be peering over my shoulder, counting how much salt I put in the borscht or commenting that “in my day, […]

Anna knew the day would be hard from the morning on, when Sergei started fussing around the apartment, rearranging chairs and checking whether there were enough plates. His relatives always arrived in a crowd—his sister Larisa with her husband Volodya, Aunt Klava, his cousin Igor with his wife. And every time, Anna felt not like […]