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In the kitchen of a typical city apartment, a table was set. Everything as it should be: Olivier salad, duck with apples, a meat platter, and cake. Sitting at her usual place at the center of the table was a melancholic birthday girl, Valentina Petrovna Koneva. Today she was celebrating a milestone—seventy years. Despite her … Read more
«Denis, she’s still a kid. And where did you find this pauper?» Tatyana Viktorovna looked at her son fearfully. After work, I stopped by the church to light a candle for the repose of the late Olenka. When I came out, the beggars were refreshed, but this big-eyed Yulia was standing off to the side … Read more
Waking up, Natasha realized she couldn’t see anything at all. A white haze covered everything in front of her eyes. She could hear commotion around her. Doctors and nurses were bustling back and forth along the corridor. Remembering the last moment before the crash, Natasha shuddered. It seemed the accident had taken her sight. Ever … Read more
Olga was eager to return home with just one day left before the holiday. She needed to tidy up the house, hang the festive decorations, and purchase groceries for the celebration meal. She left her office quickly, treading cautiously on the slippery ground in her light heeled boots, and made her way to her car … Read more
«What are you stuck in there for? Come out, come on!» Anna Makarovna banged on the bathroom door with her fist. «Please wait another five minutes,» responded her daughter-in-law, Albina. «Completely lost your conscience! What can you do in there for half an hour? Were you unloading wagons?!» It had always been like this. It … Read more
Lera stood at the kitchen table, watching as Katya, in another room, diligently colored her favorite animals in her album. Her five-year-old daughter was so absorbed in the process that she wouldn’t have noticed what her mother was doing. Lera smiled and returned to her thoughts. However, an inner voice kept reminding her of her … Read more
Pasha, Pasha, where are you?» Vasilina called for her husband. It was already 6 AM. They had argued yesterday, and her husband had gone to sleep on the veranda. There, in the summer kitchen, was a topchan, an old sofa that had been repurposed. Usually, by this time, he would already be in the yard, … Read more
Nastya hated Mondays. Especially ones like today—when the printer jammed an important report, the coffee machine decided to go on strike, and the boss nitpicked every comma. «A typical day in the life of typical office plankton,» she thought as she inserted the key into her apartment lock. «Why wasn’t I born a millionaire?» Nastya … Read more
Kol, I’m scared,» Lera said fearfully. «What are you afraid of? We’re getting married in a month, the parents know everything,» Nikolai reassured his fiancée. «What if you change your mind? What will I do then, alone with a child?» «Silly, once our son is born, I’ll take him fishing.» «And if it’s a girl?» … Read more
Oksana had long forgotten about her visit to Tamara when suddenly her husband came home and confessed he had met someone else. «I don’t want to lie, Ksyusha. I won’t cheat. Let’s just part ways peacefully. I won’t abandon Andryushka.» She thought the ground would open up beneath her and swallow her. Such grief! Her … Read more