I remember that day down to the smallest details: the way a ray of sunlight fell on the white walls of the doctor’s office, the creak of the chair when I tried to stand on trembling legs. The way Dr. Petrova looked at me with concern but without pity—exactly what I needed at that moment. … Read more
“Drinking plain tea, Ksyusha? Nervous?” Tamara Pavlovna’s voice was sweet like an overripe fruit whose skin already hides rot. She sat at the table in her daughter-in-law’s impeccably clean kitchen and methodically stirred the spoon in her porcelain cup, though the sugar had long since dissolved. That monotonous, scraping sound—scritch, scritch, scritch across the bottom—frayed … Read more
— “What do you mean ‘Elena Vladimirovna’? You’re only twenty-nine!” her friends would remark, chuckling. — “It stuck,” Lena would wave it off. “For clients I’m Elena Vladimirovna; for suppliers—especially. And for colleagues.” Lena was building her business and meant it seriously. So at work the tone was businesslike, with no chumminess. — “Come on, … Read more
The autumn air in the settlement of Lesnaya Sloboda was thick, sweet, and searingly cold. It smelled of rotting leaves, smoke from stove pipes, and that special, timeless silence that wraps the soul like a good old blanket. Olga had come here, to the nest she’d left long ago, to visit her parents—or rather, their … Read more
Anna stood at the kitchen window, watching raindrops slowly trickle down the glass. Behind her came the familiar hiss of the frying pan—dinner for two was on the stove. For her and Mikhail. As usual. Like every day for the last eight years of their married life. “Anya, we need to talk,” her husband said, … Read more
“Don’t touch me! Let me go! Don’t!” That desperate cry rang out over the river’s smooth surface and died away—heard by almost no one, understood by no one—swallowed up by heat thick as honey. The languid, exhausting swelter pressed the grasses to the ground, silenced the birds, and muffled sound itself, as if brushing aside … Read more
Lena was standing by the hallway mirror, adjusting her new haircut, when she heard a familiar clearing of the throat behind her. Sergey appeared in the doorway wearing the expression she had learned to recognize without fail — a mix of reproach and barely concealed indignation. “How much did that cost?” he asked bluntly, nodding … Read more
Anna closed the last report and leaned back in her chair. The job of a financial director in her father’s family business required constant attention. At thirty-two, she had already achieved a lot. “Dad, I’m home,” Anna peeked into her father’s office. “We’ll discuss the new investments tomorrow.” “Of course, darling,” her father looked up … Read more
“Oksana, we need to talk. Seriously.” His voice, stripped of its usual evening relaxation, made her stop chopping vegetables. The knife froze halfway through a crunchy celery stalk. Oksana threw a quick glance at her husband over her shoulder. Vadim was leaning against the doorframe, looking as if he was preparing not for dinner, but … Read more
“You bought the wrong bread again,” my daughter-in-law Katya’s voice grated on my ears as I was unpacking the bags in the kitchen. “I asked for yeast-free. I’ve asked you five times.” She deliberately took the loaf I brought and spun it in her hands as if it were some exotic and poisonous caterpillar. “Katya, … Read more