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Dmitry stood in the middle of the kitchen with his legs apart, like a man accustomed to occupying every inch of available space. He looked down at Marina—not because he was taller, but because he had learned that look in childhood. Marina sat at the table, one hand wrapped around her morning coffee, waiting for […]

Sergei set an old sports bag with a faded logo beside the front door and straightened up. He stood in the middle of the hallway as though he were waiting for applause. Or at least for someone to scream. Rimma was sitting in the kitchen, peeling an apple for Timofey. A long, unbroken spiral of […]

“You can’t refuse my mother. She’s already promised the relatives!” Valera exclaimed indignantly, pushing away his empty plate with the remains of cottage-cheese casserole and crossing his arms over his chest in displeasure. Elena slowly wiped the kitchen table with a damp sponge, trying not to look at her brother-in-law. She was thirty-eight years old […]

“Why do you always keep your bank card with you? Don’t you trust us?” Galina Petrovna asked loudly, feigning offense as she carefully lowered her empty cup onto its porcelain saucer. Olga Nikolaevna had just come out of the bedroom, where she had set up a small workspace. Taken aback by the question, she stopped […]

They met in the vestibule of an early-morning commuter train, when the cold seeped through even the thickest jackets. Gleb stood by the window with a thermos and noticed the young woman opposite him hiding her reddened fingers inside her sleeves. Without a word, he unscrewed the lid and offered her some steaming tea. That […]

The phone rang shortly after six, while Svetlana was still trying to cling to the fading edges of sleep. Andrei’s voice on the other end sounded unfamiliar and broken, as though it had been dragged across a grater. She sat up in bed, holding the phone against her shoulder, and for some reason the first […]

“So tomorrow they’re going to drag all their bundles and bags in here? Ira, have you lost your mind?” Sergey stood in the middle of the living room, nervously tugging at the cuff of his sweater. In nine years, Irina had never learned to read his mood from the back of his head—and now she […]

“You ate more than I expected. Send me the money for the salad,” Gleb demanded of his wife. Their first evening together began in a small café by the lake. Warm light fell across the tablecloth, soft music played in the background, and Alisa thought that this was it—the beginning of something real. She looked […]