Alexey Platonov, owner of a chain of upscale hotels, a man who in fifty years of life had accumulated not only millions but also bitter experience, knew one simple truth: words are air. But actions… actions speak about people far more than any promises. Especially after his first wife left him immediately following a severe […]
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When Uncle Kolya died, no one cried. Well, maybe only Lidiya Arkadyevna, the neighbor from the landing, who for some reason had been holding his arm during his last months and sometimes brought him fish cutlets. The other relatives mourned in their own way: — Eh, he didn’t live long enough… — Yeah, pity… But […]
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Milena was slowly coming to her senses. Her head was spinning, and there was a ringing in her ears. The airbags had unexpectedly deployed while the car was moving, and now the vehicle was deep in a ditch. “Am I really destined to freeze here?” flashed through her mind as she looked at the snowy […]
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— Mom, my sneakers are completely worn out! — Misha stood in the doorway, timidly fiddling with the edge of his T-shirt. — What do you mean worn out? We only bought them two months ago! Marina nearly dropped the rag. God, that’s the last thing she needed right now. A whole week until payday, […]
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The phone rang at three in the morning. My mother stood at the doorstep looking like someone ready to do anything. In her eyes burned a fire of despair mixed with her usual authoritarianism. She had come to take away my new life and give it to someone who, in her opinion, deserved it more. […]
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A young administrator, impeccably dressed and neat, blinked in surprise, looking at a man about sixty years old standing at the reception. He wore worn-out clothes with a sharp smell, but smiled kindly and asked: — Miss, please book me a deluxe room. His blue eyes sparkled familiarly — as if Sofia had seen that […]
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“Mom, Dad came here. But he wasn’t alone — he brought some unfamiliar woman. I’ve never seen her before,” called Darya’s eldest daughter from work. “What? I didn’t understand,” the woman was confused. “And who is this woman, Katyusha? A realtor, or what? Are they looking at our house? Tell me, what are they doing?” […]
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Irina endured for a long time. Not because she was weak—on the contrary. She was used to being strong. She was used to holding everything together herself: the home, the job, and her husband. Especially her husband. Sergey always knew how to get himself comfortable. First—in life, then—in marriage. He called it “living wisely,” but […]
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Lilya was only seven years old. But even at such a young age, she already knew that loneliness could be loud like crying, and quiet like rain. Often, sitting with her legs tucked up on the wooden porch, she would look into the distance — where the road disappeared beyond horizons hidden by clouds and […]
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Sorry, but with such a diagnosis, surgery is unavoidable,” the doctor said irritably, throwing up his hands as if Sergey had brought the illness on himself. Sergey felt a boiling rage inside. How many times had he already heard this? How many offices had he visited, hoping to hear something different? And this one — […]
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