Antonina cleaned the yards in her neighborhood. The pay wasn’t much, but it was something. She and her 30-year-old son had to cram into a small apartment. His wife had kicked him out, saying she was still young and didn’t want to tie herself down by living with a disabled person. Antonina dreamed of moving […]
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«My God, I wanted to help you choose a dress!» exclaimed the mother-in-law. «Who do you look like now? This is just ridiculous, not a bridal outfit at all!» Lena froze in front of her newly minted mother-in-law, unable to respond. The guests watched the unfolding scene attentively. Andrey tried to calm his mother: «Mom, […]
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Rita’s phone trembled in her hand. The voice of an unfamiliar woman, quiet but clear, echoed in the background. Just a second ago, she had been waiting for her husband’s familiar voice, and now—this foreign whisper in the background. «Where are you?» she wanted to scream, but Rita gripped the phone tighter, holding her breath […]
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«Ver! Can you hear me?» Alexey shouted even before he entered the house. «I hear you,» the woman replied without taking her eyes off the screen she was navigating with a stylus. «Igor and his wife and daughter are asking to stay over!» Vera knew well who Igor was—her husband’s brother, a lively guy a […]
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After spending a week away, I returned to a startling scene at home—my children, Tommy and Alex, were curled up on the chilly hallway floor, sound asleep. My heart raced as I searched for explanations, only to discover my husband was nowhere to be found and peculiar sounds were emanating from the boys’ bedroom. What […]
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«Nina, why all this?» Nina Grigorievna sat down next to her husband and sighed. «Kolya, to be honest, I myself don’t know. It seems all good, but I just don’t trust him, I don’t believe in his sincerity. Obviously, Katya is in love and sees no flaws.» «I understand. I myself have mixed feelings. But […]
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Zoya had spent her entire life as a teacher, and now, due to her small pension, she was forced to sell vegetables at the market. Her son-in-law had brought a new wife to their apartment, and her daughter had returned to live with her mother along with her child. Zoya helped as much as she […]
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Irina stood by the window, mindlessly watching the falling snow in St. Petersburg. The phone conversation with her husband was coming to an end—a typical, unremarkable call like the many they had over fifteen years of marriage. Yura was reporting on his «business trip» in Moscow: all was well, meetings were successful, he would return […]
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Pavel grew up as a reserved boy. The problem was that he was short. In kindergarten, everyone in his group was taller, even the girls. He didn’t befriend anyone. He always played alone. When his toys were taken away, he suffered in silence. He never complained at home. In school, everything repeated itself. There, he […]
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This story, in one way or another, touches each of us, as it tells about dreams and plans, about difficulties and the crashing of hopes. But it also tells about how real people cope with life situations. Where they draw strength from, and what keeps them from giving up. Pasha grew up in an orphanage, […]
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