Рубрика: ANIMALS

“Polinka, you little bitch!” Yaroslav flung his keys onto the dresser so hard they struck the mirror with a loud clatter. “Where is my white shirt? The one I asked you to iron yesterday!” Polina froze by the stove, the wooden spoon hanging in the air over the pot of borscht. Something tightened in her […]

Ksenia stirred the borscht once again, watching with irritation as two miserable little pieces of beet floated lazily on the surface, while her husband had been digging around on his phone on the sofa for half an hour already. The kitchen smelled of garlic and frustration. “Vladimir, I’m begging you,” Ksenia tried to speak calmly, […]

“Oh Lord, what on earth is going on!” Marina woke abruptly to a crash from the kitchen. The clock on the bedside table showed half past six in the morning. Sunday. The only day in the last three weeks when she could allow herself to sleep at least until eight. She threw on her robe […]

The kitchen smelled of toasted bread and coffee brewed in a cheap cezve. Olga was sitting by the window in an old robe with worn-out elbows — something domestic and comfortable, not meant for guests. Pots with dried-up violets crowded the windowsill. Flowers had never taken root with her, no matter how hard she tried. […]

“Do you even understand that my son is giving up the last of what he has?” Alina Vitoldovna’s voice rang through the phone so loudly that Veronika had to pull it away from her ear. “What do you mean?” she asked calmly, though she already knew the answer. Alina Vitoldovna called with the same envious […]

“What loans?” Olga tried to speak calmly, although everything inside her tightened from the shock. “What money are you talking about?” She was standing in her kitchen, clutching her phone, looking out the window at the autumn rain tapping softly against the windowsill. She had only just come home from work and hadn’t even had […]

Yulia looked out the bus window, watching the first snow lightly dust the sidewalks. December had only just begun, and with it came that painful feeling again — the upcoming visit to her mother-in-law. The last three meetings had ended the same way: cutting remarks about her hairstyle, her dress, the way Yulia cooked, the […]

Natalya was coming home from work exhausted, as usual. December had turned out cold; the snow crunched under her feet, and the wind cut right through her. She climbed the stairs to the fourth floor and dreamed of only one thing — eating something and going to bed early. Tomorrow she had another shift at […]