Saturday morning began for Katya at five o’clock, while a deep blue darkness still hung outside the window and the house slept, wrapped in silence. Barefoot, she walked into the kitchen, careful not to make the floorboards creak, and switched on the soft light above the countertop. Today was Dima’s birthday, and Katya planned to […]
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“Dasha will stay with you. We’ve already decided to clear out some space in the guest-room closet,” Inga announced casually. She speared a slice of roulade with her fork as though she were planting a flag on conquered territory. I didn’t even blink. I didn’t drop my cutlery. I simply felt as though an invisible […]
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“I bought the apartment before we got married. Explain to me why your mother decided she has the right to act like the mistress of this place?” Olga asked. She closed the front door without slamming it, yet the sound still felt heavy. The hot July stairwell smelled of dust, heated metal, and other people’s […]
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“— My parents gave the apartment to me, not to you or your relatives. What part of that is so hard to understand? So stop coming here as though this were your own home.” The words fell into the silence of the entryway like something heavy and made of glass. Anna Sergeyevna froze, gripping the […]
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“I brought you your past,” Igor said with theatrical breathlessness, shifting from foot to foot on the landing. At his feet sat an enormous plaid bag, the kind shuttle traders used to haul to markets in the nineties. I leaned against the doorframe of my new rented studio apartment and looked at my ex-husband with […]
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Galina Petrovna arrived with a folder and a smile. She said it was only a formality. But Rita read every single line, and her hands did what her voice could not. Rita heard the doorbell and, for some reason, did not get up right away. She sat on a stool by the window, holding a […]
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