Read a story about love. Love through the years - a story from life

“April 1st - I don’t trust anyone!” - who doesn’t know this saying?! But for me this notorious date, which coincided with the day of my appearance in the law office, meant nothing; you couldn’t fool me anyway! Even on other days I don’t take anyone’s word for it! And not at all because I was once “burned by milk”, I’ve just been like this since childhood.
Even at school, the nickname Thomas the Unbeliever firmly stuck to me, not only because of the surname Fomin, but also because I always doubted everything. “You will have a very hard time in life! - Mom told me. - Trust the person who gave birth to you and wants only happiness! You risk being left not only without friends, but also without protection from your family!”
My mother and I were always very close, we talked a lot about life, about relationships between people. And as I got older, I began to ask her more serious questions, in particular concerning my father. And as a result, I came to the conclusion that this attitude towards life is not at all accidental! The fact is that I grew up in a single-parent family. Dad left us when I was two years old, and I don’t remember him at all. He has had another family for a long time and a fully grown child. And all that my mother and I have left of him is just his last name, which I sometimes deeply regret...

They say you can't escape fate. But how do you understand who is your destiny? The one you've known all your life, or the one you're ready to get to know every day?
Yura and I were “married” in kindergarten. The wedding was solemnly celebrated - the whole group and the teacher and nanny were invited. And for those around us, we became an inseparable couple: together we came up with pranks, together we received “what we deserved” from adults. When my grandmother sometimes picked me up from kindergarten during “quiet hour,” I, leaving the bedroom, invariably went up to my “beloved”’s crib for a farewell kiss on the cheek. The teachers laughed at such an open manifestation of children's love, but were secretly afraid - what would all this lead to?
And this led to the fact that Yurka and I went to the same school, to the same class and sat, of course, at the same desk. All ten years of study, I regularly copied mathematics from my “husband,” and he copied my English and Russian. At first they teased us with “the bride and groom,” but then they stopped; we didn’t pay any attention to it, simply because we had long been accustomed to the ridicule of others. Why worry? After all, they were simply jealous of us! Our parents were friends, we regularly visited each other and even occasionally spent vacations together. So the phrases of our relatives about our happy family future did not bother Yura and me at all. Accustomed to the nickname “newlyweds” since kindergarten, we felt quite comfortable in this role.

I was seventeen, and this handsome grown man with exquisite gray hair was over forty. And yet, for me there was no husband more desirable than him. I fell in love with my father's friend, the head of a large company. After school, I tried to enroll in several institutes at once, but did not get enough points. I didn’t want to go to study “anywhere” just to get a diploma. Mom was crying, grandmother was calling friends and acquaintances in search of connections, and dad... My “coming” dad, “Sunday” dad, who left the family ten years ago, found, as it seemed to everyone then, the best way out of the situation. He appeared at our house, as usual, on Sunday morning, and cheerfully ordered from the threshold: - Lyalka, stop crying! - this is for mom. - Natasha, get ready quickly! - that's for me. - To the ice cream parlor again? - Mom sobbed. “You still think she’s a little girl, and we have problems!” - I know. That’s why I say: let him gather quickly, they are waiting for us. Natasha, you will work! There was silence: three women, their mouths open, looked at my dad in shock. Pleased with the effect produced, he laughed cheerfully. - Don't be so scared, ladies! There's nothing wrong with that. Work for a year, gain some experience, then with experience it will be easier to do. My friend just now needs a smart secretary, and you, Natasha, are so smart! - Dad winked mischievously, and I immediately felt light and happy.

When mentioning a date, girls usually roll their eyes dreamily, anticipating romance. I shudder with disgust - a consequence of sad personal experience. The first boy who asked me out on a date was Maxim Erokhin. We studied together from the first grade, but only in the seventh grade did he pay attention to me. I was not myself from the unexpected happiness that fell upon me. The one for whom all the girls were pining, suddenly resigned from his next passion, the beautiful and smart Carolina, and invited me to hang out in the evening near the school. I set my mind on water. All of herself so disgusting, she hobbled to the school porch to defeat him on the spot. I put on my mother's high-heeled boots and put on her toilet perfume fifteen minutes late, as expected. Max was kicking a ball carefree with the boys. “Come with us,” he suggested to me. I capriciously showed my stiletto heels. “Then stick somewhere,” he commanded. I sat down on a bench near the sports ground. I sat like that for two hours. Max ran up from time to time: either he handed over gloves for safekeeping, or he trusted me to hold the mobile phone. When he managed to score a goal, he shouted to me victoriously from afar:- Did you see this?! I showed admiration. - How about tomorrow? - he asked when it was time for me to return home.

The stranger from the minibus at first seemed to me like an ordinary impudent person who wanted to achieve my favor at any cost. But very soon I realized that I myself needed his attention. That evening everything could not have turned out worse. Just before the end of the working day, the boss yelled at me for no reason, although he later apologized, but that didn’t make me feel any better—the mood was ruined. The necessary minibus has left right under my nose, which means that I will again have to pick Mishka up from kindergarten later than everyone else - the teacher is already looking askance at me, dissatisfied with the fact that she has to watch my five-year-old son until late. And to top off all the misfortunes, my makeup bag tore when I took it out of my bag to touch up my lips, and almost all the makeup spilled out into the dirt. Almost crying, I wandered to a small market next to the bus stop. While the next minibus is still arriving... During this time I will have enough time to buy Mishka a Kinder Surprise, he loves them very much. *** - Girl, be careful! - some guy literally pulled me out of the roadway at the last moment - in my upset feelings, I didn’t notice how the red light turned on, and almost stepped under the wheels of a gazelle.

Beginning of autumn. The tops of the trees are covered with a light gilding, and lonely yellowed leaves are falling. The grass has dried up and turned yellow over the summer from the hot rays of the sun. Early morning.

Sergei Mikhailovich walked leisurely along the path of the square, heading to the tram stop. He hadn’t used public transport for a long time, he used his car to get to work, and then... he took the car to a car repair shop for a preventive inspection for three days, and this happened on weekdays.

“Today is my ex-wife’s birthday, I should congratulate him, drop by after work and bring a bouquet of chrysanthemums, she loves them very much,” he caught himself thinking that the “ex” thought about his wife, although she left him two months ago. During this time he did not see her, only heard a voice on the telephone receiver. It’s interesting to see what she looks like: has she looked younger? Or maybe she’ll come back to their spacious apartment, bake pancakes again in the morning and brew her signature coffee?

They lived for more than thirty years, or more precisely, thirty-three. And then, out of the blue, so it seemed to him, the woman he loved announced that she was going to live in another apartment, away from him... They rented out a small apartment. Previously, it was intended for the youngest son, he went to another city to study, then stayed there and got married. The eldest son had long lived with his family in a spacious cottage on the outskirts of the city, raising three children.

“I’m tired of your “whining”, tired of serving and taking care of you, listening to your dissatisfaction. At least in my old age I want to live for myself, in peace,” said the wife, collecting her things.

Having recently retired, Galina did not sit at home, started an online business, signed up for a fitness center, and began to pay more attention to her appearance and health.

“That’s it, now I’m a free person and I want to live the rest of my years for myself. I gave many years to the children, to you - to your whims, washing, cleaning and your other whims. Helped raise grandchildren. Now I have a pension, I have additional income, and I do not depend on you financially, and your prohibitions do not concern me. Wherever I want, that’s where I go on vacation; wherever I want, that’s where I go on Sunday. “I’m leaving,” the wife said loudly, slamming the door, leaving her husband perplexed.

The right tram arrived. Sergei Mikhailovich squeezed inside. Early morning, townspeople are rushing to work. He has to walk four stops to his office - a large transport company, where he has worked as a safety engineer for many years.

The pungent smell of women's perfume filled his nose.

“Man, don’t snuggle close to me,” the young woman said, turning around and looking into his eyes, she smiled sweetly.

- Sorry.

“Don’t forget to drop by Galina’s with flowers in the evening, maybe she’s already had enough of freedom and will return home.” In the morning he called her and congratulated her on her birthday. The wife listened silently and hung up.

“Man, you are stuck to me,” said the same woman.

- Sorry. There are a lot of people.

“Then I will turn to face you,” the stranger said in a pleasant voice, turned to face Sergei and began to look into his eyes.

He began to examine the young woman: she looked about thirty to thirty-five years old, had a good figure, a beige cap hid her hair, bright red plump lips attracted the eye.

“A pleasant face, and the eyes glow with happiness. The pungent smell of perfume, I could have applied less of it to myself,” thought Sergei Mikhailovich.

- My stop. “I’m going out,” he said quietly.

The woman took a step to the side, letting him pass forward:

“And I still have two more stops to go,” she said casually.

At the end of the working day, Sergei Mikhailovich called a taxi: “Go to a flower shop, buy a bouquet of flowers and visit your wife to congratulate her on her birthday,” thought the abandoned husband.

Here he is already standing near the front door of the apartment with a bouquet of large yellow chrysanthemums.

Doorbell.

The man entered quietly. Silence.

- Well, who is there? Go into the room. I'm here.

Sergei entered. There was a large open suitcase in the middle of the room. Galina, dressed in a new tracksuit, was fussing around him, putting things away.

- Good evening! Here, I came to congratulate you.

- Well, you called in the morning? – the wife said without looking back at him. - There was no need to worry. And how did you remember this? When we lived together, I rarely remembered, I kept waiting for my reminder. Oh, yellow chrysanthemums? Have you forgotten that I love them? – Looking at the bouquet, the woman was surprised.

- Where are you going? Where are the guests? Not celebrating your birthday?

- Tomorrow we will celebrate. I'm flying to Montenegro for a month. I'll live in Europe. They're waiting for me there. I have a plane soon.

-Where are you going? What about me, my children, my grandchildren?

- And you? The children are adults, the grandchildren have parents. The children congratulated me on the phone; they know that I am leaving for a month.

“I thought you would come home.” I thought you were bored...

“I said that I would never live with you under any circumstances.” Enough - I was your servant for thirty years and carried out all your orders. Place flowers in a vase. Why are you standing? Go to the kitchen yourself, pour water into a vase and set it down. I’m used to having a nanny look after you... How’s the apartment? There’s probably dirt all around, you’re not fit for anything - in order to drive a nail into a wall or repair a faucet, I had to “saw” you for several days, and then do it myself.

-What orders are you saying? We lived happily in love for many years. Come back, I love you and miss you. The apartment is empty without you.

- But not me. I’m free now, you don’t need to be a servant in the morning, cook food the way you love, invite guests – those you like... Now I run in the park in the mornings and play sports. And everything was just to be your way; my opinion was rarely taken into account.

– I invited the concierge, she comes once a week and cleans the apartment.

- Do you love it? You’re just used to me, and you don’t have enough of a maid... Live as you want. I'm very happy without you.

-Have you got a man? – he asked quietly.

– Why are you needed... whiners and dictators. Nowadays, you men are worse than one-year-old children: capricious, picky and always dissatisfied with everything. I am happy that I can do what I want, no one tells me, no one tyrannies or asks - why did you buy this gold ring, you already have a lot of them?! You don’t have to report to anyone about your expenses and pastime. So love left, about ten years ago. And I was a fool for putting up with you and your selfishness for so many years. Now I just realized how good I am without you!

Help me lower my suitcase, the taxi has arrived.

Summer. An electric train traveling from a multimillion-dollar city along a given route.

In the half-empty carriage of the electric train, the cheerful laughter of a group of middle-aged women could be heard. Tipsy pensioners talked loudly, joked and laughed, attracting the attention of incoming passengers.

Stop. Several passengers entered the carriage. They immediately noticed the cheerful and noisy company.

- Oh, Lyuska, is that you? – asked one of the women who entered the carriage. “I haven’t seen you for a hundred years.”

- Hello, Lenka. Yes it's me. That's right, we haven't seen each other for fifteen years. We haven’t changed, we’re still just as young and cheerful. “Have a seat with our company,” answered the most cheerful woman from the company.

-What are you celebrating? Everyone is cheerful and happy. Lena, introduce your friends or neighbors?

– These are my friends, we are going to my dacha. There we will continue the holiday and reap the harvest. Lida, Ira, Sonya.

- What's the celebration? – Elena asked again.

She changed and changed herself because she had a beautiful rival. But he wasn't attracted to the bleached earth-toned hair, the new lip circumference, or the stupid blue contacts. And he worried her as before.

Yes, it was a lucky break when her heel broke. Stas did not leave the girl in trouble. He called her a taxi, although Lena lived a five-minute walk from the house. All she could achieve was his mocking phrase in the smoking room, “It’s sickening to watch!” Enough! Time to destroy everything connected with Stas, his former life, and in general, with the earth. She watched her personal diaries burn and dreamed: it would be nice to get off the ground like this, or at least become a flight attendant... At least, she vowed to herself not to regret him for a minute and to never be a blonde again. Let it be Tanya.

Her new life got off to a bad start. The airline refused her. The verdict was cruel: “Your appearance is not photogenic, your lips are thick, your hair is dull, your English leaves much to be desired, not to mention French, and you don’t speak Spanish...” At home, something dawned on her. "And that's all?" This means that you just need to learn Spanish and improve your English... This means that full lips are no longer needed! So much effort to change yourself! Nothing, everything will be different for the sake of another goal: the airline.

And she became a brunette. She was inspired by her own successes. She did them in order to become a flight attendant, and she did not want to go to earth. She became a highly qualified specialist and a respected face of the company. She knew several languages, several exact sciences, business etiquette, world culture, medicine and continued to improve. She listened with irony to happy stories about love, and did not remember her Stas. Moreover, I no longer hoped to see him face to face, and even in flight.

Still the same couple: Stas and Tanya, they have a tourist package. Lena fulfilled her duties. Her pleasant voice sounded in the salon. She greeted passengers in Russian, and then in two more languages. She answered the anxious questions of some Spaniard and a minute later was communicating with a French family. She was extremely attentive and polite with everyone. However, she had no time to think about continuing her romantic story on the plane. We need to bring some refreshments, and there was someone’s baby crying...

In the darkness of the salon, the blonde had been sleeping for a long time, and his eyes burned tirelessly. He met her gaze. It's strange that she still cares about him. The look stirred her senses and she turned to leave. He couldn't speak. Stas raised his palm to the foggy porthole, where the letters “F”, “D”, “I” were displayed, and then carefully erased them in front of him. A wave of joy washed over her. Landing was approaching.

Have you heard the tale of the Crane and the Heron? We can say that this story was copied from us. When one wanted, the other refused, and vice versa...

Real life story

“Okay, see you tomorrow,” I said into the phone to end the conversation, which lasted more than two hours.

One would think that we are talking about a meeting. Moreover, in a place well known to both of us. But that was not the case. We were just agreeing on... the next call. And everything looked exactly the same for several months. Then I called Polina for the first time in the last four years. And I pretended that I was just calling to see how she was doing, but in reality I wanted to renew the relationship.

I met her shortly before graduating from school. We were both in relationships at the time, but there was a real spark between us. However, only a month after we met, we separated from our partners. However, we were in no hurry to get closer. Because on the one hand we were attracted to something in each other, but on the other hand, something constantly got in the way. It was as if we were afraid that our relationship would be dangerous. Eventually, after a year of mutual exploration of each other, we became a couple. And if before that time our relationship developed very slowly, then since we got together everything has started to spin at a very fast pace. A period of strong mutual attraction and dizzying emotions began. We felt like we couldn't exist without each other. And then... we broke up.

Without any clarification. Simply, one fine day we did not agree on the next meeting. And then neither of us called the other for a week, expecting this action from the other side. At some point I even wanted to do this... But then I was young and green, and did not think of doing this - I just took offense at Polina for the fact that she so easily abandoned our reverent relationship. So I decided that it was not worth imposing on her. I knew that I was thinking and acting stupidly. But then I could not calmly analyze what happened. Only after some time did I begin to really understand the situation. Gradually I realized the stupidity of my action.

I think we both felt like we were a good fit for each other and just started to fear what might happen next to our “great love.” We were very young, we wanted to gain a lot of experience in love affairs, and most importantly, we felt unprepared for a serious, stable relationship. Most likely, we both wanted to “freeze” our love for several years, and “unfreeze” it one day, at one fine moment, when we feel that we are ripe for it. But, unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way. After breaking up, we didn’t completely lose touch - we had many mutual friends, we went to the same places. So from time to time we bumped into each other, and these were not the best moments.

I don’t know why, but each of us considered it our duty to send the other a caustic, sarcastic remark, as if accusing us of what had happened. I even decided to do something about it and offered to meet to discuss “complaints and grievances.” Polina agreed, but... did not come to the appointed place. And when we met by chance, two months later, she began to stupidly explain why she then made me stand pointlessly in the wind, and then did not even call. Then she again asked me for a meeting, but again she did not show up.

The beginning of a new life...

From then on, I began to consciously avoid places where I could accidentally meet her. So we haven't seen each other for several years. I heard some rumors about Polina - I heard that she was dating someone, that she left the country for a year, but then returned and started living with her parents again. I tried to ignore this information and live my own life. I had two novels that seemed quite serious, but in the end nothing came of them. And then I thought: I’ll talk to Polina. I couldn’t imagine what went through my head then! Although no, I know. I missed her... I really, really missed her...

She was surprised by my phone call, but also delighted. We talked then for several hours. Exactly the same the next day. And the next one. It's hard to say what we discussed for so long. In general, everything is about a little and a little about everything. There was only one topic we tried to avoid. This topic was ourselves...

It looked as if, despite the years that had passed, we were afraid to be honest. However, one fine day Polina said:

– Listen, maybe we can finally decide on something?

“No, thank you,” I answered immediately. “I don’t want to disappoint you again.”

There was silence on the line.

“If you are afraid that I will not come, then you can come to me,” she finally said.

“Yeah, and you’ll tell your parents to kick me out,” I snorted.

- Rostik, stop it! — Polina began to get nervous. “Everything was so good, and you’re ruining everything again.”

- Again! – I was seriously indignant. - Or maybe you can tell me what I did?

– Most likely something you can’t do. You won't call me for several months.

“But you will call me every day,” I imitated her voice.

– Don’t turn things upside down! – Polina shouted, and I sighed heavily.

“I don’t want to be left with nothing again.” If you want to see me, then come to me yourself,” I told her. – I’ll wait for you in the evening at eight o’clock. I hope you come...

“Whatever,” Polina hung up.

New circumstances...

For the first time since we started calling each other, we had to say goodbye in anger. And most importantly, now I had no idea whether she would call me again or come to me? Polina’s words could be interpreted as either an agreement to come or a refusal. However, I was waiting for her. I cleaned my studio apartment, which I didn’t do very often. I cooked dinner, bought wine and flowers. And he finished reading the story: "". Every minute of waiting made me even more nervous. I even wanted to give up my rude behavior and intransigence regarding the meeting.

At fifteen minutes past eight I began to wonder whether I should go to Polina? I didn’t go only because she could have come to me at any moment and we would have missed each other. At nine o'clock I gave up hope. I angrily started dialing her number to tell her everything I thought about her. But he didn’t finish the job and pressed “End”. Then I wanted to call again, but I thought to myself that she might view this call as a sign of my weakness. I didn’t want Polina to know how worried I was about her not coming, and how painfully her indifference hurt me. I decided to spare her such pleasure.

I went to bed only at 12 o’clock at night, but I couldn’t sleep for a long time because I kept thinking about this situation. On average, I changed my point of view every five minutes. At first I thought that only I was to blame, because if I had not been stubborn like a donkey and came to her, then our relationship would have improved and we would have been happy. After a while, I began to reproach myself for such naive thoughts. After all, she would have kicked me out anyway! And the more I thought that way, the more I believed it. When I was almost asleep... the intercom rang.

At first I thought it was some kind of mistake or a joke. But the intercom kept ringing persistently. Then I had to stand up and answer:

- Two o'clock in the morning! – he barked angrily into the phone.

I don't even have to say how surprised I was. And how! With a trembling hand, I pressed the button to open the door to the entrance. What will be next?

After a long two minutes I heard the call. He opened the door... and saw Polina sitting in a wheelchair, accompanied by two orderlies. She had a cast on her right leg and right arm. Before I could ask what happened, one of the men said:

“The girl discharged herself of her own free will and insisted that we bring her here.” Her entire future life apparently depends on this.

I didn't ask anything else. The orderlies helped Polina sit on the large sofa in the living room and quickly left. I sat down opposite her and looked at her in surprise for a whole minute.

There was complete silence in the room.

“I’m glad you came,” I said, and Polina smiled.

“I always wanted to come,” she answered. – Do you remember the first time we agreed to meet, but I didn’t show up? Then my grandmother died. The second time my dad had a heart attack. It seems incredible, but it's still true. As if someone didn't want us...

“But now, I see, you didn’t pay attention to the obstacles,” I smiled.

“It happened a week ago,” Polina pointed to the plaster. – Slipped on the icy sidewalk. I thought we'd meet when I got better... but I thought I just needed to make a little effort. I was worried about you...
I didn't answer and just kissed her.

Can short stories about love reflect all the faces of this versatile feeling? After all, if you look closely at trembling experiences, you can notice tender love, serious mature relationships, destructive passion, selfless and unrequited attraction. Many classics and modern writers turn to the eternal, but still not fully understood theme of love. It’s not even worth listing the huge works that describe this exciting feeling. Both domestic and foreign authors intended to show the quivering beginning not only in novels or stories, but also in small stories about love.

Variety of love stories

Can love be measured? After all, it can be different - to a girl, mother, child, native land. Many little stories about love teach not only young lovers, but also children and their parents to express their feelings. Anyone who loves, has loved, or wants to love, would do well to read Sam McBratney's very touching story "Do You Know How Much I Love You?" Just one page of text, but so much sense! This little love story of a bunny teaches about the importance of admitting your feelings.

And how much value there is in a few pages of Henri Barbusse’s story “Tenderness”! The author shows great love, causing boundless tenderness in the heroine. He and She loved each other, but fate cruelly separated them, since She was much older. Her love is so strong that the woman promises to write letters to him after breaking up so that her loved one will not suffer so much. These letters became the only connecting thread between them for 20 years. They were the embodiment of love and tenderness, giving strength to life.

In total, the heroine wrote four letters, which her beloved received periodically. The ending of the story is very tragic: in the last letter, Louis learns that She committed suicide on the second day after breaking up, and wrote these letters to him with a view to 20 years in advance. The reader does not need to take the heroine’s action as a model; Barbusse simply wanted to show that it is important for a selflessly loving person to know that his feelings continue to live.

Different sides of love are shown in R. Kipling's story "Arrows of Cupid" and in Leonid Andreev's work "Herman and Martha." The story of Anatoly Aleksin’s first love, “Home Essay,” is dedicated to his youthful experiences. A 10th grade student is in love with his classmate. This is the story of how the hero’s tender feelings were cut short by the war.

The moral beauty of lovers in O. Henry's story "The Gift of the Magi"

This story by a famous author is about pure love, which is characterized by self-sacrifice. The plot revolves around a poor married couple, Jim and Della. Although they are poor, they try to give each other nice gifts at Christmas. To give a worthy gift to her husband, Della sells her gorgeous hair, and Jim traded his favorite valuable watch for a gift.

What did O. Henry want to show with such actions of the heroes? Both spouses wanted to do everything to make their loved one happy. The true gift for them is devoted love. Having sold things dear to their hearts, the heroes did not lose anything, because they still had the most important thing - priceless love for each other.

A woman's confession in Stefan Zweig's story "Letter from a Stranger"

The famous Austrian writer Stefan Zweig also wrote long and short stories about love. One of them is the essay “Letter from a Stranger.” This creation is imbued with sadness, because the heroine loved a man all her life, but he didn’t even remember her face or name. The stranger expressed all her tender feelings in her letters. Zweig wanted to show readers that real selfless and sublime feelings exist, and you need to believe in them so that they do not become a tragedy for someone.

O. Wilde about the beauty of the inner world in the fairy tale “The Nightingale and the Rose”

A short story about O. Wilde’s love “The Nightingale and the Rose” has a very complex idea. This fairy tale teaches people to value love, because without it there is no point in living in the world. The Nightingale became the spokesman for tender feelings. For their sake, he sacrificed his life and his singing. It is important to find out love correctly, so as not to lose a lot later.

Wilde also argues that you don’t need to love a person just for their beauty, it is important to look into his soul: perhaps he only loves himself. Appearance and money are not the most important thing, the main thing is spiritual wealth, inner peace. If you only think about appearance, it can end badly.

Trilogy of Chekhov's stories "About Love"

Three small stories formed the basis of A.P. Chekhov's "Little History". They are told by friends to each other while hunting. One of them, Alyohin, spoke about his love for a married lady. The hero was very attracted to her, but was afraid to admit it. The characters' feelings were mutual, but not revealed. One day, Alyohin finally decided to confess his affection, but it was too late - the heroine left.

Chekhov makes it clear that you don’t need to close yourself off from your real feelings, it’s better to have courage and give free rein to your emotions. He who encloses himself in a case loses his happiness. The heroes of this short story about love themselves killed love, sank to base feelings and doomed themselves to misfortune.

The heroes of the trilogy realized their mistakes and are trying to move on; they do not give up, but move forward. Perhaps they will still have a chance to save their souls.

Kuprin's love stories

Sacrificial love, giving all of oneself without reserve to a loved one, is inherent in Kuprin’s stories. So Alexander Ivanovich wrote a very sensual story “The Lilac Bush”. The main character of the story, Verochka, always helps her husband, a design student, with his studies so that he receives a diploma. She does all this in order to see him happy.

One day Almazov was making a drawing of the area for a test and accidentally made an ink. In place of this blot he drew a bush. Verochka found a way out of this situation: she found money, bought a lilac bush and planted it overnight in the place where the blot appeared on the drawing. The professor checking the work was very surprised by this incident, because before there was no bush there. The test was submitted.

Verochka is very rich spiritually and mentally, and her husband is a weak, narrow-minded and pathetic person compared to her. Kuprin shows the problem of unequal marriage in terms of spiritual and mental development.

Bunin's "Dark Alleys"

What should short love stories be like? The small works of Ivan Bunin answer this question. The author wrote a whole series of short stories under the same name with one of the stories - “Dark Alleys”. All these little creations are connected by one theme - love. The author presents the reader with the tragic and even catastrophic nature of love.

The collection "Dark Alleys" is also called the encyclopedia of love. Bunin in it shows the contact of two from different sides. In the book you can see a gallery of female portraits. Among them you can see young women, matured girls, respectable ladies, peasant women, prostitutes, and models. Each story from this collection has its own shade of love.