When my mother died, I was just a baby. It was just me and my dad. He wasn’t much of a nun with me. He treated me with all the rigor of a man.
I didn’t see any love or affection. He put me in charge of the whole household. And all the housework, too. Before I went to school, I fed the animals and cleaned the barns when I came back. Cooked meals, did homework, cleaned. And so all day long. But I never heard a kind word or gratitude from my father. All the time he reproached me for idleness and grumbled. After leaving school I decided to go far away. I got away. Though my father objected a lot.
We lived in the dormitory together with my roommates. I got a stipend and had to survive on it. Sometimes I went hungry. I pursued my goal, studying with the hope of getting a good job. My dream was to get a job in demand, to become self-sufficient. I never received anything from my father. He was angry that I decided to leave. So no matter how hard it was, I was the only one going towards my goal. Slowly but surely.
One day I met a great guy. I fell in love with him, we dated, and I was over the moon. I mean, for once I had someone I loved. And now I could breathe a little. Soon it became known that I was pregnant. Not in time, but who am I to judge – when the time and when not. Together with my beloved, we can do anything.
As it turned out, I greatly overestimated my boyfriend. He wasn’t happy about the news that he was going to be a father. He did not discuss anything – just dissolved. Gone. Ran away. A couple of days later, he called me and said he needed to talk. I flew to the meeting, hoping he would come to his senses and apologize. Only he handed me an envelope of money. He said it was too soon for us to be parents. And he offered to get rid of the baby.
I was shocked. I couldn’t come to my senses. My friends supported him and said that at such a young age you should not tie your arms and legs around a child. Still need to finish school. Only I knew that I could not do so to the unborn, but also a man and save his life.
My son was born a sturdy baby, the sweetest thing I had ever seen in my life. My roommates threw themselves together and gave me a discharge suit. After that, I didn’t know where I was going. They wouldn’t let me in the dorms. And at home my father, who obviously would not be happy to see me back. I had little choice, so I went home. When my father saw me with the baby in my arms, he wouldn’t even let me in the hall. He was exhausted and closed the doors. What was I supposed to do? I left in tears. I walked in the direction of the bus. At this time the tears were rolling down my cheeks like a hail. I had no idea where to go and what to do. Besides it was frosty outside.
I sat down on a bench and waited for a bus. A woman approached me – I recognized her, she used to be a kindergarten teacher. When she noticed me, she was surprised. I told her what had happened. She snatched the baby from me and ordered me to follow her.
She took me to her house, gave me something to eat and poured hot tea. After listening to my story, she offered to stay with her. She lived alone, her husband had died, and they had never had children. It would be more fun. Old age was coming. I had nowhere else to go.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I accepted her offer. Is that how it works? Days flew by for days. My son grew up, Sarah became his grandmother. And she replaced me as his mother. My father and I never reconciled – he stuck to his opinion.
I understood that I had to finish my studies. I had to go back to the university. Sara supported me in everything. I graduated and became a therapist. My son was growing up, and my grandmother was always waiting for us at home.
One day the phone rang. It was a neighbor who lived next door to my father. She informed me that he had gotten sick and was lying down next door. I rushed to him with my work tools. I managed to save him. The doctors thanked me.
After he came back from the hospital, he came to see us. He began to repent for everything he had done, for the lack of support from him. When you die, you overthink a lot of things. He invited me to come back to the house. Only I had no desire. What was waiting for me there? We resumed communication, he sometimes babysat his grandson. Only I stayed at Sara’s. I was grateful to her for everything. We were a real family. And she was my mother.
I realized that even close people can become strangers to each other. And quite the opposite, strangers can become closer.
