The nurse gently asked, “Anna Sergeyevna, the documents are ready. Who will be taking you home?”
Her eyes studied Anna, whose fragile face was shadowed by dark circles. “I’ll manage on my own,” Anna responded, trying to sound confident. The nurse looked concerned. A week had passed since the difficult childbirth, and still, no one had been there for her. Ivan hadn’t visited even once.
Anna carefully held her newborn daughter, Liza, in one arm, while the nurse assisted with Mitya, the second baby. The money she had was barely enough for milk and bread to last until the end of the month, leaving her unable to afford a taxi.
At the bus stop, she waited, clinging to the hope that Ivan had been scared. She remembered his words two years ago when he proposed: “I want a son and a daughter, just like you.” Fate had granted her both, in one single moment. But when she arrived home, she was met with silence and stale air.
Ivan appeared, tightening his robe. His cold, detached gaze swept over Anna, the babies, and the bags—almost as if he were seeing strangers. Without emotion, Ivan spoke, “I’ve been thinking… this isn’t for me.” “But you said—” “I changed my mind,” he shrugged, as though discarding a broken item. “I’m still young. I want to live my life, not deal with diapers.” “I’m leaving,” he said, avoiding her eyes. “I’ll stay at Seryoga’s for now and figure things out later.”
“The place is in your name. I’m not dealing with custody or child support. Your choice to give birth, your problem now.”
With that, he spat on the floor near the couch, grabbed his bag and coat, and slammed the door behind him. Anna, overwhelmed with grief and disbelief, crawled to the couch, clutching her babies to her chest. This was her new reality.
“We’ll survive,” she whispered to herself, repeating the mantra that would carry her through the years ahead. Three years passed. Anna worked a night shift on the farm, covering for a sick coworker. The children stayed with a neighbor who had become like a second mother to them. One evening, Anna returned home exhausted but smiling. She carried a loaf of bread, a can of milk, and a bag of caramels. “Mom!” the children rushed to her, their arms wrapping around her.
