You do understand, Tanya, that I’m not offering this because life is easy,” Marina said heavily as she sat down, supporting her huge belly. “I just can’t manage anymore. The eighth is on the way, and Alyoshka is only two. He’s growing like a weed.”
“Marina, did I hear you right? You’re asking me to take your son? Not just for the weekend or for the summer, but for good?”
“Exactly for good, Tanya. We’ll arrange guardianship, or however it’s done. You have a big apartment, it’s peaceful, you’re well-off.”
You’re still alone—no kids, no husband. And us… you’ve seen it yourself. Kostya’s out of work again, the kids are on top of each other all the time.
Alyoshka is a golden boy, but I don’t even have the strength to raise my voice at him anymore. He’ll have a better life with you. With you, he’ll grow up to be somebody; with me, he’s just one of the crowd.
“Are you out of your mind?” Tatyana set the kettle on the stove but didn’t light the fire. “He’s a child, Marina. Not a kitten, not some houseplant you can move to a sunnier windowsill. You gave birth to him—you’re responsible.”
“That’s exactly why I am responsible!” Marina cried, tears instantly pooling in her eyes. “Isn’t it responsibility to admit that you can’t cope?”
Wouldn’t it be better to let him live with his own aunt, who’s swimming in gold, than watch him wear hand-me-downs and eat nothing but plain porridge?
You’re thirty-five, Tanya. When do you plan to have your own kids? Time is slipping away. Here—you’d have a ready-made child, your own blood.
“My time and my kids are my business,” Tatyana cut her off coldly. “But dumping your son on me because you didn’t think things through again—that’s just too much.”
Do you even realize what this looks like? You’re asking me to turn my life upside down just so yours is easier.
“You’re so heartless,” Marina wiped her tears with the corner of her scarf. “I came to you for salvation, and here you are talking about your ‘ruined life’…”
What kind of life do you have anyway? Work to home, home to work? Solo trips for vacation?
You’re suffocating in all that sterility. Alyoshka would bring you some life.
“Go, Marina,” Tatyana said quietly. “Please go now. I need time to process this.”
She gave away her son
The phone rang just as she was trying to fall asleep. The screen said: “Mom.”
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“Tanya, you know already?” Galina Petrovna’s voice was trembling.
“About Marina’s offer? Yes, Mom, she just left my place.”
“And what did you tell her? Sweetie, don’t make any snap decisions. I was at their place today.”
It’s a nightmare, Tanya. Kostya lost it again, disappeared somewhere, Marina’s crying, the kids haven’t been washed…
Alyoshka, my little one, was sitting in the corner, gnawing on a dry crust.
It breaks my heart.
“Mom, are you suggesting I say yes?” Tatyana sat up in bed. “Do you realize I’d have to quit my job or hire a nanny, which would cost all my salary?”
That I wouldn’t be able to just take off on a business trip or go to bed whenever I want?
“But this is family, Tanya! We have to help each other. Marina is… well, that’s just how she is. Scatterbrained, gullible. But the children aren’t to blame.”
Alyoshka will grow attached to you, just wait and see. You’ve always been strong, and you can handle anything.
But Marina… she’ll fall apart if the eighth child is born and Alyoshka is still clinging to her.
“Why can’t you take him, Mom?” Tatyana asked.
“Sweetheart, I’m sixty-eight. My blood pressure, my joints… Even if I visit them for an hour, I’m in bed for three days afterward. How could I possibly care for a small child?”
But you’re young and healthy. Think about it, Tanya. You’d be doing a good deed—saving that little boy’s soul.
“And who’s going to save my soul, Mom? Who’s going to ask what I want?”
“Do you want your nephew to end up in an orphanage? Marina actually said that if you won’t take him, she’ll leave him at the baby house. At least there, he’d be fed.”
Is that what you want?
Tatyana closed her eyes. A deep anger welled up inside her. Her sister’s irresponsibility had reached new heights—now it was emotional blackmail.
***
Two days later, Tatyana went to visit her sister. She needed to see everything with her own eyes before making a final decision.
Even from the stairwell, she could hear chaos inside. Someone was yelling, someone was crying loudly, and the TV was blaring.
The door was opened by seven-year-old Sonya, her hair a mess and wearing a T-shirt stained with jam.
“Aunt Tanya is here!” she shouted into the apartment.
The hallway smelled of sour milk and unwashed laundry. Marina came out to meet her, looking even more exhausted than usual.
“You came?” Marina tried to smile. “Come in, if you can find somewhere to step. Kostya went out to get bread and disappeared three hours ago.”
Tatyana walked into the kitchen. A mountain of dirty dishes was piled high on the table. Two-year-old Alyosha sat on the floor, trying to cram a toy block into his older brother’s shoe. When he saw Tatyana, he froze and held out his arms to her.
“Tya-tya!” he mumbled.
Tatyana felt something stir inside her. The boy looked so much like herself as a child—those same brown eyes…
“See?” Marina whispered as she approached from behind. “He recognized you. He loves you, Tanya.”
“Marina, let’s talk seriously,” Tatyana said, sitting down on the edge of a chair, brushing the crumbs off first. “Do you understand that if I take him, you can’t just come and take him back when you get bored? This isn’t a game.”
“I know,” Marina lowered her head. “I won’t get bored, Tanya. I’ll just be trying to survive. With eight kids, I’ll lose sight of everything. I’m parting with him for his own good.”
“And what about Kostya? Is he okay with this?”
“Kostya doesn’t care,” Marina replied bitterly. “He sometimes even mixes up their names. He said, ‘The fewer people, the more space.’ He just wants to be left alone.”
“It’s unbelievable,” Tatyana shook her head. “You just keep having kids without thinking about how they’ll live. Marina, eight kids in a one-room apartment! What were you thinking?”
“We weren’t thinking,” her sister snapped. “That’s just how things went. We believed that if God gave us the day, He’d give us the food. But the food keeps running out.”
Tanya, don’t lecture me—I know I’m an idiot. Just tell me: will you take the boy?
Tatyana looked at Alyosha. He had finally managed to fit the shoe and was now smiling contentedly.
“I need to get things ready,” Tatiana said in a low voice. “I have to buy a bed, clothes, find a nanny. I can’t just grab him and leave.”
“So, you’re going to take him?” Marina’s eyes lit up with a mix of hope and a strangely unsettling ease.
“I’ll take him for a while,” Tatiana clarified. “Let’s see how he settles in. And we’ll get all the legal paperwork done so I have the rights to make decisions for his treatment and education.”
***
A month later, Marina gave birth to a baby girl. Tatiana visited her at the maternity hospital with flowers, having left Alyosha with the nanny.
“What’s her name?” she asked, looking at the tiny bundle.
“Katenka,” Marina smiled. She looked surprisingly energetic. “Oh, Tanya, thank you so much for taking Alyosha. It’s become so much easier for us! The apartment is quiet, and Kostya is even in a better mood.”
Sonya is now the helper, she’s taking charge. Katenka is so calm, nothing like Alyosha was.
“Marina, do you even hear yourself?” Tatiana felt her anger bubbling inside. “Things are ‘easier’ because you got rid of your child? Do you even miss him?”
“Of course I miss him!” Marina put on a hurt expression. “But I know he’s in good hands. You’re the perfect one around here.”
With you, he’ll learn English and play tennis. With me, what would he have? Dirt and shouting. I just wanted something better for him.
“You wanted something better for yourself,” Tatiana snapped. “So you’d have less trouble.”
Marina, I’ve started processing the paperwork for permanent guardianship. But I want you to know: if I do this, you’ll have no rights to him anymore. You won’t be able to take him back in a year when Katenka gets older.
“Oh, just take him, for heaven’s sake!” Marina waved her hand. “You need him more. Look at you, you’re glowing—your whole look has changed. Motherhood really suits you.”
Tatiana left the room without saying goodbye.
***
Six months passed, and Tatiana’s life found a new rhythm. She switched to a lower-paying job that allowed her to work remotely.
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Her apartment no longer looked like a furniture catalog—there were doodles on the hallway wallpaper and a stubborn modeling clay stain on the light rug.
One Saturday, she was walking in the park with Alyosha. The boy was running through the grass, laughing joyfully and pointing at the birds flying overhead.
“Mama, look!” he shouted, running up to Tatiana.
She scooped him up, and at that moment, she spotted Marina walking along the alley with a stroller, surrounded by older kids.
Marina was yelling something to Sonya, while Kostya trudged behind with a disgruntled look.
Marina saw them. She paused for a second; her gaze slid over Alyosha—clean, well-dressed, happy.
For a brief moment, something like sorrow flickered in her eyes, but she quickly turned away, tugging one of her sons by the hand.
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“Hurry up, Romka! You’re always lagging!” she shouted.
They walked past without even saying hello. Alyosha watched them, but quickly got distracted by a brightly colored butterfly.
“Mama, let’s go!” he tugged Tatiana’s hand again.
“Yes, sweetheart, let’s go,” Tatiana whispered, hugging him tightly.
***
Years later, Tatiana officially adopted Alyosha, giving him her last name and making sure he got an excellent education.
Marina remained a mother of many children, always struggling with debt, and barely spoke to her older sister anymore—the one she felt had ‘taken her son away.’
Little Alyosha grew up never knowing that the woman he called Mom had once rescued him from his neglectful birth parents.