Lera stood at the kitchen table, watching as Katya in another room diligently colored her favorite animals in an album. Her five-year-old daughter was so engrossed in the process that she wouldn’t notice what her mother was doing. Lera, smiling, returned to her thoughts.
However, an inner voice kept reminding her of fear—the fear that had lingered since childhood and reemerged as soon as she decided to take a serious step and buy a house. Memories of her mother were still a heavy burden on her soul.
She remembered one of the last conversations with her mother before their relationship broke down.
«Are you thinking about separation again?» her mother had narrowed her eyes angrily as soon as Lera brought it up. «Lera, this is madness! People are already looking askance, and you want to disgrace our family. Your father would not have approved of this.»
Lera had struggled to hold back tears. Her husband, Vadim, had long since stopped being the caring man she had once married. He was cold, demanding, and often resorted to yelling, and sometimes even threats, whenever things didn’t go his way. But her mother, seemingly ignoring this, persisted in her view.
«Mom, you see what’s happening… You know how he treats me, how he looks at Katya as if she’s superfluous,» Lera tried to reach her mother, hoping she would understand her concerns. But all she heard in return was a dismissive:
«Lera, all men are like that. Do you think your father was an angel? How much I had to endure because of him! But I stayed—for the family, for you. And you should also think not only of yourself. Be strong, don’t disgrace us!»
«Stayed for the family…» — this became something of a mantra for her mother. Back then, Lera felt a cold detachment as if she and her desires meant nothing to her mother. With every word, Lera realized that in her mother’s eyes, she remained the child who could be controlled and blamed if she decided to go against her decrees.
Then, several years ago, Lera finally mustered the courage to leave Vadim, preferring solitude with her daughter over a life of constant fear and humiliation. The divorce was difficult, Vadim didn’t miss a chance to insult her, and the support from her mother, which Lera had hoped for, never came. Her mother behaved as if Lera had personally insulted her by destroying the family illusion, and since then her resentment had grown.
Lera decided that she would never again allow anyone to control her destiny. She had been too afraid to stand up for her desires for too long, but now, at last, she had the resolve to build a life where she and Katya could have their own space, where they could feel happy and secure.
Working at a graphic design firm, Lera gradually saved money to buy her own home. It had been a tough year when she and Katya rented a small one-room apartment in an old house. The walls were cracked, the windows drafty. But Lera always found a way to decorate this temporary home and create coziness. She bought cute blankets, curtains, changed the drapes, and even that made the space a bit warmer and more joyful. Nevertheless, the thought that they were living a «temporary» life weighed on Lera. She dreamed of her own house, a place where her daughter could grow up peacefully, not moving from place to place as they had been since Lera left Vadim.
And now, two years after the divorce, Lera had made the initial payment on a small house in the suburbs. It wasn’t a huge country estate but rather a cozy little house that immediately won her heart. It had a small garden with jasmine bushes by the fence, a spacious, bright kitchen, and two rooms. Lera saw how Katya ran through the house and joyfully examined every corner, exclaiming:
«Mom, will I really have my own room? Really?»
Lera smiled and hugged her.
«Yes, kitten. Now you will have your own room,» she promised.
From that moment, her main task was the renovation. The house was old: the walls were worn, the ceiling cracked, and the floors long needed replacing. Lera decided to do as much as she could herself. There was a lot of work, but, taking a loan from the bank and postponing her vacation, she started the renovations. In the evenings, after putting Katya to bed, she painted walls, sealed gaps, and tidied up the rooms. It was hard work, but with each day, the house transformed. Lera imagined how soon they would sit here in the kitchen for dinner or how Katya would read fairy tales in her cozy little room.
One evening, taking a small break from the renovation, Lera decided to call her cousin Sergey. They hadn’t seen each other for a long time, but Sergey had always remained a close person to her, someone she could turn to for support.
«Serezha, you won’t believe it,» she started, smiling as he picked up the phone. «I think I officially became a homeowner.»
«Seriously?» Sergey was genuinely happy. «Lera, that’s great! I’m very happy for you. You did well to decide on this. How’s the house?»
«Just doing some renovations right now.»
«You do realize that once you’re finished, I’ll have to come over and check it out for myself,» Sergey laughed.
«Absolutely! I’ll be waiting,» Lera laughed in response. She could almost see Sergey nodding, as he always did when he considered her words. Her heart warmed at the thought that at least she had someone in the family who supported her, not judging her for wanting to live her own way.
Several more weeks passed, filled with work and the worries of setting up the house. Lera was tired but happy. Katya’s room became a magical corner: pink curtains, a little bed with fluffy pillows, and even a small bookshelf so the daughter could pick out bedtime stories for herself. In the hallway, she hung a painting of flowers she had long dreamed of having in her home when she still lived with Vadim.
A phone call pulled Lera from her stream of memories. She looked at the screen and, raising her eyebrows in surprise, saw her mother’s name.
«Hello, mom?» she didn’t know what to expect, especially after such a long silence.
«Lera, you couldn’t even tell me you bought a house?» Her mother’s voice carried a note of displeasure.
Lera froze for a moment, not understanding how her mother knew about it. She hadn’t told anyone about the house purchase except her cousin Sergey.
«How did you know?»
«Sergey told me, of course,» her mother replied dryly. «I should have known you’d go behind my back like this. Good thing I still have relatives who remember their family.»
«I just decided to start over, mom,» she tried to explain.
«Oh, really? And you don’t see me in this ‘new start’ of yours?»
Lera sighed heavily, feeling the familiar pressure and already bracing for an unpleasant conversation.
«You bought a nice house, when can I move in?» her mother asked.
Lera felt the ground slipping from under her feet. She couldn’t even find the words—just stood with her mouth open as her mother continued, as if nothing had happened:
«My apartment is old anyway, and Aunt Natasha has been saying for a long time that she has nowhere to live. I’ll give her my apartment, she needs it more. So I decided—I’ll be living with you, you don’t need all that space to yourself anyway.»
Lera gathered her strength and finally managed to say:
«Mom, did you even ask how I feel about this?»
Her mother sighed heavily.
«Oh, don’t be selfish, Lera. I’m your mother. I can help you, and I’ll be with Katya. You’re alone, without a man, you don’t have a family, nor a normal life.»
Lera, barely holding back her anger, replied:
«Mom, I didn’t buy the house for this. I want to build a normal family without your pressure and without…»
«A normal family?» her mother interrupted. «Lera, do you hear yourself? You’re a single mother! What kind of family? Who would look at you? Only a mother can support and help, but you apparently don’t want to understand that.»
Lera felt a heaviness spread through her body. She knew that saying «no» would mean putting an end to their relationship, but she felt she couldn’t continue living this way.
«Mom, I don’t want you to move in with me,» she said firmly. «Katya and I will manage on our own.»
Her mother sighed heavily.
«Is that so? Well, I understand. You’re ungrateful. Lera, you will regret this. With children like you, who needs enemies?»
After that, her mother hung up, not giving Lera a chance to respond. Inside, a turmoil was brewing—heaviness mixed with offense, followed by a strange mix of relief and anger. She knew that talking to her mother would have consequences, but she was sure she had done the right thing.
Weeks passed. Lera shielded herself from phone calls and the rare messages from relatives, which came with undertones of reproach and criticism. One message was enough for her to understand: her mother had started telling everyone that Lera had «kicked her out.» Lera knew that rumors about her «improper» behavior would now circulate, but as unpleasant as it was, she was prepared for such a turn of events.
During these days, Igor, whom she had met just over a month ago, became a support. He was calm, reliable, a person who knew how to listen and understand. They spent evenings together, and Lera could not help but notice how Igor interacted with Katya—patiently and with genuine warmth. With him, she felt that she had finally found a haven of safety and support, which she had been missing for many years.
One evening, as Lera sat in the kitchen checking her email, she received a message from her cousin:
«You’re certainly something. You kicked out your own mother, sorted out your personal life, and now we’re all being judged. Do you even think about how you’ll interact with your family now?»
Lera sighed heavily, realizing her mother had made every effort to paint her in a bad light. Feeling broken, she went to bed. The next morning her grandmother came to visit. She sat down on a chair, looking at her granddaughter with a warm gaze.
«Lerochka, don’t worry,» the grandmother said, taking her hand. «I know your mother like the back of my hand. She has always tried to live as if her life was a stage, where she needed to play the main role and look correct. For the sake of this image, she endured your father, his drinking, his scandals, his treatment of me and you… But you, my girl, should not live like this. It was her choice, and now you have the right to act as you see fit.»
«But grandma,» Lera sighed heavily, feeling overwhelmed with despair, «they’re all against me. I didn’t ask for much from her, I just wanted to live peacefully with Katya, and now half of the relatives think I’m a bad, cold daughter…»
«Relatives…» the grandmother snorted. «When did you need their help? When you were going through the breakup, when you were raising Katya alone, did anyone help? But now just watch—all the reproaches to you. Your mother knows how to speak beautifully…»
Lera looked at her grandmother with gratitude. She was the only one who truly understood what it was like to try to break free from the perpetual control of her mother. The grandmother was, in essence, a second mother to her, a person who always supported, listened, and did not judge.
«I’m sometimes afraid, grandma,» Lera confessed quietly. «Afraid that I’ll repeat her mistakes, that maybe my life will turn out the same… that Igor might suddenly be different. I… I’ve heard for so many years that I’m doing everything wrong. I guess I just got used to feeling guilty…»
The grandmother smiled and stroked her hand again.
«Don’t be afraid, Lerochka,» she said softly. «You are a different person. You’ve already proven to yourself and others that you can be strong. And your mother will remain in her fabricated world. And if relatives believed her words—then you shouldn’t rely on them. What matters is who is with you and who will support you when times are tough. And you already see who that is.»
Lera pondered her words. It seemed that for the first time in a long time, she could breathe freely.
A few days later, Lera sat in the kitchen with a cup of coffee when another message from her mother arrived. This time, the text was long and full of reproaches. Her mother wrote again that Lera was ungrateful, that her behavior «disgusted all the relatives,» that «this is how she’ll treat her own daughter once she grows up.»
Lera closed her eyes, trying to suppress the familiar feeling of guilt that so easily arose after each word from her mother. Suddenly, Katya came up to her, hugged her leg, and pressed against her, looking up with her big, serious eyes.
«Mommy, what’s wrong? Are you sad?» she asked, lifting her head.
Lera smiled, sat down next to her, and hugged her.
«No, Kitten, everything’s fine. Just thinking about something… But now that you’ve hugged me, I feel much better,» she said, and it was true. Katya had become a source of love and support for her, and Lera understood that her happiness and safety were the most important things in life.
«Mom, can I invite Igor over? We wanted to make cookies with him,» Katya suddenly reminded her, causing Lera to smile.
«Of course, sweetheart, invite him.»
When Igor arrived, Lera greeted him with a smile. He, sensing her mood, gently touched her shoulder.
«Everything okay?» he asked, looking into her eyes attentively.
Lera nodded.
«Everything’s perfect.»
At that moment, Lera realized that she was truly ready to leave the past behind and live as she had always dreamed—with love, honesty, and without fear.
