Victor returned home from his usual shift, and his wife, Tabitha, was anxiously awaiting her faithful husband. She began to worry that something might have happened on the road, while little Colin, their son, was restless, repeatedly asking, “Where’s Daddy? Where’s Daddy?”
Finally, two large yellow headlights illuminated the Ivanov’s yard—he had arrived.
“Daddy? Daddy! Hooray, Daddy’s back!” Colin exclaimed as he jumped off the hearth, bouncing on one foot while trying to pull on his boot and fasten his coat.
“Where do you think you’re going, you silly boy? It’s freezing out, and it’s nighttime. Come sit by the fire; your father will be in soon.”
Colin pouted and prepared to burst into tears.
“Don’t you dare cry!” Tabitha scolded. “I told you your father would come in soon.”
But Victor took his time entering.
“What on earth is taking him so long?” Tabitha fretted. “Is he drunk or something? Colin, stay inside; I’ll go check myself.”
“Mum, I’m scared,” Colin whined.
“What on earth are you afraid of? Stay here, I told you!”
As Tabitha was putting on her heavy coat and bickering with Colin, the door swung open, and a cloud of steam entered the room, followed by Victor, but he wasn’t alone.
Standing at the threshold was a young girl, no more than eighteen, wrapped in a shawl, wearing a shabby brown coat with a black wool collar. She had enormous grey eyes that seemed to take up half her face and light curls framing her forehead.
“Come in, come in, Evie. Tabitha, help our guest get settled.”
Tabitha, confused but cooperative, assisted the girl in removing her coat.
The girl turned out to be heavily pregnant, waddling over to the table like a plump duck ready for slaughter. Evie sat down, folding her thin, cold hands, resembling delicate chicken feet, onto her knees.
Colin peeked from the hearth, wary.
“Where’s my boy, huh? Colin, come here… What did Daddy bring you?” Victor said, lifting his protesting son high, almost to the ceiling. “And you, love, prepare some food for us. Are we going to sit here hungry?”
Late that evening, as Colin succumbed to sleep, he overheard his father mumbling and his mother softly arguing with him, while their guest quietly wept.
By morning, the whole village knew that Victor Ostap had brought home his younger pregnant sister.
“Her husband left, and her mother and father have long been gone. What was I supposed to do with such a child?” Tabitha whispered to her friends in the dim light of the barn.
“Why didn’t you mention before that Victor had relatives? I thought you said he was an orphan.”
“If you don’t have parents, does that mean you aren’t an orphan?”
“Then where did his sister come from?”
“She was raised in a children’s home, what more should I tell you, Akulina? Maybe you’d like to hear about how her husband treated her?”
“Get lost, Tabitha, you’re being ridiculous.”
Soon, Evie decided to give birth, and Victor took her to the hospital in the nearby town. Not long after, Colin welcomed a baby sister, little Anna.
But Evie didn’t come back.
“She’s passed away,” Tabitha said bluntly to Colin, giving him a sharp slap to prevent him from getting underfoot.
Anna was tiny, rosy-cheeked, a little doll of a baby. Colin, who had seen Anna, the neighbor’s baby, thought she’d be even bigger. Ha, what are babies compared to his own living doll?
“I don’t know, Victor, do what you want; I don’t want her here.”
“What do you mean? This is a living child, our blood…”
“I don’t care; I’ve made my decision. Do what you want with her.”
“What’s wrong with you, acting like this? At first, you welcomed her… What should I do? Send her to a children’s home or let her freeze on the street?”
“Honestly, I couldn’t care less.”
“Please don’t send Anna to a children’s home or leave her out in the cold!” Colin shouted. “Mummy, please, let Anna stay; I’ll help take care of her!”
“You’re going to help? You make me sick!” Tabitha swung her arm out in frustration. But Colin clung to her skirt, crying and pleading for his little sister to stay.
Victor sat silently, his head down.
“Fine, do as you wish; I don’t care anymore.”
Tabitha turned and stepped out to the barn.
Colin approached Anna, who sweetly slept in her blanket, unaware that her fate was being decided. He sat beside her and began softly whispering sweet names, calling her sunshine and darling.
Colin had a hard time sleeping, always worried that his mother would throw his little darling Anna into the cold.
“Just sleep, you troublesome boy; I won’t do anything to your Anna,” Tabitha hissed at Colin, who looked at her suspiciously, fearing she would drown Anna.
“Oh, the silly boy, he won’t leave the girl alone, calling her darling.”
“Look at your new helper, Tabitha.”
“Don’t you start. At first, I was overwhelmed, but then I got so used to the girl that I wouldn’t trade her for anything. Colin’s starting school next year, and I think I’ll hire a nanny…”
And so they lived on.
Victor worked as a driver, Tabitha milked the cows, and Colin and Anna grew up.
Colin dashed home from school, arms wide open to scoop up his little sister, Anna. All the neighborhood children called her darling as well.
And so, the girl grew up.
Colin joined the army, and Anna was heartbroken, crying her eyes out.
“He practically raised her, being a father and mother all at once,” the village women would gossip, “Tabitha is a bit rough, but Victor is so aloof; he barely speaks.”
Anna waited eagerly for her brother to return from the army. After a month, he strutted around proudly, got a job as a driver, and brought home a girl to meet Anna, nervously wondering if she would approve.
She did approve; the potential bride impressed Anna.
Victor married soon after, and Anna blossomed into a beautiful young lady.
When she went off to study in the city, she always made it a point to visit her brother first before going home.
Anna was aware that she was a niece to both her parents and was never kept in the dark about her origins, so she never held any bitter feelings. They loved both children equally, and Anna even sometimes thought her mother loved her more than Colin, darling girl that she was.
As time went on, Anna graduated, returned to the village as a doctor, and later found a wonderful fiancé, marrying and having children of her own.
Their parents had grown old, and it was time for Victor to pass on. Tabitha had weakened significantly. Anna brought her mother to live with her, despite her initial resistance.
One day, while resting, Tabitha thought she heard someone calling. Yes, it was her mother.
“What is it, dear? Do you need water? Is something hurting?”
“Sit down, my child,” Tabitha requested.
“Of course.”
“Forgive me, Anna.”
“Forgive you for what, Mother? What’s wrong?”
“For everything. I never wanted to give you up, to send you to a children’s home…”
“Oh, Mother, how could you think that? You brought me up with love. I don’t hold any ill will against you, and I have no need for forgiveness.”
“You weren’t just a niece; you were my daughter…”
“What do you mean, Mum?”
“Yes, darling.”
“I don’t know how your mother, Evie, met your father. It must have been a long-lasting love since you were born. Your grandfather said your father should take responsibility, or he would make a statement about their relationship. And that’s when he brought your mother home and confessed everything to us.”
Everyone was told that she was his younger sister. But she was incredibly caring, always helping and looking after young Colin until Victor took her away to give birth. After that, she never returned…
“Mother… You accepted my father’s mistress?”
“I did accept her, darling. What could I do? She was clearly pregnant; was I meant to abandon my son because your father couldn’t control himself? Maybe it was meant to be. I always wished for a daughter, oh how I wished, and then you appeared…”
“Meant to be by whom?”
“By God…”
“Oh, Mum, you are something else; you’ve always tended to the grave…”
“Sweetheart, that’s not her doing. It was a girl, an orphan, who shared the same name as your mother. But your true mother… she is alive and likely younger than I am.”
“How can that be?”
“She left you back then and abandoned you.”
“Mum…”
“I’m sorry, little one, I couldn’t carry this secret alone; it’s unfair to you. You must have relatives somewhere—perhaps siblings, uncles, or aunts.”
“Yes, Mum, of course I do. Colin is the best brother in the world. I always wished he was my real brother, not just a cousin. You are my true mother, and Uncle Bill and Aunt Kate are my family; they are my uncle and aunt, while my siblings and cousins are countless.
I have a big family, all because of you, Mum.
You may not have given birth to me, but you have given me a life, my dear.”
“My dear child…”
Tabitha lived a little longer, and when her time came, she left peacefully and with a smile to be with Victor.
Being at the age of her mother, Anna, now María Victoria, shared her life story among her large family.
As they all listened, the young girls and women gasped, realizing they could never have done what Tabitha did.
“Don’t compare others’ circumstances to your own; whether you could do it or not,” María Victoria said. “No one can predict how life will unfold, plus, it happened so long ago. Others might not have managed it, but your mother did. She had a strong character, and still, she succeeded…
For that, she deserves our deepest respect; I always say so…”
