Lena had always dreamed of having a child. So when she unexpectedly became pregnant after just one night with a man, she wasn’t upset at all—in fact, she was happy.
She informed the man about the pregnancy, but he immediately made it clear he didn’t want the child and had no intention of paying any child support.
Sure, she could have forced him to pay through the courts, but Lena didn’t want to. He wasn’t part of their lives, and that was that. She felt nothing for him and was determined to raise the baby on her own.
Her mother strongly disagreed, insisting that raising a child in a proper family was essential.
“Mom, I’m already twenty-eight,” Lena replied. “Maybe I won’t have a traditional family. And remember, I grew up without a father too.”
“Nonsense!” her mother snapped. “You had a father.”
“Yes, but he left you for another woman when I was five. I barely saw him a couple of times a year after that.”
Her mother scoffed. That was different, she said. She never wanted that for Lena. But now Lena was condemning her own child to a fatherless life. That wasn’t right.
Lena’s friends were equally shocked.
“How do you plan to raise a kid alone?” asked Natasha, her best friend since school. “I can barely keep up with my husband and we’re always tight on money! At least get child support!”
“I don’t want to,” Lena shook her head stubbornly. “The baby doesn’t have a father, and that’s that. I’ll save up, work from home. I’ll manage.”
“She’ll manage, sure,” Natasha scoffed. “Everyone says that, then ends up crying. Think it over.”
But Lena had made up her mind long ago. She loved this baby fiercely, even before he was born. She knew she could handle it—for her own happiness.
When she left the hospital with her son Yaroslav, only her mother and Natasha came to greet them. Natasha brought flowers but quickly left, saying her husband couldn’t watch the baby long and she had to get back.
Her mother stayed for an hour but didn’t seem to feel any joy about the new grandson, nor was she eager to help. She decided Lena had to manage on her own since she hadn’t listened before.
At first, Lena enjoyed motherhood. Yaroslav was a calm baby, sleeping a lot and rarely crying.
Money was tight but manageable. She bought a stroller secondhand, got a crib from a friend, and all the clothes were hand-me-downs.
It seemed simple enough. Sure, he woke often at night and sometimes took hours to soothe—but these were small challenges, nothing she couldn’t handle.
Her mother rarely visited, and when she did, offered no real help. Once Lena asked her to watch Yaroslav while she did chores, and her mother snapped:
“I told you, it’s hard raising a child alone! You need help! But I’m not ready to be your lifelong nanny!”
“Mom, it’s the first time I’ve asked,” Lena said, shocked. “And who said I’m struggling? I just had a lot to do, and since you stopped by, I thought you could help a bit.”
“I came as a guest, not a babysitter,” her mother replied. “My legs hurt—I can’t push the stroller.”
“I get it, Mom,” Lena said dryly. “I’ll manage. You rest.”
Her best friend called only to check if Lena was suffering. At least that’s how it felt.
“So, how are you?” Natasha asked innocently.
“We’re fine. Yarik’s got colic, a bit cranky. But overall okay.”
“Come on, don’t pretend with me! I know how hard kids are! You’re probably climbing the walls from sleepless nights and crying.”
“No, really, it’s okay,” Lena insisted. “I get six or seven hours of sleep a night. Not perfect, but manageable.”
Natasha snorted, clearly thinking Lena was lying. Yet she didn’t rush to offer help. Her own child was almost two—she could have visited or done something.
But Lena didn’t worry. She truly was doing well. Hard at times, but better than she imagined.
As Yaroslav grew, so did her worries and challenges.
He started sleeping worse, waking multiple times each night. Once, he didn’t sleep at all, only dozing for five minutes at a time before waking again.
When he began crawling, peace completely vanished.
He hated the stroller and wouldn’t nap in it. Lena tried to get him used to it but gave up after half an hour of crying and picked him up.
Yet the biggest problem was money. Her savings were running low. Maternity pay was a drop in the bucket.
By six months, her milk dried up and they switched to formula—an expensive necessity. Thankfully, they had started introducing solid foods.
Yaroslav was growing rapidly, outgrowing the clothes she’d been given and forcing her to buy new ones.
Bills kept coming: rent, food, transport.
Lena decided she needed a side job. She spent a few hours daily on the computer, which stretched into all day because Yaroslav hated when she wasn’t paying full attention.
She never got help. Then teething made things worse, and Yaroslav was very sensitive. When he finally fell asleep, Lena would go into a trance-like state, unable to move or rest.
She craved human contact. Natasha only dropped by once in six months, mainly to check how Lena was holding up.
But on one walk, Lena met a woman in the neighboring building. The woman had a daughter Yaroslav’s age. Lena envied her because her daughter slept peacefully the whole time while Yaroslav could only calm down in her arms.
“All children are different,” smiled Nika, the neighbor. “My oldest was just like yours—always crying outside. I was surprised my daughter was so calm.”
Unlike Lena, Nika had a loving husband and financial stability. Sometimes Lena wondered if her mother had been right—things were harder than she imagined. And she wasn’t sure how she could cope.
At one point, Lena’s strength gave out. One night, Yaroslav barely slept, dozing only five minutes at a time before waking again—repeating this a hundred times.
She hoped he’d nap longer during the day, but apparently, he decided not to sleep at all.
To make matters worse, the formula ran out. She could order more, but then she’d have to buy other essentials, and money was tight.
Lena gathered Yaroslav and headed to the store. Somehow the stars weren’t aligned—Yaroslav screamed in the store, and Lena barely held him.
Back home, he continued fussing.
Lena knew she needed at least an hour to breathe—to just sleep, to sit in silence. Her nerves were at the breaking point. For the first time in her life, she looked at her child and felt something close to hatred. She knew it was just exhaustion and frustration, but she wished Yaroslav wasn’t there right now.
Then Lena decided to ask for help. For the first time, truly ask.
She called her mother and said she was having a really tough day. She practically begged her to come watch the baby for an hour.
But her mother refused, saying the weather was bad and she had warned her before. She hadn’t slept well herself and wasn’t up to babysitting.
So Lena called Natasha, asking if she could watch Yaroslav for an hour.
“How can I manage with two?” Natasha frowned.
“Just for an hour, please. I’m about to lose my mind.”
“Well, what did you expect?” Natasha scoffed. “I warned you. Sorry, but I really can’t handle two. Maybe tonight, when my husband’s home…”
Lena hung up. She felt utterly alone in the world. Suddenly, she didn’t want to live anymore. She thought things would only get worse, and she wouldn’t cope. Why even suffer?
Then the phone rang.
“Yes?” Lena answered in a lifeless voice.
“Hi! We accidentally took your toy during our walk, just noticed! I can bring it to you.”
It was Nika. They had been walking together the day before.
“Whatever,” Lena mumbled.
“Are you okay?”
The woman sighed, looking at the boy who no longer cried but was still whining.
“I’m so tired…”
“Be there soon.”
Nika really showed up five minutes later, leaving her daughter with her older brother and rushing over.
“Hey, you look awful, what’s going on?”
“I can’t cope… Didn’t sleep last night, and now Yarik’s cranky. I can’t do this anymore.”
Nika grabbed Lena’s shoulders and made her look in her eyes.
“You can do it. You just need to rest.”
“How?”
“Just do it. Yarik, get ready—we’re coming over!” she smiled.
“Will you take him? Just for an hour…”
“Sure, he can stay with us till evening,” the neighbor smiled.
“What about your family? Will you manage?”
“Pfft, don’t joke. Relax. Don’t think about anything.”
Nika took Yaroslav, and Lena collapsed into bed. She dreamed her son had grown up and was no longer fussy. She was so happy.
When Lena woke up, she didn’t realize at first. She had slept for four hours!
She immediately called Nika, who reassured her: “We’re fine here, rest some more.”
For the first time in a long time, Lena ate peacefully. And afterward, she felt strength return. Like magic.
She happily picked up her son later and thanked Nika a dozen times.
“Don’t mention it, just ask if you need me,” her friend said.
That was the only time Lena almost gave up. Later, she told Nika she had even thought about ending it all. And that Nika had saved her.
She also told her about how her mother and best friend had refused to help. That feeling of being completely alone had been the hardest to bear.
Of course, Yaroslav grew up, the hardships faded. Lena got enough sleep and earned well.
Nika moved to another city with her family, but their friendship stayed strong. Lena would never forget the day her loved ones turned away while a simple neighbor reached out a helping hand.