The suitcase lock clicked unpleasantly as Jana forcefully yanked the jammed zipper. The hallway was thick with stifling heat. On her phone screen, a notification flashed: the airport taxi would arrive in forty minutes.
The long-awaited trip to Sri Lanka, for which she had been taking overtime shifts for half a year, was finally supposed to begin.
Roman still wasn’t home. He had left the night before to visit a friend and promised to return before midnight so they could rest before the long flight.
Finally, the key turned in the lock. The door flew open, the handle hitting the wall loudly. Roman stepped inside heavily, the smell of damp street air and suffocating heaviness coming from his jacket. But Jana wasn’t looking at him.
Two children timidly appeared from behind his back.
Matvey, Roman’s ten-year-old nephew, stood with his eyes down, fingers twisting the straps of his heavy school backpack. Beside him, six-year-old Ksenia shifted nervously from foot to foot, holding a doll against her stomach.
— Hi. Getting ready? — Roman asked hoarsely as he kicked off his shoes. — Come in, don’t just stand there. Meet her again, this is Aunt Jana.
Jana straightened up, releasing the suitcase handle.
— Roman, do you even know what time it is? We’re supposed to leave in half an hour. Why are Matvey and Ksenia here?
The man walked past her into the kitchen, his wet socks squeaking on the laminate floor. He turned on the tap, drank water straight from the stream for a long time, washed his face, and only then wiped his hands on a kitchen towel.
— Jana, listen carefully and don’t start hysterics. — He leaned against the counter. — Olga is coming with me. I rebooked the tickets on Tuesday at the agency.
The words sounded so casual, as if he were talking about buying bread. Jana suddenly felt her hands grow heavy.
— Your sister? — she stepped into the kitchen. — Where is she going? We’ve been saving for this trip for half a year! That’s my money too!
— Olga is coming, she needs it more! — Roman snapped louder. — Her boyfriend left her for someone else and she’s stuck with loans. She needs a “reset”, understand? And you’re busy with work anyway.
I even spoke to your manager yesterday, she said they’re short-staffed. You’ll just work more.
— You took our shared money and bought your sister a plane ticket? — Jana tried to stay calm, but her voice trembled. — And you’re telling me this half an hour before departure?
— No one stole your money. The trip is paid for, only the passenger list changed. — He waved his hand. — You’ll stay with the kids. Twelve days, that’s all.
There’s food in the fridge, I left five thousand on the table. Help Matvey with his homework, that’s it. We’re leaving, the taxi’s waiting, Olga is already nervous.
He grabbed his backpack, brushed past Jana, and rushed out. The door slammed shut.
The apartment fell into unnatural silence.
Only the clock ticked steadily in the kitchen. Jana looked at the children. Matvey was still staring at his shoes, and Ksenia quietly sniffled, not daring to step further inside.
— Take off your shoes — Jana said flatly. — Come in. Have you eaten?
The children shook their heads.
She moved mechanically: pan, stove, eggs, milk. Butter sizzled as it melted, filling the kitchen with a simple, homely smell. But in her mind everything was already clear. Roman had planned everything in advance.
The money, the tickets, the swap. He had simply turned her into a babysitter in her own life.
Matvey sat down and pushed his mug around.
— Mom said we wouldn’t be a burden — he said quietly. — That you offered to look after us yourself.
— Your mother lied — Jana replied dryly, placing the scrambled eggs in front of him. — I was supposed to go with Uncle Roman. My suitcase is still in the hallway.
The boy stopped eating. A too-adult, too-grown expression appeared in his eyes.
— She always does this… Last year she said she was going for treatment, but she was actually at the seaside. That’s why they divorced.
Ksenia swung her legs under the table.
— Dad lives with Aunt Irina now — she said innocently. — She doesn’t let us in because we’re too loud.
Jana looked at them. Two children discarded by their mother for a vacation, and not truly wanted by their father either. But she would not sacrifice herself for other people’s selfishness.
— Eat — she said, turning off the kettle. — Get dressed. We’re leaving.
— To go for a walk? — Ksenia asked.
— No. Somewhere where adults handle things.
At the police station, the smell of cheap coffee and old paper lingered in the air. Jana stepped firmly to the glass window, holding Ksenia’s hand tightly.
— Good afternoon. I’m here to report the abandonment of minors — she said clearly.
Fifteen minutes later, they were sitting in front of a child welfare officer. The heavy-set woman in uniform studied the documents for a long time, then looked at the children.
— Do you understand that if you refuse to temporarily take care of them, they will have to be placed in an institution until we locate the parents?
Matvey curled up.
— An institution? — he whispered.
Jana knelt in front of him.
— Listen to me. I can’t take you with me. Roman took my money. I have nowhere to go right now. Where they take you, it’s safe. You’ll have food and beds. It won’t be forever. Your father will come for you.
When the social worker took them away, Ksenia began crying, clinging to Matvey. Jana turned toward the window and did not allow herself to change her mind.
Outside, a cold wind blew. She took out her phone. The first call was to her mother-in-law.
— Jana? Why are you calling so early? Roman said you just had a fight…
— Your daughter left two children at my place an hour ago and flew off on vacation — Jana interrupted coldly. — I have just handed them over to the police. They are in a child welfare facility.
Silence fell on the other end. Then a scream.
— Have you lost your mind?! Our own grandchildren?!
— Your son and daughter are frauds, ma’am. They took my money. If you don’t want Olga to lose custody of her children, call them. Goodbye.
She hung up and blocked the number.
The next call was to the apartment owner.
Jana returned home. She packed into three sports bags: clothes, laptop, dishes. Everything that was hers. Roman’s belongings she packed into cardboard boxes. She didn’t destroy anything. She simply removed what wasn’t hers.
When the owner arrived and returned the deposit, Jana placed the boxes in the hallway.
The neighbor, Tamara, peeked out.
— Where are you going, dear?
Jana briefly explained.
— You’re doing the right thing — the woman nodded. — No need to tolerate that.
The taxi stopped in front of the building almost two weeks later. Roman and Olga got out laughing, unloading their suitcases.
— I’ll give her a necklace and she’ll forgive me — Roman smirked. — She’s like that.
They went upstairs. The key didn’t turn.
Tamara opened the door.
— The apartment has been rekeyed. Jana moved out completely.
The boxes stood in the corner. A letter lay on top:
“The lease is terminated. Your things are here. You are blocked. Divorce papers will be mailed to your mother’s address.”
The children…?
— They were in a social facility — the neighbor said. — Then their father took them and filed a report.
Olga collapsed onto her suitcase.
Roman just stood there, unable to speak for the first time in his life.
The consequences came quickly. Roman sank into debt, Olga lost custody of the children, and Jana began a new life in a smaller apartment, with a better job, silence, and freedom.
And no one ever again asked her to sacrifice herself for someone else’s comfort.
