The wind howled like a wild animal, the kind that doesn’t care about who it devours. Snowflakes were whipped into a frenzy, catching the light from the streetlamps, twirling in the frigid night air like dancers in ghostly white gowns. In the chaos of the storm, Maria stood still, her heart racing, eyes fixed on the fourth-floor window. Any moment now, Andrzej would return from his business trip.
She didn’t know what she expected, but the night had already promised nothing but trouble.
It had been ten years since they met. Ten years since they were two university students—she, a bright-eyed philology major, and he, a promising economist. Their love story had been straight out of a novel—passionate, impulsive, leading them to marriage and the birth of their son, Kacper. At first, it had been perfect. The kind of love that people envy. But in the last two years, it all began to crumble, like an old book losing its pages.
“Mommy, is Dad really coming back today?” Kacper asked, his tiny hand tugging at her sleeve.
“Yes, honey,” she said, though her voice wavered despite her efforts. She forced a smile. “Let’s make him a cabbage pie! Just the way he likes it.”
Kacper beamed. “We will!” he said, his innocence enough to soften Maria’s heavy heart, if only for a moment.
The smell of the pie began to fill the small kitchen, taking Maria back to the past. She remembered how Andrzej once kissed her forehead and said, “The house should smell like childhood—like my mother’s pie.” His mother, Nina, had lived with them for three years after the storm. Though demanding and strict, she had been the only person Andrzej respected, the only one whose opinions mattered.
The door slammed shut.
Maria’s heart skipped a beat.
Andrzej stood in the doorway, his tired face unshaven, his clothes unkempt, smelling of something foreign, someone else’s perfume. It wasn’t the homecoming she had imagined.
“What’s for dinner?” he grumbled, ignoring his son, who ran to him eagerly.
“Daddy!” Kacper cried, arms outstretched, but Andrzej pushed him away with a sigh.
“Not now. I’m tired,” he muttered. “What’s this dumpling for? Wasting food and money.”
Maria didn’t reply. It was better that way. She silently served the meal, the only sound breaking the tension being the clink of cutlery on the plates and Nina’s gentle voice as she told Kacper a story about her own childhood.
“And how was your trip?” Maria asked, her voice cautious.
“Good,” Andrzej answered gruffly. “And don’t trip.”
Maria’s breath hitched. “But what—?”
“What?” Andrzej snapped, eyes blazing. “Are you following me? You’re just like a shadow! Always watching, always questioning!”
Kacper curled up on Nina’s lap, sensing the tension, but still hopeful for a moment of peace. Nina sighed, looking at her son with weary eyes.
“Andrew, Masha is just worried…” Nina said gently.
“And you? You too?!” Andrzej exploded. “Everyone is against me!”
The phone rang.
Andrzej turned sharply and walked toward the foyer. Maria could hear the voice clearly, even without seeing her. “Alona,” she thought. It wasn’t the first time she’d heard the name, but it was the first time it felt like a punch to her gut.
His back was to her as he talked. And when he turned back, his face was darker than ever.
“THE END!” he yelled, his voice sharp as a blade. “Take this piece of trash and GET OUT!”
“Andrew, please—” Nina cried, but her words were swallowed by his rage.
“SHUT UP, MOTHER!” he roared.
In an instant, he grabbed Maria by the arm and shoved her toward the door. Kacper ran after them, crying, but Andrzej didn’t care. He was done.
“Spend your winter in the gutter!” he yelled, pushing them outside into the storm.
The door slammed shut behind them, and the world outside was cold—colder than anything Maria had ever felt. The blizzard swallowed them whole.
She held Kacper tightly in her arms, his small body trembling in the cold. “It’s okay, sweetheart,” she whispered through clenched teeth. “We’ll be okay. I promise.”
But Maria knew in her heart that nothing would ever be the same again. The storm outside was nothing compared to the storm inside her heart.