92 Kids

What Did I Know About Horror Before?

I thought I knew every shade and variation of horror... I was wrong.

When Luka called us, sobbing and begging us to save his sister, we rushed home immediately. The scene that greeted us there made the blood freeze in my veins and turned my soul to ice.

In the children's bathroom lay Masha, deathly pale. Her face was covered in blood, as were her hands, the sink, and the floor... And even though the girl was unconscious, blood was still slowly trickling from her nose, forming a small puddle beneath her head.

So this was the kind of terror Denis had deprived me of and Nazar had given me instead: the mortal fear for your children. Because alongside the joy of motherhood, alongside admiration, pride, and immeasurable love for your children, walks that damned fear hand in hand.

I had never been so afraid for myself as I was for Masha at that moment.

I stood there in shock, covering my mouth with my hand, on the verge of breaking down from despair and panic. Nazar was beside our daughter in the same second, lifting her fragile body and trying to bring her back to consciousness.

"Anya! Anya!" my beloved called out, and I finally pulled myself together and grabbed my phone to call an ambulance.

I soaked a towel and crouched beside them, trying to wipe the little girl's face and maybe bring her around.

"I told her!" Luka cried, sitting on the floor with his knees hugged to his chest. "I asked her so many times to tell you everything! Is she going to die now?"

That question made even me feel sick, because we had no idea what was wrong with her. The child's eyes, full of despair, fear for his sister, and complete confusion, looked at us waiting for an answer.

"No!" Nazar stepped in. "We're going to save our Masha. She's a fighter. She'll pull through."

We heard the wail of sirens, and I ran to open the door.

They took the girl and loaded her into the ambulance.

When we arrived at the hospital and Masha was taken into intensive care, I finally allowed myself to break down for a moment, shaking with sobs against my beloved's chest.

He himself stood there pale and grim-faced, but still comforting Luka and me.

But the worst off, of course, was Luka.

The boy had completely withdrawn into himself. I sat beside him, hugging him tightly and stroking his hair, telling him everything would be alright.

Nazar called Kirill and asked him to take Luka so he could stay with them for a while. I thought some nanny would come, and I was genuinely surprised when Kirill and Vicky showed up at the hospital straight from the event.

They were deeply worried about the little girl, took Luka with them, and asked us to call as soon as we learned anything.

And then another circle of hell began.

Once the medical staff learned our names and the children's names, they quickly realized we weren't their parents. Nobody wanted to tell us anything. They called the police and social services.

If Nazar managed to handle things with the police officers, it was a little different with the social worker.

Seeing that we were genuinely worried about Masha, an older woman sighed heavily and led us into a waiting room where we were alone.

"My name is Elena Egorovna, and these children are under my supervision," the woman said sternly. "Tell me, where is Luka right now?"

That question immediately pissed Nazar off.

"Exactly where he needs to be. He's safe, because he didn't need to be in the hospital."

"Watch your tone," the woman shot back, then sighed tiredly. "I'm not your enemy."

"What's wrong with Masha?" I asked in a trembling voice, looking at Elena pleadingly.

"She has acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood cancer, in other words."

The woman looked at us sadly.

At those words, I sobbed, while Nazar cursed and raked his fingers through his hair.

It felt as if a vise had clamped around my chest, cutting off all air as tears poured from my eyes.

I wanted to scream and howl at the unfairness of it.

How could this happen?

She's still just a child!

As if life with her parents hadn't been cruel enough, now this too?

Nazar hugged me tightly, and I realized the woman still had more to tell us.

"I know they have an official guardian. Their aunt," my beloved admitted.

Elena Egorovna nodded.

"Yes. Their mother lost her parental rights several years ago," the woman began her awful story. "The children were placed in an orphanage, but they kept running away. Then Masha received her diagnosis. While she was still under the orphanage's care, she received treatment, and she was actually showing very good progress."

The social worker sighed.

"But one day their aunt showed up and expressed a desire to take guardianship of the children. I can only assume she learned about the girl's illness, and you understand... The state pays some money for disability benefits. Plus, taking guardianship of two children at once also comes with payments to the guardian."

The longer Elena Egorovna talked, the worse I felt.

And I thought my life was hard?

That my problems were the worst and most unsolvable?

God, how wrong I had been...