Normally Artyom.
Sometimes, yes.
And that day, as was later learned, they decided that my son would pay.
The guard was standing at the door.
The nurse called the doctor on duty.
I saw that one of the employees was already taking a step towards me.
The mother-in-law played with precision.
Tears in her voice.
Tear.
Words about psychosis.
After giving birth, this takes on special significance for those who see you for the first time.
The hair is disheveled.
The face is pale.
My hands are trembling.
You scream.
You are covered in blood and pain.
It’s very convenient to become a dangerous woman.
I only had time to say:
—He hit me. He tried to take my son away.
Galina Petrovna interrupted:
— Look at her. She’s delirious. She’s been out of her mind for a long time.
And then the head of security looked at me more closely.
Not as a patient.
As if he were a familiar person.
Her face changed almost imperceptibly.
I probably wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t been used to reading facial expressions my whole life.
“Your Honor?” he said in a low voice.
The room became so quiet that I could hear the oxygen hissing behind the wall.
Galina Petrovna blinked.
She still doesn’t understand.
“Pardon?” he asked again.
The head of security straightened up.
— Judge Elena Vorontsova. Federal District Court.
He said it without emphasis.
But it was precisely that simplicity that broke everything.
The mother-in-law turned so pale so quickly that it looked as if her bones had been ripped out.
Leo started crying again.
Stronger this time.
One of the guards approached her cautiously.
— Hand the child over to the nurse.
She didn’t let go of him.
For the first time, I saw real fear in her.
I am not afraid for my grandson.
Fear for oneself.
“There’s some kind of mistake,” she said, her lips dry. “She… she doesn’t do anything. She stays home.”
