\u23f1 ~3 min reading<\/p>\n\n\n
Ulyana heard the jingling of keys and the rustling of packages in the hallway. It was her mother coming home from work. Ulyana was about to run out with her drawing folder to show her the new cat she had been drawing after lunch, but she stopped at the door.<\/p>\n\n
Mom stood in the hallway, her bag on the floor. Her eyes seemed slightly closed\u2014not sleepy, but quiet. Like after a long, long day. There were raindrops on her shoulders, a thin wrinkle on her forehead that hadn't been there this morning.<\/p>\n\n
Ulyana hid the folder behind her back.<\/p>\n\n
\u2014 Mom.<\/p>\n\n
\u2014 Hello, swallow.<\/p>\n\n
Mom smiled. But Ulyana saw: the smile didn't reach her eyes. It stopped somewhere - at the corners of her lips.<\/p>\n\n
\u2014 Are you tired?<\/p>\n\n
\u2014 A little. There was a lot of work.<\/p>\n\n
Ulyana thought. Once, when she herself came home from kindergarten tired, her mother would sit her on her lap, stroke her head, and speak softly, just for her. And the fatigue would leave\u2014as if it were flowing out of her chest.<\/p>\n\n
Ulyana ran up. She wrapped her arms around her mother \u2014 as far as she could reach. She leaned her cheek against her mother's sweater. The sweater smelled of rain, the subway, and a little of the perfume that her mother had sprayed on her that morning.<\/p>\n\n
\u2014 I'll hug you.<\/p>\n\n
Mom didn't say anything. She put her hands on Ulyana's back. At first lightly. Then more firmly.<\/p>\n\n
They stood like that \u2014 Ulyana and her mother \u2014 in the hallway, among the scattered keys and packages. They stood for a long time. Without a word.<\/p>\n\n
When Ulyana finally pulled away, she saw that something had changed in her mother's eyes. They had become deeper. It was as if a little light had returned there.<\/p>\n\n
"Mom. Do you want me to read to you?"<\/p>\n\n
"You don't know how to read yet, swallow.".<\/p>\n\n
- I look at the pictures. I'll think of it.<\/p>\n\n
Mom laughed\u2014a real laugh, with her eyes.<\/p>\n\n
\u2014 Let me change, and let's go to the sofa.<\/p>\n\n
Ulyana ran to get everything ready. She brought a big book from the shelf \u2014 about a hedgehog who got lost in the forest. She brought a small pillow \u2014 my mother's favorite, with embroidered daisies. She brought a blanket \u2014 soft as a cloud.<\/p>\n\n
When mom sat down, Ulyana sat down next to her and opened a book.<\/p>\n\n
"Once upon a time there was a hedgehog," Ulyana began. "And one day he went into the forest to pick mushrooms..."<\/p>\n\n
She was telling stories. Everything she saw in the pictures. Sometimes she got it wrong, sometimes she made up something completely new. Mom listened. Her head tilted a little to the side. Her eyes were closed.<\/p>\n\n
Ulyana saw that her mother was falling asleep. She fell silent. She put the book on her lap. She pulled the blanket up to her chin with her mother's hand. She herself sat down next to her, her cheek against her mother's shoulder.<\/p>\n\n
Soft evening light shone through the window. The clock ticked quietly in the kitchen. Mom breathed evenly\u2014deeply, as only someone who was truly resting could breathe.<\/p>\n\n
When Dad came an hour later, he found the two of them on the couch. Ulyana wasn't asleep - she was lying there, looking at the ceiling and smiling a little.<\/p>\n\n
"Dad," she whispered. "Mom was very tired." I hugged her.<\/p>\n\n
Dad squatted down. He stroked Ulyana's head.<\/p>\n\n
\u2014 You're a good boy, daughter.<\/p>\n\n
\u2014 And I also told her a story. In my opinion.<\/p>\n\n
Dad laughed softly.<\/p>\n\n
Then, carefully \u2014 so as not to wake her \u2014 he brought a blanket. He covered her. He took Ulyana in his arms and carried her to the kitchen to have dinner.<\/p>\n\n
On the way, Ulyana whispered:<\/p>\n\n
\u2014 Dad, the hug is strong, right?<\/p>\n\n
\u2014 Strongest of all, swallow.<\/p>\n\n\n
\ud83d\udca1 Hugs cure the greatest fatigue.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n
Mom came home from work with quiet eyes. Ulyana didn't run away with a toy - she ran away with hugs.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":3282,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","rank_math_description":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":""},"class_list":["post-2345","istoriya","type-istoriya","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/istoriya\/2345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/istoriya"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/istoriya"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}