Four years later.
The morning in this small city were quieter. The building was smaller, the streets slower. liked that.
He opened the window of their tiny apartment am let the fresh breeze in. Somewhere downstairs a dog barked. Birds chirped on the power line. In the kitchen, a cartoon was playing softly.
''Matev, finish your milk baby!'' Lev called.
''I don't like it,'' came a tiny voice from behind the couch.
Lev sighed, laughing. ''You said that yesterday. And the day before. And guess what? it still good for your bones,''
A little head peeked out--- messy brown curls, big hazel eyes full of stubbornness and mischief. ''You didn't finish your coffee either,'' Matev said seriously.
Lev blinked. 'That because papa was too busy chasing someone who put peanut butter in washing machine.''
Matev giggled and climbed up to the kitchen chair with a dramatic flop. ''Oops.''
Lev ruffled his hair, smiling so softly it almost hurt. ''You're lucky you're cute, little man.''
Their life wasn't big. But it was theirs------------------
Lev worked two jobs- one part-time at a bookstore, the other helping at a bakery three nights a week. He took online classes too, slowly finishing the degree he had to leave behind.
Their apartment had just one bedroom. A squeaky fan. A fridge that was made strange noises. But it was filled with Matev's drawings on the fridge, Lev's old sketchbooks, and the quiet, steady rhythm of a small family holding itself together.
Some nights were hard. Bills. Exhaustion. Loneliness. But most nights, Lev lay beside his son, his arm around that tiny body, and whispered, ''You're the best things that ever happened to me.'' flashback spinning front of Lev eyes doctor say if you abort baby, it complicated your health your future pregnancy, then Lev decide he want baby.
Matev was four now--------------------
He looked nothing like Lev- and everything like Dimitri. Lev had known that from the very first ultrasound.
Same serious eyebrows. Same proud little chin. Same sharp eyes that scanned everything like they were figuring out a puzzle.
''Who's was my Daddy?'' Matev had asked once, when he was three.
Lev had paused. Fake smile ''He was someone...strong.
''Will he come one day?''
Lev had swallowed the lump in his throat.
''Yes, baby because Matev so cute''
Matev had just nodded, like he understand. Then climbed into Lev's lap and said, ''Am waiting''
Lev had cried in the bathroom that night, quietly because he knows its impossible.
But today...felt different--------------------
There was something in the air. Lev didn't know why-------but a strange feeling sat heavy in his chest all morning.
He kissed Matev's forehead, packed his little backpack, and held his tiny hand as they left for the day.
Just another Monday.
Just other walks to the bus stop.
But fate.......had something else in mind.