The father left, abandoning his partner and their small child. It’s a story the world knows too well—so familiar it hardly raises eyebrows anymore. Society even mocks it: “He went out for bread and never came back.”

Sometimes, these absent fathers are even romanticized—cast as sailors, astronauts, secret agents. It’s a fantasy for the child, a softer version of the harsh truth: he left because he was selfish. It’s easier to imagine a heroic excuse than face the pain of being unwanted.

But what if the mother is the one who walks away?

That’s the question Alexey Dultsev found himself asking.

One morning, he sat at the kitchen table, head in his hands, listening to the tick of the clock.