Katya opened the banking app and immediately closed it. It was unclear what she expected to see in her account, perhaps some New Year’s miracle. But no, the money was still scarce.
Yes, she had received her salary a few days ago. But most of the money was already spent. She paid the utility bills (even though late), saved money for the kindergarten fee next month, bought winter boots for her son, paid off a loan, and bought groceries. And that was it—there were only some spare change left.
If it had been any other month, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. But it was December, with New Year’s looming ahead. And Katya understood that no miracle would happen.
Her son, Egor, was asleep in the room. He had dreamed of a robot from Father Frost. The robot cost just two thousand rubles, but Katya simply didn’t have that much money.
She never imagined she would end up in such a difficult situation. Just two years ago, everything was great. They lived together—her, her husband, and their son. There was stability, and they had plans for the future. But then her husband took out a big loan for his business, thinking he had it all figured out. But you can never predict everything. And her husband failed to account for the fact that all people are mortal.
He died in an accident when he lost control of the car in the winter. After his death, Katya inherited not just his car and apartment, but also his huge debts.
She sold the car and was able to pay off part of the debt. But everything else remained with her.
Katya didn’t earn much, so she had to give most of her money to cover the loan. She had to survive on the rest.
Katya even thought about selling the apartment but didn’t rush into it. If she paid off the debt, she would only have enough money to buy a room. Moving from her apartment to a room in a shared house would be the worst decision.
To make matters worse, Katya’s mother fell ill. If before she had been helping her financially, now Katya had to find money for her mother’s medication because the pension wasn’t enough.
For a whole year, Katya had lived in poverty. She bought second-hand clothes and shoes, and only bought groceries on sale. She dreamed of the day she would pay off the loan.
She was also afraid to look for another job. With this one, she could at least pick up her son from kindergarten without issues, and no one bothered her about taking sick leave. But what would happen at another job? It was scary to make a change when you had no support.
Luckily, Katya had a wonderful son, Egor, who, despite his young age, understood everything. He never asked his mother for anything, though Katya often saw him eyeing toys and treats in the store.
From her salary, Katya always tried to buy him something small to cheer him up. She bought candies or a small toy. She dreamed of giving him everything he wanted. But as long as the loan hung over her, that was impossible.
But Egor believed in Father Frost and genuinely hoped to receive that robot as a gift. Katya knew that either she would have to tell her six-year-old son that it was she who was buying him the presents, not Father Frost, or she would have to witness the disappointment in his eyes. Because no matter how much she tried, she simply couldn’t find an extra two thousand rubles. If only his boots hadn’t ripped…
And she also knew that all the other children would have huge sweet gifts for New Year’s, while Egor would only have a small bag of candy. She had been collecting it for months, saving one candy at a time when she bought them with her salary.
This life was incredibly hard. She still had two more years to pay off the loan. Two more years of having to limit herself in everything. And with school ahead, Katya dreaded how much she would have to buy. She needed to start saving money now to be able to gather the necessary amount by September.
A week before New Year’s, Katya and Egor went to the store. She tried to go there as little as possible to avoid spending money, so she always bought a lot at once.
But with New Year’s approaching, and her advance just received, she needed to buy something for the table.
And, as if by fate, that very robot was in their store! As soon as Egor saw it, he ran straight to it.
“This is the one I asked Father Frost for! He’ll give it to me, right?”
Katya wanted to cry. She calculated—she had only four thousand rubles until New Year’s, enough to last until her next paycheck. And with this money, she had to somehow survive for a whole week, prepare a New Year’s table, and buy some kind of gift for Egor. That robot, costing two thousand rubles, just couldn’t fit into the budget. But how could she tell her child?
“I don’t know, Egor… Maybe,” Katya mumbled…
“Mum, will we buy a cake for New Year’s?”
“Yes, we will,” she smiled. Yes, it was an expensive treat, but Egor only saw a cake twice a year. She would buy at least the cheapest one.
They walked around the store, searching for cheaper products. And, as if to add insult to injury, they ran out of laundry detergent and dishwashing liquid, as if there wasn’t already enough to spend before New Year. She also wanted to buy something to cheer up her mother, maybe just a tea set. Her mother was struggling, too.
Katya’s head was spinning from all the calculations. She wanted to take that four thousand rubles and buy everything she wished for. But she knew that wasn’t the right thing to do. She was responsible, at least for Egor, and she needed to make sure he had enough food until the next paycheck.
“Mum, look, Father Frost!” Egor suddenly shouted.
Katya turned around and saw a group of guys. One of them was indeed dressed as Father Frost. They seemed to be heading to a party, judging by the products and drinks in their cart.
Before Katya could say anything, Egor ran straight to him.
“Grandfather Frost, hello!” he shouted loudly. Everyone turned around and smiled. Katya sighed. She didn’t know how these guys would react.
The one dressed as Father Frost froze for a moment.
“It’s me, Egor! Did you recognize me? I wrote to you about my present!”
But the guy quickly recovered.
“Ah, Egor! Of course, I recognized you! Hello.”
“Hooray! Mum, he got my letter! He’ll definitely give me the robot!” Egor pointed at the display.
Katya froze. She didn’t expect such a setup.
“Of course, I got it,” the guy smiled. Then he met Katya’s confused gaze.
“Father Frost, can I ask you for something else…?”
Katya realized this was a failure. She would probably have to borrow money from somewhere. But how would she pay it back?
“Of course, what do you want?”
“We don’t have enough money, me and my mum,” the boy said more quietly. Katya immediately blushed. She wanted to drop the basket, grab Egor, and run out of there.
“Could you give us something tasty for New Year’s?”
The guys exchanged glances. Katya measured and walked over to Egor.
“Sweetie, I think Father Frost has a lot of work to do. You know how many kids there are who also need presents, right? Let’s not distract him.”
“Okay,” her son said, stretching. “Thank you, Father Frost! I always believed in you! Even when Lenka from my kindergarten said you didn’t exist, I fought with her! Even though I like her.”
Before Egor could say anything more, Katya quickly pulled him away, whispering to the guys, “Sorry.”
They continued walking around the store. Katya couldn’t collect her thoughts. She didn’t know what to do. Borrow money to make her son happy for New Year, or let him face reality so early?
The checkout was crowded. Although there was still a week until New Year’s, people were already shopping. It was clear that in today’s world, shelves wouldn’t be empty right before the holidays, but people were clearly still worried about it.
When Katya finally checked out and headed for the exit, she saw the group of guys again. She felt embarrassed. Not for Egor—he was just a child. But for the fact that strangers now knew about her difficult situation.
She wanted to slip past them quickly, but the guy dressed as Father Frost called out to them.
“Oh, Egor, I’m waiting for you!”
“Me?” the boy asked breathlessly.
“Yes, yes, you. I thought I wouldn’t make it to give presents to all the children for New Year’s, so I started giving them out early. Here, take this, it’s for you!”
Katya’s eyes widened. This stranger was handing Egor the very robot he wanted, worth two thousand rubles!
“Is this for me?” the boy asked in disbelief.
“Of course, it’s for you! You wanted it, didn’t you?”
Egor nodded, holding the robot close to his chest.
“Oh yes, here’s the second part of the gift.”
He pulled a bag from their cart and handed it to Katya.
“This is for the New Year’s table.”
“Sweetie, please watch the things,” Katya asked, leading him aside. Then she approached the guy.
“Sorry, I don’t have money for all this…”
“Father Frost never asks for money, didn’t you know?” he grinned.
“I can’t accept it,” Katya whispered. “It’s all too expensive.”
“It’s just a New Year’s miracle,” the stranger said. “Everything will be fine, just believe.”
Then he left with his friends.
At home, Katya unpacked the bag, pulling out expensive food items. There was even caviar, something she hadn’t had since her husband was alive, and everything was good.
Unable to hold back, Katya cried. Maybe she needed this New Year’s miracle more than she thought—it gave her strength. It helped her believe she could handle everything.
And she did. Soon, some acquaintances offered her a better job, and she took the risk and left. Life got easier. And when she finally paid off the loan, everything was back on track.
And whenever things got tough, she remembered that day, a week before New Year’s. That evening, she had believed in Father Frost herself. She also believed that miracles happen. And no matter how hard it gets, you should never give up, because if you really want something, it will happen. Just like that time when Egor really wanted that robot.