On my beloved’s birthday, I prepared a surprise for him in our bedroom and hid myself, waiting for him to find it. But what I saw next shocked me so deeply that, even now, I still can’t recover from it…

Olga could hardly wait for him to come home from work.

She had put so much effort into this day because today was her beloved Kolya’s birthday. All day long, Olga had been cutting flowers and arrows out of colorful paper, writing little notes, and making a large poster with the words: **”Happy Birthday, My Love!”**

Her plan was absolutely brilliant.

Kolya would walk into the house and immediately notice the colorful arrows laid out on the floor in the entryway.

The arrows would lead him through the house until he reached a cabinet in one of the rooms, where he would find a note telling him what to open next.

Each new hiding place contained another note. They were tucked inside cabinets, drawers, even the microwave and the oven.

In the end, the notes would lead Kolya to the bedroom, where the entire floor was covered with flowers cut from brightly colored paper.

The “Happy Birthday, My Love!” poster hung on the wall, and a beautifully wrapped gift rested on the bed. Olga had put on a beautiful new dress and hidden behind the bedroom curtain.

She wanted to watch from her hiding place as Kolya unwrapped his present and saw the excitement on his face.

Then she would step out from behind the curtain, kiss him tightly, take him by the hand, and lead him into the garden, where a romantic dinner for two had already been set in the gazebo.

She imagined how surprised and delighted Kolya would be. After all, no one had ever done anything like this for him before. He was always so serious, so busy, constantly buried in work—and suddenly, all this romance…

He certainly wouldn’t be expecting it.

She smiled as she thought back to how they had met.

They hadn’t known each other very long. Their friends had introduced them at a party.

Olga and Kolya were complete opposites, but perhaps that was exactly why they had been drawn to each other. Things moved incredibly fast between them. Just two months after they met, Kolya asked her to move in with him.

They truly were very different people.

Her friends called her “the girl who turned everything into a celebration.”

She could transform even the smallest, most ordinary event into something special. She always came up with unique decorations, carefully planned every detail of the setting, the table arrangement, the room décor, even the colors of everyone’s outfits and all sorts of little surprises. And somehow she always did it effortlessly, as if it were second nature.

Olga found joy in every little thing, like a child.

Nikolai, on the other hand, was serious and composed. He almost never showed emotion and seemed completely incapable of romance.

Whenever Olga showed him another decoration she had made, another beautifully wrapped gift, or told him about a fun party she and her friends had organized for someone, he would simply smile with quiet amusement.

He smiled that same slightly condescending smile… and never said a word.

Olga could never figure out whether he actually liked any of it.

Her mother adored Nikolai.

“You are so lucky to have found him,” she always said. “He’s serious, dependable, successful. Hold on to a man like that. Stop acting like a child and grow up already.”

And finally, the day had come when Olga could throw a celebration for her beloved Kolya.

Her memories were interrupted by the sound of a car engine and the gate opening.

Kolya was home.

A few moments later she heard gravel crunching beneath his footsteps.

He had parked the car and was walking toward the house.

She froze behind the curtain.

She pictured him discovering the arrows, following the clues from room to room, and finally appearing in the bedroom doorway.

Half an hour passed.

Nikolai never came.

According to her plan, the entire treasure hunt should have taken no more than fifteen minutes.

Olga listened carefully.

No footsteps.

No sounds anywhere in the house.

She quietly stepped out from behind the curtain and cautiously peeked into the hallway.

Silence.

She went downstairs.

Kolya was sitting in the kitchen.

He had taken something from the refrigerator and had already started eating dinner.

Everything she had prepared had gone completely unnoticed.

“Where have you been?” Nikolai said irritably.

“I was hungry, so I started eating without you.”

Then he looked her over.

“Why are you all dressed up?”

“But… it’s your birthday,” Olga answered, confused.

“Oh, so you thought we’d be going out somewhere to celebrate?” he sneered.

“You women are all the same.

Doesn’t it matter to you that I work all day? That I’m exhausted by the time I get home?

You could’ve understood that instead of expecting me to drag myself to some restaurant.”

“I wasn’t planning that,” Olga replied, even more bewildered.

“You… didn’t notice anything?”

“What exactly was I supposed to notice?”

Olga gently took him by the hand and led him back to the entryway, where everything was supposed to begin.

He truly hadn’t noticed a thing.

She walked him through every hiding place, every note, until they finally reached the bedroom and the wrapped present.

“And… the birthday dinner is waiting for us in the gazebo,” she said softly.

Nikolai didn’t even unwrap the gift.

He turned sharply toward her.

“So this is the little show you decided to put on for me?

Are you ever going to grow up?

I’ve tolerated all your childish nonsense for a long time without saying a word.

But turning my birthday into a kindergarten game after I’ve worked all day?

Couldn’t you have just congratulated me like a normal person and served dinner?

Or are you simply incapable of acting like a normal adult?”

After shouting at her, Nikolai slammed the door and went downstairs.

Olga remained sitting on the bed.

She had no strength left to speak.

Or even move.

It felt as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over her.

After dinner, Nikolai deliberately went to sleep in his office.

Once he had fallen asleep, Olga quietly went downstairs, cleared away the untouched romantic dinner from the gazebo, cleaned the kitchen, then went back upstairs.

She quickly packed her belongings, called a taxi, and went back to her own apartment.

Her mother didn’t say anything when she arrived in the middle of the night.

But the next morning, Olga had to explain what had happened.

Her mother’s reaction left her stunned.

“What have you done now?” her mother exclaimed.

“Nikolai is absolutely right.

You simply refuse to grow up.

Have you ever considered that it’s time?

How old are you?

You found yourself such an incredible man, and you’re ruining everything with your own hands.

Honestly, you’re acting like a fool.

Go back immediately, make up with him, and finally learn how to behave like an adult.”

At first, Olga was speechless.

Then she gathered herself and finally said everything she had been holding inside.

“Listen, Mom.

First of all, I’m not going back.

Second, I’m not acting like a child.

I try to do nice things for the people I love, and I’ve always been good at that.

Third, if everything about me irritates him that much, why should I stay with him?

What I don’t understand is why he kept putting up with me for so long.

And one more thing.

Apparently I’m not good enough for you either.

Why are you attacking me?

I’m the one who was hurt.”

Olga turned away abruptly and hurried off to work before the argument could continue.

The next month passed in a blur.

Nikolai called constantly, demanding to meet.

She refused every time.

He called her mother several times too, probably hoping she would talk some sense into her “foolish daughter.”

Her mother never stopped trying to persuade her.

Day after day, it was always the same.

Like in Kipling:

“Day and night, day and night,
we march across Africa.
Day and night, day and night,
still across the same Africa.”

The person who truly supported Olga was Kostik, a longtime coworker.

Sometimes he’d invite her to a coffee shop.

Sometimes to the movies.

Sometimes dancing.

Sometimes just for a walk through the city.

Kind, familiar, warm… he simply felt like home.

Eventually, Olga told him everything that had happened.

“You know,” Kostik said after listening carefully, “he never actually needed *you*.

Sure, he was comfortable.

You cooked delicious meals.

You made the house cozy.

You took care of him.

But he didn’t need *you*.

He needed a housekeeper.

When a woman is truly loved, no one says things like that to her.

You don’t deliberately hurt the person you love.

You’re afraid of losing them.

So don’t be too upset.

You’re the girl who turns life into a celebration.

That’s who you are.

You’ll always be that way.

And that’s exactly why I like you.”

Kostik smiled so warmly that Olga felt something inside her begin to heal.

She stopped answering Nikolai’s calls.

She ignored her mother’s attempts to convince her to go back.

Life slowly settled into a new routine.

She and Kostik continued seeing each other from time to time.

She grew used to those meetings.

She looked forward to them.

Eventually she realized…

She had fallen for him.

But Kostik behaved as though they were simply close friends.

Everything changed unexpectedly.

Summer ended.

Autumn arrived.

One evening, Olga came home to find her mother waiting in the hallway.

In her hands was a bundle of colorful balloons.

“Oh, wonderful—another kindergarten stunt!” her mother complained.

“What kind of admirer comes up with ridiculous nonsense like this?”

She handed Olga a letter.

It was from Kostik.

Olga unfolded it and read:

*”Tomorrow I’m leaving for a month.*

*I can’t stay silent any longer.*

*I don’t want to be just your friend anymore because I’ve loved you for a long time.*

*You’re the girl who turns life into a celebration.*

*You’re happiness.*

*You’re sunshine.*

*I want to be with you.*

*I want to fly through life with you.*

*If you feel the same, simply let these balloons go from your balcony.*

*Shall we fly together?”*

“So you’ve found another fool just like yourself?” her mother shouted.

“There’s a perfectly respectable man who still wants you back.

With him, you’d be protected for the rest of your life.

And instead you’ve chosen… who knows what.

Will you finally start using your head?

And don’t you dare release those ridiculous balloons!

I won’t let you ruin your life!”

Her mother hurried into her room with the balloons and locked the door.

“Mom!

What are you doing?

Don’t you realize that *you’re* the one trying to ruin my life right now?

I’m not going back to someone who doesn’t need me, who hurts me, no matter how serious or successful he is.

Yes, I like this man.

And no, he’s not a fool!”

It was useless.

Her mother wouldn’t open the door.

Olga ran out of the apartment and raced down the stairs.

She searched frantically around the building, hoping to find Kostik.

He was nowhere to be seen.

She tried calling him.

He didn’t answer.

*Of course,* she thought.

*He thinks I rejected him.*

The next day, Kostik wasn’t at work.

He had left, just as he’d written.

That month felt unreal.

Olga lived the same routine every day.

Work.

Home.

Home.

Work.

Her relationship with her mother fell apart.

Seeing how miserable Olga had become, her mother finally seemed to realize she had gone too far.

But by then, it felt too late.

Olga tried calling Kostik several times.

He never answered.

She realized she couldn’t bear working beside him anymore, seeing him every day while believing she had lost him forever.

So she quit her job.

At her new workplace, everyone was kind.

Many people liked her.

They invited her out, but Olga always declined.

Her former coworkers eventually told her that Kostik had returned.

Several times she wanted to see him.

But she never found the courage.

Then one evening, after Olga came home, her mother suddenly asked,

“Has that young man… the one who sent you the balloons… come back yet?”

“Yes,” Olga answered.

“But what difference does that make?”

Her mother sighed.

“I made a terrible mistake.

I admit it.

Let’s try to fix it.

Go see him.

If you love him, don’t give up on that.

Please.”

“Mom… how do you imagine that’s supposed to happen?

He’s convinced I rejected him.

And I even quit my job.”

Her mother smiled.

“I imagine it like this…

Buy some balloons.”

Olga looked at her mother in confusion.

Then she stepped forward and hugged her.

Kostik walked out of his office building and saw her waiting.

Olga smiled at him.

In her hand was a bundle of colorful balloons.

He walked over.

“Shall we fly?” Olga asked with a smile.

She opened her hand.

The balloons soared joyfully into the sky, racing one another upward.

Kostik looked up, laughed with pure happiness, swept her into his arms, and spun her around.

“Let’s fly!”

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