Roots

## **“”**

### I. Helena (1946–1972)

Helena married because it was the right thing to do. She was twenty-one, worked at the municipal office, and was tired of the war, though she remembered it more from stories than from her own memories. Stanisław was calm, seven years older, had a profession, and inherited land from his parents. That was enough.

She didn't love him. But she also didn't know what love was like.

She gave birth to two children: Zofia and Jan. The house stood on the edge of the village, with a garden that always needed work. Helena was tough. Not out of affection, but out of necessity. Children were supposed to be “proper.” Emotions were a luxury.

When Stanisław died suddenly of a heart condition, Helena didn't cry by the coffin. She only cried at night, when no one was watching. And then, for the first time, she realized that she had spent her entire life alone.

### II. Zofia (1965–1995)

Zofia grew up quickly. Too quickly. She helped her mother, took care of her brother. She was the "sensible one." She never caused trouble.

She went to the city for college and married Paweł—an ambitious, cool man who knew what he wanted. He wanted stability. Zofia gave him everything she had.

She gave birth to a daughter, Anna. Then another, Marta. She quit her job because "it would be better for the family." Over time, she stopped knowing who she was actually living for.

Paweł cheated on her for a long time, but discreetly. When he finally left, he said, "I'm sorry, but I'm suffocating."

Zofia was left with the children and the feeling that she had failed again—though she didn't know exactly how.

### III. Jan (1968–2001)

Jan was different. He ran away. From the village, from his mother, from responsibility. In the city, he took on various jobs, leading an intense, chaotic life.

He married young. Divorced even sooner. He had a son he rarely saw. He didn't know how to be a father—no one taught him that.

He died in a car accident at thirty-three. Helena outlived him by six years. She never came to terms with his death. Silence took her.

### IV. Anna (1987–2015)

Anna grew up in a house full of women. Her grandmother was tough, her mother tired, her aunt absent. She learned to observe.

She went abroad. She worked hard, long hours. She married a man who gave her space, but not closeness. She gave birth to a son.

When she returned to Poland after Helena's grandmother's death, she felt the weight of her hometown. The house stood empty, but full of history.

Anna began asking questions. Things no one had asked before.

### V. Marta (1990–2020)

Marta stayed. She was always the one who stayed. She cared for her mother, worked locally, and had short relationships.

She was sensitive, but she learned to hide it. She felt she was living someone else's life, but she couldn't escape it.

She died suddenly—of an aneurysm. She was thirty years old.

Zofia was left alone for the second time. And for the second time, she felt she no longer had the strength to be strong.

### VI. Zofia After All (2020–2028)

Zofia moved into her mother's old house. Slowly. Carefully. She looked through photos, letters, documents.

She realized that all the women in this family lived similarly: responsibly, quietly, for others. Without room for herself.

She began writing. First for herself. Then for Anna.

There were no accusations. There was understanding.

### VII. The Next Generation (2030–)

Anna's son grew up differently. He knew where he came from. He knew stories that had never been told before.

Anna sold her house. But she didn't sell her memory.

Zofia died peacefully. In bed. With pages written in tiny handwriting on her bedside table.

Not everything was fixed. Not everything was named. But something was brought to closure.

### VIII. Epilogue

Family isn't made up of people who always understand each other. It's made up of people who carry each other—sometimes unconsciously—through generations.

Some stay. Others flee. But they all leave something behind.

Roots aren't always comfortable.

But without them, you can't move on.

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