(The following is a letter that a woman sent to Julia Biryukova, via Biryukova’s attorney. Biryukova is the mother of missing 2-year-old Sky Metalwala. The boy’s father lives in Kirkland).

Hello Julia, I have never met you, and know your story from the newspapers only. I just want to let you know that I feel sorry for you and I believe that you love your children. I pray for you every day like I pray for myself, any other Russian or Ukrainian mother in U.S. who was separated from her children. Please know that you are not the only one, I met seven other women from Russia and Ukraine who were deprived of the custody for their children during the divorce process. They all had an attorney.

My married life was not great also. My husband started an affair at work awhile ago, after my little one was born. He started to call me “fat,” making fun of me on a daily basis. I asked him for the divorce several times, and asked him to vacate the house. I did not work at that time, taking care of the little one, and driving the older one to school every day. I started to look for a job that would allow me to have a flexible schedule since it would be hard to be a single mom with two kids and to  work regular hours. I also enrolled my little one in a nice daycare. My husband told me that he found a better daycare and I should not argue since he is a father and a breadwinner. The daycare was awful, and I could not find a reason for him making such a bad decision. As I found out, later his mistress-coworker had her two kids at the same daycare, and it was convenient for my husband to pick her and her kids up in the morning, drop off all the kids at the daycare, carpool with her to work and from work, adjusting my baby to the new mother. I could feel that something was really wrong, since my husband slept in the garage for several months. It all made me really unhappy, but I was embarrassed to talk to anyone about my family situation, because my husband also told me that since I do not have any family up here, and no money, no one will listen to me.

He also started to destroy my older child, making fun of me in front of him, telling him that his mom is stupid, books are damned, and I should not tell him to study when he wants to just have fun.

My husband transferred my older son to a different school, removing me from the contact list, leaving as a contact person himself and his mistress only. When I showed up at school in January after the winter break, the school assistant principal called the police, even though I explained the situation. The police told me to leave.

I was kicked out of my house, I did not have anything, and had to buy everything new. I slept on an air mattress for the past few months at the house of my older son’s classmate. I work, and I bought groceries for my kids several times in the past weeks, paid for school lunches, took the kids to the doctor, etc. My husband’s mistress went to Mexico for a few days, she got a new car, she and her kids sleep in my house, and eat the food I buy for my kids. The neighbors told me that almost every night they can see my husband and his mistress in the living room making out on the couch with kids in the living room, and my baby on the floor. I tried to call her after I found her phone number from the school contact list and she was very rude. I sent her a few text messages telling her that she can have my husband, but they asked me for $1400 a month in child support. She even filed for an anti-harassment order against me.

I decided that I needed to get an attorney who will advocate for me and my kids. I did not have money, but I asked my friends to raise money for me and got the retainer. I was really happy after I met with the attorney and she promised me that she will fight for me and my kids, and will get me back to the house, and I will be with my kids. I did everything she asked me to do.

However, she’s never done what she promised, and I got really scared. I realized that I cannot trust her anymore, and she will never advocate for me and my children. I fired her because I realized that no one will care more about my children than their mother.

And if you love your children I do not want you to give up on them because you are, after all, their mother! You are a beautiful, young, Ukrainian woman, and I know Ukrainians very well – they cannot live without their children, and for a woman to be deprived of parental rights is like having leprosy. Pull yourself up, stop crying, and think about your kids. Think about them not receiving birthday cards or Christmas presents from their mama and questioning themselves about what they have done so bad that mama does not want to see them.

And know that not everyone hates you, and if you ever want to cry or talk about nothing, or get a coffee, give me a call. Know that you can fire your attorney even if she told you that she knows better what to do. You are not alone, and I will continue to pray for you and your children. And I hope that I will be safe as well as my kids.

Tatiana Williams, Kenmore