Ten-year-old Grisha was in high spirits as he made his way home from school.
He skipped along the riverbank where the last of the ice had melted, and tender green grass curled along the edges. But his cheerful mood shifted when he saw an elderly woman nearby, soaked to the bone, trembling, and crying.
“Hello! Are you okay?” he asked, spotting a pile of drenched clothes beside her. “Did you fall into the river?”
“Oh, child, I wasn’t clumsy—I was pushed,” the woman replied through tears. “I just can’t believe how cruel people can be. I was trying to reach the village to find some warmth, but I got such a terrible cramp, I couldn’t breathe or move another step.”
“Hold on, Grandma—I’ll be back!” Grisha shouted as he turned and sprinted toward the village.
He burst through the door of his home. “Mama! There’s a woman down by the river—she’s soaked and freezing! She said someone pushed her in, and now she can’t walk. I want to bring her something warm!”
Grisha dashed outside, dragging the four-wheeled cart that his mother, Lyudmila, usually used to deliver milk to the main road. She covered the cart with a thick sheepskin and added her late husband’s coat, then rushed with her son back to the riverbank.
The elderly woman, no longer sitting, now lay curled up on the grass, her whole body trembling.
Lyudmila quickly wrapped her in warm clothes, lifted her gently onto the cart, and took her home.
After a hot bath, a warm meal, and some tea, the woman—Ksenia Petrovna—was finally calm, though overwhelmed with gratitude. While Grisha went to play, Lyudmila sat beside her and asked what had happened.
“I used to live with my eldest son,” Ksenia began. “Life was good while his first wife, Lenochka, was around. She was a kind nurse, always taking care of me and making sure I had my medicine. When she got sick, he hired help and eventually moved her to a hospice. After her passing, he remarried six months later to a young model named Mila. She disliked me from the start and made it clear I was a burden.”
Ksenia explained how Mila threw away her medications and isolated herself when her son left on a trip. “One day, I asked to be taken to my younger son in the village. She screamed at first, but agreed. I packed my suitcase, but she handed me a flimsy paper bag instead. When we got to the bridge, she stopped the car and pushed me into the river. Then she drove away.”
Lyudmila was horrified and wanted to report it to the police, but Ksenia firmly declined.
Instead, Lyudmila said warmly, “Stay with us until Saturday. Then we’ll get you to your younger son.”
Ksenia began to feel stronger. She offered to help Grisha with his schoolwork, mentioning she had once been a teacher in Lozovaya.
A few days later, freshly dressed and radiant, Ksenia attended a local school event with Lyudmila.
During the celebration for the school’s tenth anniversary, a jeep pulled up, and a man named Viktor Rudkovsky stepped out to honor the teachers. A hush fell over the crowd when one educator stood up and announced, “Today, we welcome a very special guest—our beloved first teacher, Ksenia Petrovna Rudkovskaya!”
Viktor rushed to her side, embraced her, and helped her onto the stage. Later, away from the crowd, they hugged tightly—mother and son reunited.
The next morning, Viktor showed up at Lyudmila’s gate with a grand bouquet. “Good morning, Lyudmila! Mom and I would love for you and Grisha to join us for dinner tonight,” he said, offering the flowers.
By evening, he had delivered a brand-new milking machine and asked to see the barn. He brought fruit and surprised Grisha with a bicycle.
“Is this really mine? Forever?” the boy asked in disbelief.
From that day on, Viktor visited regularly.
Sometimes he came alone, offering help around the house and showing genuine interest in Lyudmila’s life. Ksenia often cooked something special when he came.
By the end of June, Viktor and Lyudmila were married. He moved all his belongings to Lozovaya, rented out his house, and transferred Grisha to the local school. The following summer, they celebrated Viktor’s birthday—but Lyudmila couldn’t attend.
She had just given birth to their second son, little Stepan.
