![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ezzuye.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/484023428_614407348091992_1389807590812010399_n-907x1024.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Despite the scheduled intercity bus not being due to arrive for at least an hour\u2014or even an hour and a half, in case it got held up by one of the perennial village problems\u2014a lively group had already gathered at the bus stop.<\/p>\n
The conversation began with the weather, as it so often does in the countryside.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore lunch the sun blazes, and after midday, for several days now, the rain has been lashing down!\u201d sighed a woman of about seventy, wearing galoshes on her bare foot. \u201cYesterday I went out to weed the onions and came right back\u2014too damp. I thought it would dry by lunchtime, but at noon it was the same story! The garden will be overrun with grass right before our eyes!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly, Anna! The grass will grow up to our waists by the time the earth dries out!\u201d chimed in her slightly younger neighbor. Yawning, she added, \u201cAt least the cows will have plenty of room.\u201d<\/p>\n
A third woman, gazing dreamily into the distance, announced her plans:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter. If this weather holds for a few more days, I might go on an expedition for slippery jacks (mushrooms). Today my grandson is arriving, and tomorrow we\u2019ll take a walk to the pine grove. Maybe we\u2019ll pick some for frying, and if luck\u2019s on our side, even enough for pickling.\u201d<\/p>\n
A woman in a wide-brimmed hat and a stylish linen dress, who had been standing a little apart, perked up at these words:<\/p>\n
\u201cExcuse me, I couldn\u2019t help overhearing your conversation, and if it isn\u2019t too much trouble, could you tell me: where is the best place around here to go mushroom picking?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSee that little wood over there?\u201d replied the \u201cquiet hunting\u201d enthusiast in a friendly tone. \u201cThat\u2019s exactly where we usually go!\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna was surprised:<\/p>\n
\u201cReally, Maria, you\u2019re interested in mushrooms too? City folks usually aren\u2019t into that. They\u2019d rather have the store-bought ones\u2014without any aroma or flavor!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not doing it just for myself,\u201d Maria smiled. \u201cToday my daughter is supposed to send rubber boots and other clothes for her grandson. Can you imagine\u2014they sent him to the dacha in sneakers and without a windbreaker! Once everything\u2019s ready, I want to take him for a walk. I\u2019ll combine business with pleasure. Besides, I really crave genuine mushrooms, not those store-bought champignons!\u201d<\/p>\n
New people gradually joined the conversation among the women. Each had their own reasons for heading into the city or waiting for the bus. Some immediately announced their plans, while others merely greeted one another and took seats on the bench, triggering bouts of lively curiosity from the village\u2019s chief gossip, Anna.<\/p>\n
\u201cAndrey, where are you headed?\u201d she asked an elderly man leaning on a cane as he approached the stop.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo the city, where else!\u201d he grumbled in an angry tone. \u201cDo you think I just come here to admire you all?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOn business or just for fun?\u201d Anna pressed, but the man merely waved his hand, making it clear he wasn\u2019t about to offer any explanation.<\/p>\n
The arrival of the bus interrupted all the chatter. A typical bustle ensued, which subsided only after the bus departed back to the city.<\/p>\n
The early July sun, barely risen above the horizon, warmed everything softly and gently. The group of women moved toward the shop, which was already open. However, no one hurried inside. It was better to wait for fresh bread in the open air\u2014it was to be brought in from a neighboring village. These were blissful moments of rest, when there was no need to rush anywhere. For soon the season of provisions would begin, and then there would be no time for idle chatter, so it would be a shame not to take advantage of this brief lull.<\/p>\n
Maria, having received a bulky bag of her grandson\u2019s belongings from the driver, did not rush to her summer house\u2014whom she fondly called her \u201cresidence.\u201d Denis, as usual, wouldn\u2019t be roused before noon\u2014not even by a cannon! Settling on a bench near the shop, she addressed the local \u201cinformation bureau\u201d:<\/p>\n
\u201cCan someone tell me who here can fix an iron? Mine is broken\u2014it\u2019s not heating at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
The chief gossip immediately replied:<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, that\u2019s Andrey Alekseevich\u2014he\u2019s our jack-of-all-trades! Only, as you saw, he\u2019s gone to the city. But most likely he\u2019ll be back by this evening. His house is at the end of the central street, heading toward the water tower. You can\u2019t miss it\u2014the window frames are painted blue. He can fix almost anything. Well, except modern phones. Everything else, he handles with ease.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another local added:<\/p>\n
\u201cAndrey works diligently. True, you\u2019ll have to pay him for his work, though sometimes he accepts goods instead. For instance, he fixed my separator, and I gave him a jar of clarified butter and milk twice a week for a whole month. When my yogurt maker broke, he fixed that too. By the way, Mashenka, come by in the evening. There\u2019ll be some ryazhenka ready. Denis will be delighted, and we can stock up on milk. It\u2019s good for the kids to be out in the fresh air!\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna interrupted her friend, steering the conversation back to the handyman:<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s true\u2014Andrey\u2019s hands are golden, and he never refuses to help anyone, but he lives like a real miser. In winter, you can\u2019t even get a handful of snow out of him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t even start, Anya!\u201d supported the fellow mushroom enthusiast. \u201cWhere does he put his money? He\u2019s been wearing the same clothes for decades. He bakes his own bread, saying it\u2019s cheaper and more natural. Oh, what a miser! And in the next life, there won\u2019t be any pockets! Maybe he doesn\u2019t even know why he hoards it all!\u201d<\/p>\n
The cow\u2019s owner snorted:<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, you know how it goes\u2014everything comes out in the end! He\u2019ll probably tell everything to his granddaughter Nastya. She\u2019s the only one who visits him. His daughter is still resentful towards Andrey.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soon a car carrying pies arrived, delivering fresh bread from a mini-bakery, and after completing their shopping, the group dispersed throughout the village.<\/p>\n
Anna and Maria headed in one direction, and the chief gossip continued recounting Andrey\u2019s story:<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had a wife\u2014an absolute marvel! Lusenka Sokolova. I went to school with her. Oh, what a beauty! In her youth, her braid was\u2014I swear, I\u2019m not lying\u2014as thick as a hand. And her voice! Pure, clear, like that of Aida Vedishcheva. Many young men were smitten with her, but she chose Andrey. He came to our collective farm when they were building the farmstead. What can I say\u2014our farm was advanced, always among the regional leaders. Andrey worked as an electrician, married Lusa, and stayed here. Outwardly, they were the perfect family: a teetotal husband, Lusa the homemaker, and their daughter Verochka\u2014a beauty and a top student. But Andrey didn\u2019t appreciate any of it. He controlled everything, keeping them in an iron grip. After the wedding, Lusa even stopped singing. Her life gradually faded away. She wouldn\u2019t exchange a word with anyone\u2014not even with us, her friends. In the nineties, when everything fell apart, Lusa went to great lengths to feed the family. She used to go to the market in the district center, selling everything that grew in her garden. Vera helped her. And then people noticed that Lusa started to look frail\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
The women had long reached Maria\u2019s house, yet the \u201cdacha lady\u201d was so absorbed in the story that she wasn\u2019t in any hurry to leave. And Anna was delighted to have such an attentive listener.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Verochka finally raised the alarm and practically forced her mother to go to the city clinic, it turned out that pills were no longer enough. Surgery was required. Lusa later told me herself: the sum quoted by the doctor wasn\u2019t exorbitant, but it was impressive\u2014yes. However, the most terrifying thing was not even that. Lusa\u2019s chances of recovery with surgery were minimal, and Andrey refused to give any money, even though he had some. Vera pleaded with him to at least try to save her mother\u2014but he was unyielding. Lusa passed away around the May holidays. That year, Vera was finishing school, and, as you can imagine, her studies took a back seat. The teachers, however, tried not to hurt her feelings\u2014she still received good grades. After all, the girl had always been diligent. Just after the fortieth day since her mother\u2019s death, Vera stood before the guests and declared that from that moment on, her father no longer existed for her. We were all stunned. Such a quiet girl, yet full of courage. And Andrey didn\u2019t even bat an eyelash. Vera helped clear the table, and that very evening she left for the city hitchhiking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHer life turned out well. My daughter sometimes sees Vera in the city\u2014they maintain a good relationship. She married an ordinary worker and gave birth to a daughter, Nastya. Now she\u2019s probably about twenty. They all live together in a communal house. Vera and her husband never come to the village, but Nastya has been visiting her grandfather for several years now. The granddaughter has such a kind soul.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAh, fate\u2026\u201d Maria sighed, noticing her grandson strolling in the yard behind the fence. She hurried to say goodbye to her loquacious neighbor.<\/p>\n
While the villagers fussed over Andrey in the clinic, he sat in line, sensing that no good news awaited him. His strength was fading rapidly, and he noticed physical changes: walking was becoming increasingly difficult, and his weight was dropping so quickly that every week he had to tighten his belt around a new hole.<\/p>\n
The old man listened almost indifferently to the doctor, who pronounced his verdict:<\/p>\n
\u201cAt your age, surgery is no longer recommended. A course of chemotherapy is necessary, and then we\u2019ll see. Before your first visit, you need to prepare fresh tests and have an MRI done. The next appointment is in three weeks, but I wouldn\u2019t delay. Possibly, it would make sense to consult a private clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSpeak plainly, doctor: how much time do I have left? I want to get my affairs in order.\u201d<\/p>\n
The oncologist replied honestly:<\/p>\n
\u201cHalf a year, maybe a little more. But don\u2019t lose hope. Sometimes miracles happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrey nodded and bid farewell.<\/p>\n
Exiting the clinic, he reached the nearest bench and sat down, leaning on the stick that his granddaughter had once bought and brought him. The sun was beating down relentlessly. Now, it was pointless to try to avoid a sunburn\u2014if this was his last summer, why take extra precautions? Andrey had long decided not to fight the illness. He felt it was a fair retribution for refusing to help his wife when she asked for money for her treatment. Perhaps Lusa had had a chance to survive. Who now knows how things might have turned out?<\/p>\n
Bitterness and sorrow filled his heart.<\/p>\n
The man mentally thanked himself for his foresight: he had taken the documents for his house with him. He headed to a notary, but after visiting the first office he encountered, he decided not to approach that one. The notary seemed too young. \u201cSurely, no experience,\u201d thought Andrey, and he continued his search.<\/p>\n
Only in the third office did he find a suitable specialist. Yuri Pavlovich Skobinsky inspired trust: a man of middle age with a slight graying at the temples. Most importantly, he agreed to see Andrey alone, even removing his secretary.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, Andrey Alekseevich, I\u2019m listening carefully. What is it that you want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll speak frankly. I don\u2019t have long to live. Most likely, I\u2019ll see the New Year, and then I\u2019ll stand before God\u2019s court. I want to dispose of my property, but with some conditions. I have a daughter, but we\u2019ve been estranged for a long time. Therefore, I want to bequeath the house and plot to my granddaughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy law, if your daughter is incapable, she is entitled to a share of the property.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrey waved his hand dismissively:<\/p>\n
\u201cLet her have what she\u2019s entitled to. I\u2019m even ready to let her live in the house immediately after my death, without a six\u2011month waiting period. But the thing is, I want to leave my granddaughter more than just the house. I have some savings, but I doubt that she will be able to manage them properly. She\u2019s only twenty\u2014still a child. I\u2019m afraid she\u2019ll squander everything. However, she has potential, and I\u2019m sure that once she gets married and has a child, her priorities will change. After that, I believe she\u2019ll be able to manage the money wisely. Is it possible for you to hand her a letter from me when she sorts out the inheritance? In the letter, I\u2019ll specify the conditions for receiving these funds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf your conditions are legal, then everything is possible. What exactly do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNastya must find a husband and get married within a year. After that, she and her husband will have two years to become parents. If she does not fulfill this condition, the money should be donated to a charity to help cancer patients.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll do everything as you wish,\u201d the notary nodded. \u201cWould you like some tea or coffee? I need time to prepare the documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you, but just give me a piece of paper and a pen. I will write the letter for Nastya specifying where to find my savings.\u201d<\/p>\n
After finishing business with the notary, Andrey discovered that there were still several hours left before the bus departed for the village. He felt like visiting his daughter\u2014he had known her address for a long time. But judging by the way Nastya closed herself off when speaking of her mother, Vera still harbored deep resentment towards him. At least the granddaughter, despite the family disputes, continued to communicate with him.<\/p>\n
He could have called her immediately\u2014she would most likely have agreed to meet. But why spoil her mood with bad news? Over the weekend, she had already promised to visit him. Perhaps then he would tell her about his condition. Although Andrey was almost certain he wouldn\u2019t do that. Nastya was the only one who pitied him. Why upset her?<\/p>\n
Weary from a day full of events, Andrey slowly trudged to the bus station. The air seemed scorching, and the man barely managed to hide in the shade of a building so as not to lose consciousness. The road to the village was uncomfortable too: while the asphalt in the city was melting, a torrential rain had passed in the countryside. When the bus finally stopped and the villagers dispersed to their homes, Andrey was completely exhausted.<\/p>\n
The man didn\u2019t even bother to have dinner. Laying his documents on a shelf in the wardrobe with the other important papers, he collapsed onto the bed, drained of energy. Through his drowsiness, he heard someone knocking at the door, but he couldn\u2019t bring himself to get up to see what was needed.<\/p>\n
Maria, having learned from the all-knowing Anna that the village handyman had returned home, grew worried when he didn\u2019t respond. In the end, a whole delegation came to Andrey to make sure he was all right.<\/p>\n
The awakened old man, seeing a boy trying to climb through the window, couldn\u2019t contain his emotions. Denis barely managed to explain that he had been forced into that bold move by an agitated grandmother. Once everything was clarified, the owner of the house took the broken iron from Maria and grumbled:<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, what would you do without me?\u201d<\/p>\n
By the weekend, Andrey had somewhat recovered and met his granddaughter in a rather cheerful mood. Nastya was bustling around the house and garden, and during lunch she only laughed when her grandfather said it was high time she got married and had children.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, what are my years? I still have time! And I\u2019m not even looking for anyone at the moment. In our pedagogical institute, almost all the students are girls, and discos don\u2019t interest me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, Nastya,\u201d her grandfather cautioned, \u201cyouth passes by quickly! In the blink of an eye, all worthy suitors will have found each other!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t worry, grandpa! As soon as I meet \u2018the one,\u2019 I\u2019ll get married immediately!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne would like to believe!\u201d<\/p>\n
After spending the weekend at her grandfather\u2019s, the girl prepared to return to the city, explaining that she was helping out at a pre\u2011school camp. Andrey, never having decided to tell her about his condition and his will, asked:<\/p>\n
\u201cGive my regards to your mother and invite her to visit me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nastya passed on her grandfather\u2019s request, but Vera categorically refused to go.<\/p>\n
\u201cListen, daughter, I have plenty of my own concerns. You know your stepfather is recovering from an injury and needs my help. I will take care of the man who has replaced an entire family for me. And my father\u2026 He\u2019s selfish to the core. So I won\u2019t torment myself with pangs of conscience if I don\u2019t come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vera was mistaken. Andrey was suffering. Either the trip to the city had taken its toll, or the illness was progressing too rapidly. The man began experiencing severe pain. By Thursday he could no longer stand, and on Friday, when Nastya entered the house, she found her grandfather unconscious.<\/p>\n
The ambulance confirmed: the hospital was powerless. A day later, Andrey quietly passed away without regaining consciousness.<\/p>\n
When Vera learned from her daughter about her father\u2019s coma, she hurried to the village\u2014but it was too late. Holding his cooling hand, she wept, pleaded for forgiveness, and whispered that she forgave him, hoping that somewhere he would hear her words.<\/p>\n
With Anna\u2019s help, Nastya organized a farewell ceremony. While sorting through her grandfather\u2019s belongings, she found his will and showed it to her mother:<\/p>\n
\u201cLook! Grandfather took care of all of us!\u201d<\/p>\n
Embracing, they wept in the empty house, but it was impossible to bring back its master.<\/p>\n
When Vera and Nastya went to see Skobinsky, the lawyer immediately realized that they knew nothing about the second part of the will, in which the deceased had hidden the money. It was an opportunity to get rich, and the crafty Yuri Pavlovich decided to remain silent. \u201cThe house and plot will be enough for them. They\u2019ll manage,\u201d he thought, feigning sympathy while explaining the nuances of the inheritance.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnastasia Vladimirovna, Vera Andreevna, you can renounce your inheritance in favor of one another. This will help save on the formalities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vera immediately decided to make her daughter the sole heiress.<\/p>\n
Taking advantage of the holidays, Nastya helped her parents move from the communal house to the village home\u2014an ideal place for her stepfather\u2019s recovery.<\/p>\n
Yuri Pavlovich, intrigued by the potential riches the girl might acquire, opened the envelope with the map to the hiding place. Now he needed to break into the house. However, a robbery in the village would arouse suspicions. After long deliberations, he devised a cunning plan.<\/p>\n
One day, while returning from classes, Nastya found herself in a dangerous situation. In a dark square, two drunken men attacked her. She was rescued by a handsome man with a dog. He scared off the hooligans and offered:<\/p>\n
\u201cAllow me to accompany you! Archie and I would be happy to keep you company.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nastya, who had always dreamed of having a dog, believed that bad people never owned them, and she agreed. The man, introducing himself as Kirill, entertained her with conversation:<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, we usually walk in another area. I\u2019m glad that today Archie decided to change our route.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kirill and his dog charmed Nastya. She gave him her phone number, and a passionate romance began. The girl was convinced she had met her true love. Kirill met her in a luxurious car and took her to her parents\u2019 place every weekend.<\/p>\n
After a month, he proposed:<\/p>\n
\u201cI really like your daughter. Vladimir Sergeyevich, Vera Andreevna, I ask for Nastya\u2019s hand in marriage. I am a man of means and I value time, but love comes first for me. I\u2019m sure I can make her happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vera burst into tears of joy, and Nastya was over the moon when Kirill, dropping to one knee, extended a ring to her\u2014exactly the moment she had always envisioned.<\/p>\n
The groom did not insist on living together before the wedding, and Nastya saw this as a sign of his love and respect.<\/p>\n
She did not know that her meeting with Kirill was only part of the cunning notary\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n
Returning from the village to his modest city apartment, the man grabbed his phone and dialed a number:<\/p>\n
\u201cYura, are you serious? The hiding place you want me to arrange is under the bed of Nastya\u2019s ailing father. He hardly ever gets up and lies there all day. What do you expect me to do? Should I sprinkle sleeping pills on everyone and act while they\u2019re asleep? Yes, I can shove that old pig off the bed, but what if something happens to him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKirill, pull yourself together! Think of something else! Maybe send them to a sanatorium\u2014say it\u2019s for the sake of the father-in-law\u2019s health, and so he can attend the daughter\u2019s wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYurka, what are you on about? With what money? I\u2019ve already spent so much, and this girl is even asking about a dog! And I already returned the dog to a friend. You\u2019re wealthier than me. You sit in your office all pristine, while I have to take on all the dirty work!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to act quickly, not whine! You\u2019re a master at charming women, so figure out how to organize everything. Just get moving with my ideas!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, there\u2019s still time, and I have one idea,\u201d Kirill assured, ending the conversation.<\/p>\n
Kirill easily played the role of a lovestruck man, but he was annoyed that his cousin had loaded all the dirty work onto him. He himself sat in his office as if nothing had happened, while he had to lie and steal.<\/p>\n
Later, while helping her mother clean, Nastya climbed into the attic and found an old notebook. It turned out to be her grandfather\u2019s diary. What she read shocked her.<\/p>\n
Apparently, on Andrey\u2019s conscience was not only the fate of his wife but also the death of a man with whom he had planned to start a joint business based on the bankrupt state farm in a neighboring village.<\/p>\n
Nikita Kotov, the economist of that state farm, had managed to get rich through cunning maneuvers. To preserve his money during perestroika, he bought jewels and devised a project for a company producing meat products. He had a bosom friend\u2014Andrey Alekseevich, the very \u201cvillage handyman.\u201d When Nikita believed Andrey\u2019s story that bandits had stolen all the money, it was a terrible blow to him. Unable to cope, he took his own life.<\/p>\n
The final lines of the diary shocked Nastya: \u201cEverything that belonged to Nikita is in the hiding place beneath me. I cannot use it\u2014my conscience won\u2019t allow it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The girl guessed where to look for the hiding place. With her mother\u2019s help, she assisted her father into an armchair and reached the hidden spot.<\/p>\n
Inside a tin box were banknotes issued in the late nineties and jewels.<\/p>\n
\u201cNastya, what is this?\u201d Vera exclaimed in surprise.<\/p>\n
The girl handed her the diary:<\/p>\n
\u201cHere, read it. I\u2019m even ashamed to talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vera read her father\u2019s entries together with her husband, after which she suggested:<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we should try to return all of this to the Kotov relatives. Do you agree?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her husband and daughter supported Vera. Nastya promised:<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll call Kirill right away. Maybe he can suggest how to find those people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nastya\u2019s call triggered an outburst of anger from Kirill:<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s complete nonsense. Why give everything away? This money was originally earned dishonestly!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKirill, you don\u2019t understand? A man ended his life because of that money! His family, no doubt, suffered!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re such an oddball! And your parents are the same. Just give it all away for nothing! Eh, I didn\u2019t get to the hiding place first\u2026\u201d Kirill paused, but the words kept coming.<\/p>\n
Nastya froze:<\/p>\n
\u201cWait, you knew about the hiding place? From where?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, get lost!\u201d Kirill retorted and, pressing the end-call button, blocked her number.<\/p>\n
The betrayal by the person she had dreamed of building a family with deeply shook Nastya. However, searching for Nikita Kotov\u2019s relatives helped distract her. The local residents, led by Anna, actively assisted, and soon the girl met with the sole heir of the discovered treasures.<\/p>\n
Mikhail, a modest programmer, was astonished when the girl, inviting him to a caf\u00e9, recounted the story and handed him a bag.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere. Do as you please. And once again, forgive my grandfather.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mikhail looked into the bag and, surprised, regarded Nastya:<\/p>\n
\u201cI never even thought that in our time someone could refuse wealth. It\u2019s amazing! I think it would be fair if you took a part of the money\u2014for responsible safekeeping.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nastya hesitated, but agreed. Indeed, Mikhail had every right to decide what to do with his relative\u2019s money.<\/p>\n
On the way home, she couldn\u2019t help but think about how handsome this Misha was\u2014modest and not greedy.<\/p>\n
After a family council, it was decided to repair the house. Nastya insisted:<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, I want you to go to a sanatorium and recuperate. Spring is coming soon; we\u2019ll grow something here. Then there\u2019ll be no time to worry about health.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nastya was hardly surprised when she saw Misha near the institute. She secretly hoped to meet him. The young man smiled shyly and offered her a bouquet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I\u2019d come see you\u2026 You\u2019re such an unusual girl\u2026 How about a walk? Shall we go somewhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nastya blushed, took the bouquet, and nodded.<\/p>\n
Their relationship developed gradually, and with each passing day, the sting of betrayal seemed more distant. But the love between Nastya and Misha grew stronger. It was clearly heading toward marriage. Vera couldn\u2019t have been happier for her daughter\u2014she hoped that now her girl would finally find happiness.<\/p>\n
Looking at the happy couple, Vera often thought about how winding and unpredictable the path to happiness can be<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Despite the scheduled intercity bus not being due to arrive for at least an hour\u2014or even an hour and a half, in case it got held up… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n