Valentina Petrovna walked slowly down the street, wrapped in a thin veil of autumn chill. Her small pension barely covered her expenses, so every kopeck spent on groceries had to be accounted for. The elderly woman lived on the outskirts of town, in an old house that had long needed repairs. The wind slipped through the cracks in the walls, making her shiver even under several layers of clothing. But she did not complain or grumble about fate — she simply accepted everything silently as it was.
As she made her way toward the local store, her thoughts kept returning to the past. Once, she had been a respected teacher, an instructor of Russian language and literature. She had many students, many of whom she still remembered. She held especially warm memories of those who became almost like family to her. However, there were also those she recalled with pain — for example, Arseny, her former son-in-law.
He was a difficult child: he didn’t do his homework, was often rude, and got bad grades. His resentment toward the teacher grew into adult dislike, and then hatred. When he started dating her daughter Yulia, Valentina Petrovna tried to warn her, cautioning about possible consequences. But Yulia was in love and believed she could change the man she loved. She told her mother,
“Mom, I love Senya! I can’t live without him!”
But time showed that her mother was right. Thanks to money from his father, Arseny was able to start his own business, but success did not make him a better person. He remained the same selfish, cold man. After the divorce, a fierce battle arose between the former spouses for their son Lyosha. Yulia understood it would be difficult to stand up against her wealthy ex-husband, but she was not going to give up.
On her way to the store, Valentina Petrovna noticed a troubling scene. Several men with a clearly criminal appearance were standing by the entrance. They surrounded a young man dressed in worn-out clothes. One of them shouted roughly,
“Give us the money, or you’ll regret it!”
“I don’t have anything…” the young man replied, trying to pull away. The men grabbed him and started searching his pockets. What they found did not satisfy them. Angry, they began beating the young man. Valentina Petrovna could not remain indifferent. Approaching, she firmly said,
“What are you doing here? I’m calling the police right now!”
The threat of attracting law enforcement worked — the offenders quickly fled. The elderly woman went to the victim and helped him up.
“How are you, son?” she asked with motherly care.
“Thanks…” he answered hoarsely.
“They took everything. Now I can’t even buy expired food.”
She knew that employees at this store ignored the rule of giving out expired goods free to those in need. So instead of the sweets she had planned to buy, she purchased baked goods and milk and gave them to him along with some banknotes.
“Here you go, son. But don’t go anywhere — I’ll be back in a minute.”
When she returned, the young man was still standing there. His face bore the marks of the beating — a split lip, a scrape above his eyebrow. Valentina Petrovna insisted he come inside her home.
“My name’s Valera,” he introduced himself shyly.
At home, they drank tea together and shared a modest dinner. The woman showed her guest where he could wash up and rest a little. The conversation turned to the past. Valera told her he grew up in an orphanage, where life was harsh. Older children bullied the younger ones, taking their belongings and money. And the caregivers preferred to look the other way. Rumor had it that some were even involved in these abuses. This was the last straw — Valera ran away before he could get the housing he was entitled to.
“How is that possible?” Valentina Petrovna wondered. “People who choose to work with children should be kind and patient… but these… they just use children for their own purposes.” Her words were full of pain and sympathy for the young man’s fate.
At that moment, Yulia entered the house. Seeing the stranger, she froze in fear.
“Mom, who is this?”
“Yulenka, this is Valera. He was in trouble, and I brought him here.”
Yulia, who worked as a nurse at the local sports complex, immediately offered to treat his wounds. Though Valera modestly refused, she insisted. Her job wasn’t well paid, but she always aimed to help people.
“Daughter, how did the court go?” Valentina Petrovna asked, noticing her daughter’s reddened eyes.
Yulia sighed heavily and shared terrible news: Arseny had managed to deceive the court, and now Lyoshka would stay with his father. Yulia cried, feeling helpless. Valera felt out of place in the room.
“Sorry, maybe you should talk alone… I’ll go.”
But the hostess firmly replied,
“You’re not going anywhere. It’s already night. You’ll stay here overnight.”
Indeed, in the hallway stood a comfortable chair that could serve as a temporary bed.
In the morning, when mother and daughter woke up, Valera was gone. He had left quietly without saying goodbye.
“I think he felt embarrassed,” Yulia guessed.
“He’s a good guy,” said Valentina Petrovna, looking at the mug he left on the table.
Meanwhile, Arseny was having breakfast in his luxurious mansion with yet another girlfriend. He proudly recalled his recent victory over his ex-wife.
“She looked crushed yesterday,” he said with a smile.
“Now she’ll have to go back to her mother in that miserable shack on the outskirts.”
For him, forgetting that it was thanks to Valentina Petrovna’s help that he got his first housing was a matter of pride. He never appreciated her sacrifice, continuing to see her only as that strict teacher who gave him bad grades many years ago.
A few days later, a well-dressed young man unexpectedly appeared at his place.
“My name is Valeriy. I’m a journalist.”
Arseny welcomed him into his office, confident it was about a profitable deal. But Valera, the same homeless man he had almost beaten, revealed his true purpose.
“I want to expose you,” he declared, throwing a folder of documents on the table.
“People like you shouldn’t go unpunished.”
Realizing this was not just a journalist but a dangerous opponent, Arseny decided to lure him into a trap.
“Come tomorrow evening to the memorial. We’ll talk like civilized people.”
Valera agreed, although he felt the situation was dangerous. Before the meeting, he sent Yulia a note explaining that he hadn’t run away but was carrying out an important task. Yulia read it at the sports complex where she worked and immediately understood Valera was in danger.
She dropped everything and rushed to the memorial. There, she found only silence and emptiness. She shouted for Valera, but no one answered. At one point, her attention was drawn to a black puppy vigorously digging near one of the slabs. Intuition told her something was wrong there. Calling the caretaker, she demanded they dig. At first slowly, then faster. And there, under the earth, they found a wooden box. Inside lay Valera, unconscious. His heart was beating but barely.
Yulia helped pull him out, rubbed his hands, and spoke gentle words. After a while, he came to. Embracing him, she whispered,
“Why did you do this? Why did you go alone?”
“I wanted to help you,” he replied, still weakly smiling.
After Valera recovered, he immediately went to the prosecutor’s office. Fortunately, the original documents were kept elsewhere, and Arseny couldn’t hide his crimes. The court reviewed the decisions, and Yulia regained custody of her son. She also managed to reclaim part of the property. It turned out many judges were corrupt.
Arseny was sentenced for attempted murder. And Valera and Yulia, having gone through so many trials together, became a real family. Their bond, born in moments of hardship, grew into deep, sincere feelings.
At the wedding, Valentina Petrovna smiled happily:
“Now I approve of your husband.”
Together, they moved to a country house where they all lived — Valentina Petrovna, Yulia, Valera, Lyosha, and the faithful dog who saved the journalist’s life. And soon, the family was expecting a new addition — a room was being prepared in the house for a new life they awaited with love and hope in six months.