While working as a cleaner in a luxurious mansion, Maria unexpectedly came across an old photo and a medallion—items that belonged to her late grandmother. But instead of explanations, she was met only with rudeness and accusations of theft.
“I knew it — you can’t let poor people into the house! Soon they’ll tear the wallpaper off the walls and drag the furniture to the trash!” Snezhana Olegovna spat venomously, twisting her mouth in disgust. “Pack your rags and forget the way here!”
“No, no, you misunderstood… I was just dusting…” the woman tried to explain, confused.
“Aha, so the medallion jumped into your hands by itself? Get out of the house!” The thin finger, adorned with rings, pointed to the door.
Maria hurriedly shoved her cleaning tools into a bucket, bending as if it could protect her from the harsh words, and ran outside. Behind her, she heard, “Don’t even let this thief near the gates anymore!”
She stood on the road of the elite neighborhood, but neither the cold, nor the long wait for a car, nor the mistress’s harsh words occupied her thoughts. The main thing was that in that rich house, which looked like a palace, in a wardrobe made of precious wood, lay a photo and a medallion of her own grandmother…
The last year and a half of Maria’s life felt like a constant struggle for survival. Like many loving parents, she and her husband fell into financial dependence, believing the myth: “You have to help children at any cost.”
Their 20-year-old son, Sergey, once came home and asked to take out a loan for a powerful computer for his studies. He explained that without it, he couldn’t master complex projects, and only with such equipment would his work be the best in the group. A tablet was needed, of course.
“Imagine, I might be sent to a conference! This is a chance!” he said enthusiastically.
Maria and her husband, a seller and a mechanic, had worked their whole lives to provide their son with a good education. They invested all their savings in his studies at a prestigious university and now decided again to take out a loan. Sergey promised he would pay it back himself as soon as he started earning by creating 3D models.
But four months later everything came out. The young man decided to become successful in his own way — he bought Chinese goods with the borrowed money, started selling on marketplaces… and failed. The goods didn’t sell, but the debts remained.
The father was categorical: “If you want to study — pay yourself.” After the monthly loan payments, there was no money left for tuition. Maria cried but forgave her son.
One day she called him:
“Sergey, don’t quit the university. I’ll fix everything. I’ll go work as a cleaner, but I will finish your education. Just don’t tell dad anything.”
That’s how Maria began combining work at the “Shestyorka” store with evening shifts — after work, she cleaned apartment entrances. At home, she explained to her husband that she was saving money to pay off the loan early.
One day, after cleaning an entrance, she helped a resident carry a suitcase. The woman offered her tea, and a conversation started. At some point, the woman asked:
“Sorry to ask… How did it happen that you’re doing this now?”
“Need money,” Maria answered briefly, deciding not to tell about family problems.
“You know, my cousin runs a cleaning company. The pay is better than ours. Take this business card, I’ll tell her you’ll call.”
At first, Maria was happy but then doubted. It was scary to leave a stable job in the store where she had worked for nine years. But soon “Shestyorka” announced restructuring and put employees on unpaid leave. Maria returned to the business card.
The next morning she called Veronika Igorevna. A couple of days later, she passed an interview and became part of a team of cleaners in neat uniforms with white aprons.
The work turned out to be better than expected. Yes, clients were different — from friendly to arrogant. People like Snezhana Olegovna were rare but memorable. She nitpicked every detail, looked down her nose, but sometimes gave generous tips. Colleagues called such clients “difficult working conditions,” for which they got paid extra.
That day, Maria was again in Snezhana Olegovna’s house. There was a lot of work, but she wasn’t afraid. The main thing was that inside this house lay memories of her grandmother, and she couldn’t just leave without understanding.
Bedroom, bathroom, living room… Another bedroom, another bathroom. And again, that unpleasant huge, inconvenient main wardrobe, stuffed to the brim. Shelves, drawers, doors — each had to be carefully opened, dusted, and everything put back as if no cleaning had taken place.
Maria had long learned the main rule of a cleaner’s job: “Clean — yes, but as if you were never here.”
“Why do people do this?” she thought when a photo album suddenly slipped from the wardrobe and fell to the floor. Black-and-white photos spilled out. The woman hurried to pick them up — maybe they were important to the family?
But her eyes involuntarily lingered. The pictures showed simple, kind faces. A group photo in front of a village house… “How different the fate of people from different generations can be.”
Suddenly Maria froze. Among the photos was one exactly like the one they had at home. It was her grandmother — young, beautiful, smiling.
While she was coming to terms with her surprise, a soft barking sounded — Snezhana Olegovna was approaching with a fluffy Pomeranian in her arms. Maria quickly shoved the photos back into the album but didn’t even manage to close it — a chain with a darkened medallion fell out. It was engraved with “Pelageya.” That was her grandmother’s name.
What happened next unfolded quickly: the mistress accused Maria of theft and kicked her out. Meanwhile, she admired herself in the mirror, repeating her own words: “Did I say it strictly enough?”
Meanwhile, the Pomeranian, while its owner was making faces, left a “mark” right on the bed.
On the way home, Maria called her mother:
“Hi, mom! Do you know if grandma ever gave her photo or medallion to anyone?”
“Are you kidding? Did you find Ivan? Although he’s probably long gone… Where did you see that?”
“In a client’s house, in the wardrobe. The same photo as in our album. I couldn’t be mistaken.”
“Come over soon. There’s a story you need to hear.”
Without wasting time, Maria went to her mother. On the way, Sergey asked for money again, and for the first time, she lost patience: “Leave me alone! I’m not up for you now!”
In the warm light of the kitchen lamp, her mother told an old story:
“During the war, there was a terrible fire in our village. The parents of little Ivan died. Grandma pulled him out of a burning shed, getting burns herself. After mom was taken to the front, other people took Ivan, then they evacuated — and everyone lost contact. Before parting, he gave her his cross, and she gave him a photo and a medallion.”
“So Fyodor Ivanovich is Ivan’s son?” Maria guessed.
“Yes. His father, that is.”
Her mother brought an old box and placed a chain with a cross into her daughter’s palm:
“Take this to Fyodor. He needs to know his father was part of this story. Grandma never forgot him.”
The next day Maria tried to see Fyodor Ivanovich, but the guard wouldn’t let her in. Then she turned to the company director — Veronika Igorevna. She understood the delicate situation but, touched by the story, decided to help. A couple of hours later, the man was already at Maria’s.
Fyodor carefully held the cross:
“My father always said that if it weren’t for your grandmother, he wouldn’t have survived. You can’t imagine what this find means to me.”
Snezhana stepped out to the balcony to smoke, interrupting the conversation. It turned out she too came from humble origins; her mother worked as a cleaner. Only life had turned out differently…
Fyodor offered Maria a job she couldn’t refuse. She, in turn, placed Ivan’s cross into the frozen ground at her grandmother’s grave. Almost at the same time, Fyodor lowered Pelageya’s medallion into his father’s grave.
Both thought the same:
“People leave, but kindness lives forever.”