Bezpłatny fragment - The Caretaker

1. Sonia’s Dream

It was a winter day when the chilly wind left an unpleasant feeling in little Sonia’s soul.

The frost touched her cheeks, leaving a healthy blush. The wind played with the white pompom on her hat, and the smell of frost reminded her of the coming New Year holidays.

Although her long red down jacket protected Sonia from the cold and her feet were warmed by cozy black boots, the girl still felt a coldness inside her heart.

Sonia walked hand in hand with her mother, leaving the toy store where, because of a lack of money, her mother hadn’t bought her the toy Sonia had long dreamed of — the one she studied hard for and helped her mother around the house to earn.

It was a big toy dog with its tongue sticking out and cheerful, large eyes. Sonia had been asking her mother to buy it for months.

It wasn’t that her mother didn’t want to buy her beloved daughter that toy.

It was simply that, overwhelmed by work and the rush of daily life, she had neither the time nor the means to afford such an expensive gift for her child.

2. A Ball of Happiness

Sad and disappointed, Sonia looked at the alleys she often walked through on her way to school, but today was a special day.

In the shadow of the trees, in the middle of the path, sat something familiar, though hard to recognize from afar.

A little fluffy ball of happiness was looking at her with two pairs of eyes shining with sparks of hope. Sonia wasn’t afraid at all — she reached out her hands toward it. It was a small puppy, warming an even smaller kitten with its body.

“Sonia, don’t touch them!” her mother said sharply, grabbing the girl’s hand and pulling her home. Sonia resisted and cried, but her mother was strict and took her away.

“Mom, wait! I don’t want to go home!” Sonia cried out, struggling to free herself.

“Let’s take them home!”

Her exhausted mother, tired of constant struggles with her daughter’s stubbornness, simply picked her up, pressed her tightly to her chest, and carried her home.

She had many worries: raising her daughter alone, paying bills and rent, making sure Sonia had good schooling and decent clothes. Sometimes, while doing everything to make her daughter’s life better, she forgot about herself.