— Anna, where is that obnoxious boy again? Children, has anyone seen Seryozha? – the teacher Irina Vladimirovna was clearly nervous.
Seryozha was 8 years old, 6 of which he was a pupil of an orphanage. There’s never been a problem with him, except for the last six months. The boy began to run away from the orphanage at every opportunity, of course for a reason — he had a goal. Perhaps at first glance it seemed that this goal was banal, but for the boy it was very serious and important – he wanted to find his mother.
Therefore, every day he ran to the same place, to the nearest bus stop, and sat there waiting for her to come back for him. He was often returned by people whose attention was attracted by a lonely child sitting at a bus stop, and anxiously peering into the faces of passers-by. They started a conversation with him and found out that he was a pupil of an orphanage, and here he was waiting for his mother, who should come for him on a red bus. Of course, everything became clear to passers-by, so they immediately called and informed about the whereabouts of the child. But as soon as the teachers were distracted for at least a second, Seryozha ran away again and again.
«I’ll bring him in now,» the nurse Anna Pavlovna fussed.
The child, who looked about 2 years old, was sitting and crying bitterly
It was an elderly woman who once found the boy at the very stop on the way to work. The child, who looked about 2 years old, was sitting and crying bitterly. He was wearing a thin blue jacket and an almost summer striped hat, despite the fact that it was a cold November morning outside. The woman came closer and asked:
— Are you here alone? Where’s your mom?
But the boy just looked at her with huge frightened eyes and cried even more.
Anna Pavlovna noticed that the child was holding a piece of paper in his hand. She carefully extracted a note that said:
«Seryozha, 2 years 2 months, please help him.»
The woman immediately covered her mouth with her hand so as not to scream and scare the child even more. Quickly pulling herself together, she sat down next to the boy and said:
— Seryozha, my name is Aunt Anya. Your mom told you to come with me, I have a delicious bun and juice. We’ll eat and wait for your mom together.
Hearing the word «mom», the child started up, and Anna Pavlovna realized that she was on the right track. The woman did not want to traumatize the child’s psyche and drag him to an orphanage. But she couldn’t leave the baby at the bus stop.
— So, shall we go? The woman smiled and held out her hand to the little boy.
— So, shall we go? The woman smiled and held out her hand to the little boy.
The child wiped his eyes with his fists and obediently put his hand into the warm hand of an elderly woman.
Since then, Anna Pavlovna has had a special relationship with Seryozha. She often brought him goodies, talked to him for a long time near the window in the greenhouse. Seryozha was smart beyond his years and very inquisitive.
When he turned 6 years old, he somehow looked attentively at Anna Pavlovna and said:
«I know, Aunt An, that you will never take me to you.
The woman was briefly speechless from such a statement, but Seryozha calmly continued, looking out the window at the snow falling in huge flakes.
— You’re old, so you can’t be my mom. But I’m not offended by you, I’m even glad of it.
— why? Anna Pavlovna asked quietly. She couldn’t even imagine what she would hear in response.
— How why? What if you pick me up and Mom comes for me? She’ll be upset,» Seryozha looked at the woman with wide—open eyes.
— And you still believe. That she can come?
The boy nodded and turned back to the window. He didn’t want his beloved nanny and Aunt Anya to see tears running down his cheeks. The woman then also pretended to be in a hurry and she needed to do something. She didn’t want him to see her tears either, and sometimes she just didn’t have the strength to restrain herself, because her heart was torn with pity. But Seryozha was right that she would never be able to take him to her and make him happy.
The woman then also pretended to be in a hurry and she needed to do something.
So today she ran to the bus stop for the umpteenth time, berating herself for inattentiveness and talkativeness. After all, she was the one who blabbed to him a few months ago, at which stop she found him. The woman just wanted the boy to have hope until the end, because, as she believed, a person cannot live without this very hope.
Anna Pavlovna told him a fairy tale that she came up with almost on the move. She just wanted to embellish the story of his appearance in the orphanage a little, but she did not think at all that the child would take everything so close to his heart.
That his mother is a beautiful and decent woman, that she will come on a red bus and that she asked to take care of him temporarily. She was just temporarily very ill and could not take care of the boy on her own, and when she recovers, she will definitely come for him and take Seryozha to a large brick house in which he will have many interesting toys and a dog. It was from that moment that the boy decided to wait for his mother at that very stop and ran away at every opportunity.
But running this time to the very stop, Anna Pavlovna realized with horror that the child was nowhere to be found. She began asking passers-by if they had seen the boy, and the janitor, who was sweeping nearby, said that the boy got on a red bus and left. There were only two types of buses in this place – red and yellow. More precisely, there was only one red one, and who could have guessed that Seryozha would see him today.
Anna Pavlovna returned to the orphanage in tears, immediately going to the director. The woman blamed only herself for what had happened, because if it hadn’t been for her talkativeness and an invented story about her mother, then Seryozha would have been on the spot.
Meanwhile, Valentina, returning from work, decided to take a walk through the park. She rarely did this, because it was twice as long. But today, for some reason, she wanted to bask in the sun, sit on a bench and eat a portion of strawberry ice cream.
Meanwhile, Valentina, returning from work, decided to take a walk through the park.
Approaching her favorite bench, the woman realized with chagrin that she was busy – a little boy was sitting on it. Valentina sighed and sat down on the next bench. But soon the boy attracted her attention by the fact that none of his parents or relatives approached him. He was sitting alone all the time and was very sad, the woman began to worry. Valentina thought that the child was lost, which means he needed help. She carefully sat down next to me and asked:
— Hi, my name is Valya, and what about you? She smiled and held out her hand to the boy.
He looked at her with sad eyes, sniffed and said softly:
— Seryozha.
— Are you here alone, Seryozha?
The boy nodded and said that he was looking for his mother, and then he got tired and decided to rest here.
— There are a lot of people, and when she passes by, she will definitely recognize me.
Valentina didn’t understand anything, except that the boy was in trouble.
— Do you want to eat? «what is it?» she asked, even though she knew the answer beforehand.
The boy nodded silently.
— Then I want to invite you to visit me, I have delicious food. And then you and I will think about what to do next. It’s going to get dark soon, you better not stay here alone.
Then I want to invite you to visit me, I have delicious food.
On the way, they went to the store and bought some groceries, and 20 minutes later they were standing near a small brick house.
— Do you live alone? Seryozha asked for the first time.
— No, with Mars. I’ll introduce you now.
They did not have time to open the gate, as a huge dog rushed to their feet, joyfully jumping and wagging its tail. The Labrador carefully sniffed the baby and licked his nose. Seryozha was delighted with the dog and began to smile.
At dinner, he told me that he lives in an orphanage, that his mother brought him there because she is very ill, but when she recovers, she will definitely come back for him. This morning he came to the bus stop and saw a red bus arriving, so Seryozha got on it in the hope that he would come and meet his mother.
The woman listened to the child without interrupting, and pity filled her heart more and more.
— And how did you not get off the bus: Did no one ask anything? Valentina was surprised.
— They asked, of course. I don’t have any money, and I had to buy a ticket. And I told my aunt that I was going to my mother, who was ill.
They did not have time to open the gate, as a huge dog rushed to their feet, joyfully jumping and wagging its tail.
The boy turned away from the plate and quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve.
—I see,» Valya said. Okay, it’s time to go to bed. I’m going to bathe you now, and then you need to go to bed.
— Will you read a fairy tale? Seryozha suddenly asked.
— A fairy tale? – the girl was thinking, because she didn’t have any children’s books.
Valentina has always lived alone. For a long time she took care of her mother, so there was no time for her personal life. And then, when Mom was gone, as they say, the time was gone. Now she was 35, and she had long been used to being alone. Mars replaced her family.
While Seryozha was playing with the dog, Valentina found the phone number of the orphanage, called, warning that everything was fine with the boy and she would bring him tomorrow.
When Valya started reading the fairy tale, Seryozha suddenly asked:
— Valya, can I call you Mom? At least one evening, I really want to.
— You can, of course, — the girl smiled.
— Can I sleep with myself? – Seryozha persisted, — I don’t want to be alone.
— Yes, and in the morning Mars will come to us and we will even be cramped, — Valentina laughed.
— Oh, Mommy, you’re so good. I always knew I’d meet you, even if it was just for one night.
When Seryozha fell asleep, snoring softly and burying himself against her shoulder, Valya was crying silently.
When Seryozha fell asleep, snoring softly and burying himself against her shoulder, Valya was crying silently. She didn’t know what she should do. But one thing she knew for sure – she did not want to part with Seryozha.
Six months have passed since then.
