Who ran into the cafeteria again and stole a loaf of bread?” Lidia Fedorovna, the caretaker, scolded as she opened the door to the children’s room. “Not me!” yelled one of the kids. The others echoed him. Sasha said the same, but his response seemed unnatural.
“So it was you?” Lidia Fedorovna grabbed him by the collar and yelled.
All the children feared this caretaker. She had a very harsh character. She couldn’t stand when something happened behind her back and she found out about it later. Today was just unlucky for Sasha. The boy stole the bread not just for himself. He shared it with other children. However, none of them wanted to fall under Lidia Fedorovna’s perpetually bad mood. Sasha had to take the fall for all the kids. He was put in the corner for the entire day.
The next day, a calmer and kinder Maria Igorevna replaced the caretaker. With her, Sasha didn’t feel humiliated or insulted. She didn’t even scold if the children took unauthorized food from the cafeteria. She knew that every child needed to grow and eat for that purpose was vitally necessary. And with Maria Igorevna, it was interesting. She knew how to keep the orphanage kids occupied so they wouldn’t be bored.
When the duty of the cruel caretaker came, Sasha always tried to escape from the orphanage. This time, the eleven-year-old boy again left through his secret exit, known only to himself. Even the watchman Uncle Vadim didn’t know about it. After moving a couple of boards, Sasha quietly climbed over the fence and broke free.
It was late autumn outside. The leaves had long since fallen, and the snow had not yet fallen. Nature seemed gloomy. The birds hid away in the warmth. A little boy walked through the park in an unzipped jacket. Sasha enjoyed this unusual solitude, imagining himself as an adult. He had long wanted to grow up and leave the walls of the orphanage, where he had to endure strict rules. Walking between the trees, the boy enjoyed the sound of rustling leaves and listened to the cries of crows flying overhead from time to time. The sun was covered by gloomy clouds. Passers-by occasionally walked along the paved paths, looking down. Sasha managed to observe each one. “Probably, they have their own homes and children… Why do they need me?” he mourned to himself. Suddenly, a stranger extended a small package to him.
“Here, this is for you,” the man said. “For me? And what is it?” “Cookies. I see you often wander here alone. Where are your relatives?” the stranger asked. “I… I…,” Sasha decided not to tell where he was from, so he dashed off in the opposite direction of the park, holding the treat in his hands.
The boy ran a few more meters and noticed an elderly man sitting on a bench. He sat, resting his chin on the palms of both hands, lost in thought. “Hello!” the child greeted, approaching the old man. Sasha noticed his sad look. For some reason, he felt very sorry for the grandfather.
The boy sat next to him on the bench and began to greedily eat the cookies. “May I have a piece?” the man unexpectedly asked, reaching for Sasha’s treat. “Of course, you can! We always share with each other in the orphanage,” the child replied, putting the sweetness in the old man’s palm. Then he hesitated. He had decided not to tell anyone that he was from an orphanage, and he accidentally blurted it out! “So, you’re a runaway?” the companion concluded. “And I sit here and can’t figure out where I came from… I walked and walked and forgot… That’s how we are, old people.”
Sasha took a breath. How good that the old man did not bother him further! “Do you really not remember anything at all?” the child curiously asked, and the old man sadly nodded. “Trouble with me… Trouble. Nobody knows when such misfortune will happen to them… People cannot foresee their future, and everyone’s future is the same—old age…”
Sasha blinked his eyelashes, attentively listening to the elderly man. He felt genuinely sorry for him now! Completely lonely and unwanted. He, Sasha, at least had his own bed, plate, cup, and spoon, but this grandfather didn’t even remember where he lived! Could there really not be some kind soul in this world to shelter almost helpless old man? He thought about this, glancing sideways at the old man.
“Do you have a phone with you? Maybe it will help,” the boy said maturely. Digging in his pockets, the man pulled out an old-fashioned mobile phone and handed it to Sasha. The child pressed a button, and the screen turned on. Unexpectedly after that, a number appeared.
“They are calling you!” the orphan exclaimed happily. “Let’s answer?” The old man nodded. “I think you will find out something quicker,” he said glumly. Reluctantly, Sasha pressed the green phone button and put it to his ear. “Hello!” came from the handset. “Dad, where did you disappear to? We’ve been searching for you since last night!” “Hello. This isn’t your dad. I passed by the grandfather in the park. Now I’m sitting next to him,” the boy exhaled. “Tell me the address!”
Sasha named the park’s address. After finishing the conversation, he hurriedly said goodbye to the grandfather and ran back to the orphanage. He couldn’t afford to get punished by Lidia Fedorovna, whose mood was always bad.
“Wait, little one! Sanka!” the old man yelled after him, but the boy decided not to turn around. “Thank you for the cookies!”
Returning to the orphanage, the boy quickly opened the doors and froze. Lidia Fedorovna stood on the threshold. She looked very intimidating. “Well, you came? How many times do I have to tell you: you can’t leave here on your own!” she cursed and, grabbing the child by the ear, dragged him down the stairs. “It hurts!” Sasha cried. “Where are you taking me?” “Worthless child!” the caretaker continued to scold. The boy heard the sound of a turning key in the lock. “Sit here, you scoundrel,” throwing the youngster into the corner of the room, the angry fury loudly said. “You’ll have plenty of time to think!”
Sasha looked around. It was very dark here. A dim light from somewhere above let the boy know: he was in solitary confinement. He began to bang on the doors and scream, but no one heard him. He fell asleep by the doors. Tearful and unwanted. He dreamed a dream. He and his father were walking through the city. The father explained something to him, and Sasha absorbed his words like a sponge. Being next to his father felt so good, calm, and joyful…
A luxurious big car pulled up to the building of the orphanage.
“Oh, who is this coming to us?” the nanny exclaimed, looking out the window. “Lidia Fedorovna, there are some people there.”
The caretaker also looked out the window and said: “I’m coming to meet them now. Clearly: our guests are quite unusual.” … “Hello!” she said in a polite tone, opening the doors to a man and a woman. “We have come to you on business. May we come in?”
Lidia Fedorovna stretched into an unusual smile, which she had only on holidays, and led the guests inside the premises. “We would like to see the boy. His name is Sasha. He’s 11 years old. He often runs away,” the man briefly explained. “Ah, Sasha?” Lidia exclaimed and immediately frowned. “Is something wrong with him?” the guest asked worriedly. “No, everything is as it should be. Just…” “Then take us to him,” the other guest suggested. “We would like to talk to him about an important matter.”
The caretaker reluctantly turned to the staircase leading to the basement. “You mean to say Sasha is downstairs?!” the man was surprised, following Lidia Fedorovna. “Yes, that’s how things turned out,” the caretaker mumbled.
Finally, they approached an iron door. “Well, he’s here,” opening the lock, the woman opened the doors. The guests gasped, seeing a child curled up in the corner of a room with four walls. “Sasha?” the man opened his mouth. Then he turned to Lidia Fedorovna and said to her: “What are you allowing yourself? Why did you lock the boy in solitary? Who gave you the right? This is not legal!” “He’s to blame himself. Shouldn’t have run away from the orphanage!” “You know what? You will now run from this orphanage yourself and look for a new job!” the guest roared at her, then turned to the child: “Sasha, we came for you.” “For me?” the boy said uncertainly. “Don’t be afraid of us,” taking his hand, the man continued. “Let’s go upstairs. I’ll explain everything to you.”
Later Sasha learned that his unexpectedly appearing savior and his wife had no children, and they came to the orphanage specifically for him. “Thank you for feeding the grandfather in the park! That’s my father,” the man thanked the child. “If it weren’t for you, who knows how long he would have lasted and what kind of people he would have encountered. There are plenty of villains in our time.”
Sasha looked at his future parents, and it seemed to him like a continuation of his dream about his dad. He even pinched himself. Could it be that he was not dreaming, and soon he would be heading to a new family?
… Lidia Fedorovna was fired that same day. The director promised her that she would make sure she would not be hired as a caretaker again.
Time passed. Sasha proudly walked out from where he had spent almost all his childhood years. He walked, holding the hand of his new dad, who resembled the father from his dream. For the boy, a new life was beginning, nothing like life in the orphanage. And finally, he would never again meet the malicious, irritable Lidia Fedorovna, who at this moment was diligently mopping floors under someone else’s supervision in another institution..