Fyodor Petrovich had long dreamed of visiting the cemetery to see his son. However, his health hadn’t allowed him to fulfill this wish for a long time. Paint and tools were prepared in advance, and today he woke up feeling better. After breakfast, he began to get ready. Two months ago, he noticed that the fence at his son’s grave was leaning and the gate was hanging unevenly. It was not surprising, since it had been almost ten years since he buried his boy. In fact, Sasha was not his biological son. Fyodor Petrovich and his wife had been together for 20 years, but they had no children. After much contemplation, they decided to adopt a child from an orphanage. There, they immediately noticed a thin five-year-old boy who looked at them sadly. Fyodor Petrovich felt his heart clench.
«Why is this boy sitting alone?» he asked.
«Sasha is special,» they replied. «His mother brought him here six months ago. It was a difficult scene. He cried, didn’t want to part with her, and it broke our hearts. Since then, he has been on his own, unable to forgive and understand this betrayal. Despite our efforts, he doesn’t connect with anyone.»
Fyodor Petrovich and his wife immediately decided that they could help Sasha believe that life isn’t all that grim. While processing the paperwork, they took him on walks. Sasha did everything they suggested: ate ice cream, rode on carousels, but his eyes remained empty.
It took a whole year for Sasha to look at them without fear. Only after a year did he approach Fyodor Petrovich one evening and asked:
«Do you really never leave me?»
«Never, I promise you.»
Little Sasha pressed against him and cried. From that moment, they forgot that Sasha was not their biological son. The boy delighted them in everything. He studied well and after school, he entered a military academy. They lived in a small village, and few of the youths continued their education after school, so the parents were incredibly proud of Sasha. During holidays and vacations, he came not to rest but to help his parents. Everyone in the village was envious, seeing how tenderly Fyodor Petrovich and his wife treated their son.
Sasha remained in the service. His parents worried, especially when he didn’t make contact. They knew he was in dangerous places. Later, he was discharged due to health reasons. Sasha became sad, and two years later, he fell ill. The doctors just shrugged their shoulders. The disease was discovered too late.
Soon after the son’s death, his wife also passed away, and Fyodor Petrovich was left alone…
He went out into the yard, and an old dog named Buyan ran up to his feet. The dog was already in years. If translated to human age, he was Fyodor Petrovich’s peer.
«So, Buyan, shall we go to Sashenka? Let’s go.»
The old dog, it seemed, understood the owner’s words and wagged its tail joyfully.
They closed the gate and headed down the dirt road. The cemetery was on the other side of the village. They had to walk through the entire settlement and then another kilometer.
«Good day, Fyodor Petrovich! Where are you and Buyan heading?» called out Maria Stepanovna.
«Hello, Maria Stepanovna. I’m going to my son and wife. Need to fix the fence and paint it.»
«Oh, how are you yourself? You’re ill, after all. Isn’t there anyone you can ask?»
«God didn’t give us grandchildren, and asking a stranger… You know, they’ll take the money, and then I’ll have to redo it. Times are such…»
Fyodor Petrovich and Buyan continued on their way. At the entrance to the cemetery, they met a man, clearly not a local. He passed by without greeting. Fyodor Petrovich was surprised: in their village, everyone greets each other, even if strangers. But here…
The cemetery was in disorder. A week ago, there was a strong wind that broke branches. Fyodor Petrovich sighed…
«Oh, how much work we have ahead of us, Buyasha.»
The dog growled.
«What’s making you angry? Didn’t you like that passerby? Me neither. But what does it matter to us…»
When Fyodor Petrovich had already gathered the branches, Buyan suddenly began digging the earth at the very fence. The soil flew in all directions. The dog dug while simultaneously barking and squealing. Finally, he stopped and barked loudly.
Fyodor Petrovich approached the hole and froze. In the pit dug by Buyan, the corner of a cardboard box was visible. It had clearly been buried recently, as the cardboard had not yet soaked through from the moist soil. Perhaps it was hidden by that same stranger. Fyodor Petrovich cleared the soil around the box, which turned out to be quite large, and with difficulty pulled it out.
And then something moved inside the box. He began to tear the cardboard, and Buyan circled around, continuing to bark.
«Quiet, quiet…»
Inside were rags. Fyodor Petrovich carefully pushed them aside and gasped. In the box was a tiny, naked baby girl. She moved, opened her mouth, tried to breathe, but had no strength to cry. How long had she been under the ground? Probably no more than half an hour. There was enough air in the box that she had not suffocated.
«Oh, Lord!»
He grabbed the baby and ran to the cemetery exit, while Buyan ran ahead, barking loudly. The dog hadn’t run like that for many years. Fyodor Petrovich’s heart pounded as if ready to jump out of his chest, and his breath burned his throat. But he didn’t stop. They rushed to Olga Sergeyevna, the former paramedic of their village. Although the medical post had long been closed, residents still turned to her for help.
Olga Sergeyevna was digging garden beds when she noticed that Fyodor Petrovich was running towards her house. Clearly, something serious had happened. Quickly rinsing her hands in a barrel of rainwater, she ran to meet him.
«Fyodor Petrovich, what happened?»
He could barely extend the girl to her and hoarsely said:
«Found… in a box… buried…»
At that moment, the baby squeaked quietly, and Olga Sergeyevna, as if waking up, quickly took her in her arms and ran into the house.
She skillfully swaddled the baby in a soft towel while her husband frantically dialed emergency services and asked Fyodor Petrovich many questions. Half an hour later, at Olga Sergeyevna’s gate, there were emergency doctors and police officers. Curious neighbors bustled about. Someone gave Fyodor Petrovich drops for his heart.
The next day, an unusual vehicle pulled up to Fyodor Petrovich’s house, which he had never seen before. The man tried to stand up from the couch, but his legs, tired from the previous day’s events, did not obey. Sasha, the husband of the paramedic, peeked out the door.
«Who’s there?»
«Hello. Are you Fyodor Petrovich?»
«Yes, that’s me,» replied the old man, struggling to rise from the couch and approaching the door.
«I’m German, the grandfather of the girl you saved.»
Fyodor Petrovich saw how a sturdy young man carried a large box and placed it on the table. German put a stack of money next to it.
«This is for you, treats. And this is money for your needs. I understand that thanking with money may not be entirely appropriate, but I don’t know how else to express my gratitude. Please accept it, it’s from the heart.»
Fyodor Petrovich sat down. German continued:
«My daughter married against my will. I immediately understood that her husband only wanted money, but she wouldn’t listen. When she became pregnant, I thought, perhaps, I was wrong. Alas, she died in childbirth. I knew nothing about it. The girl survived, and the son-in-law wanted to quickly inherit. That’s why he decided to get rid of her. I could never imagine such a thing was possible. The investigation will clarify everything. The son-in-law has already been arrested, and the girl… She’s the only thing that connects me to my daughter. I should have insisted on my own, but I didn’t want to interfere in her family.»
Fyodor Petrovich understood how hard it is to lose loved ones.
«Is the girl all right?» he asked.
«Yes, everything is fine, you were just in time. Thank you very much.»
Fyodor Petrovich again and again recounted how everything happened. He also mentioned that the fence at his son’s grave was leaning, and he came to fix it.
Fyodor Petrovich was able to move normally only two weeks later. In that box of gifts, there was so much that the money would have been enough not only for a new fence but also for a monument. One clear day, Fyodor Petrovich took a tape measure and left the house, and his loyal dog ran beside him.
«Will you come with me, buddy?»
The dog wagged its tail joyfully and barked loudly. They passed through the gate and almost immediately met Maria Stepanovna.
«Where are you heading, Fyodor Petrovich?»
«To the cemetery. The girl’s grandfather came, left money. I decided to take measurements and order a new fence. The old one is completely leaning.»
«Go ahead, of course.»
Fyodor Petrovich continued on his way, and the elderly woman watched him go and involuntarily crossed herself. She knew more than he suspected, having been to the cemetery herself the day before.
Fyodor Petrovich walked, occasionally turning back and talking to the dog:
«The main thing is that everything goes smoothly today, right, buddy? Yes, without any trouble, we’ll manage.»
Suddenly, the old man stopped and looked around, not understanding where he was. In front of him rose a majestic memorial complex. High and elegant fences made of massive black chains, white gravel, tiles, and majestic black monuments. Fyodor Petrovich froze in amazement, noticing that the monuments had the names of his son and wife engraved on them. They looked so realistic that they seemed alive.
«Sanechka…»
Turning to the second monument, Fyodor Petrovich immediately understood who had arranged all this. Of course, it was German. He quietly bowed and whispered:
«Thank you, kind man. You did everything right.»
Fyodor Petrovich sat down on a bench next to the graves.
«Well, my dear ones. Now you can rest. Everything is done, just as I dreamed. I didn’t come to you until I finished the work, but now everything is in order.»
In the evening, Maria Stepanovna noticed that the dog Buyan returned alone, without the owner. The dog whined plaintively as if trying to say something. The woman understood: something had happened, and she went to Fyodor Petrovich’s house. As she expected, the house was locked. She quickly gathered neighbors, and they hurried to the cemetery.
Fyodor Petrovich sat on the bench with a smile on his face. He had passed away. The funeral organization was taken over by German. And Buyan did not want to leave Maria, despite German’s offer to take him to a country house. The dog often ran to the cemetery. He lived another two years after his owner and died near the beautiful fence, where he was buried to remain close to the family and Fyodor Petrovich
