Igor sped through the city streets in his prestigious SUV. An important meeting with a business partner awaited him, and the young man felt the tension. The negotiations with this entrepreneur had already dragged on for several months, and Igor was determined not to miss the opportunity to close a profitable deal. However, at the most inopportune moment, his phone rang—it was his mother. She began to talk about her friend and a new beauty salon again.
«Mom, I don’t have time right now,» Igor interrupted her, losing patience. «Don’t distract me with your trivialities. I’m driving on the highway.»
«If you’re on the highway, buy me some farm eggs; they often sell them there,» she requested.
«Alright, I’ll buy them,» he muttered, mentally adding this task to his list of duties.
Sometime later, he noticed an elderly couple on the roadside, but they weren’t selling eggs; they were selling something else.
«Young man, take a look! Such juicy blackcurrants!» the old man shouted, waving his hands. «Buy them, make jam, it’s very healthy!»
Igor grimaced. Why would he need these blackcurrants? He imagined how his mother, upon receiving the berries, would immediately hang a huge bucket of jam around his neck. He still decided to inspect the goods to get rid of the persistent seller.
«Son, don’t just walk by! It’s a healing berry!» the old man insisted, following him.
The young man soon realized that he couldn’t get farm eggs here. But the impatient old man was getting on his nerves. Annoyed, Igor kicked the bucket of berries and headed back to his car. Behind him, he heard the distressed cries of the old women. When he turned around, his heart skipped a beat: the berries were scattered on the ground, and the old man lay motionless next to his overturned bucket. The old women around him were frantic, trying to revive him.
«What’s wrong with him?» Igor asked anxiously, approaching closer.
«What’s wrong with him? You’re asking that?» one of the women exclaimed indignantly. «He’s lying there because of you! Grandpa has been living off these berries all his life, and you’ve ruined everything! How are we supposed to trade now?»
Igor immediately realized that he wouldn’t just leave this place. After listening to the old women’s grievances, he helped them carefully move the grandfather into his car and rushed to the nearest hospital. He completely forgot about the farm eggs. Now his thoughts were occupied with a completely different problem: why couldn’t he control himself and show patience to a simple trader? On the way, he called to confirm the address of the hospital where the elderly man needed to be delivered. The grandfather never regained consciousness, remaining indifferent to what was happening.
At the hospital, doctors conducted an examination and informed that the old man was alive. It turned out he was known to the medical staff, so there was a flurry of activity around him: doctors were bustling back and forth, discussing his condition. Events began to unfold before Igor that he could never have anticipated. However, a problem arose—the young man didn’t know the exact details about the grandfather. The situation was complicated when the old man’s wife called. Apparently, those old women had already told her everything. Now Igor had to go to the pharmacy to get the necessary medications for the grandfather. He felt out of place—as if his impulsive act forced him to rush around instead of being at an important meeting.
After finishing all his duties at the hospital, Igor leisurely headed back to his car. He could safely write off the deal. A missed opportunity! But he dared not call the businessman—unlikely that he would accept his apologies. Looking at his phone, he noticed 12 missed calls from his mom. If it hadn’t been for her request to buy eggs, none of this would have happened! As if sensing his thoughts, his mother called again. After a short conversation, Igor froze—such a turn of events he had not expected. The cafe where his meeting with the businessman was supposed to take place had burned down to the ground! Everyone there had perished.
His mother knew that her son was heading to that establishment and was now worried about his safety. In the morning, the news announced a list of the deceased, including that businessman. Only now did Igor realize: if he hadn’t been late, he might not have been alive himself. It seems that the old man, accidentally crossing his path, had saved his life!
The next day, Igor visited the grandfather in the hospital, intending to ask for forgiveness. The elderly man had regained consciousness and had been moved from the ICU to a regular ward. During their conversation, he mentioned that his wife had recently fallen, and now there was no one to give her proper attention. Although a neighbor sometimes visited her, the woman had her own worries. Not long ago, the grandfather had hired workers to repair the roof, but they simply took the money and disappeared. Now all their funds were going towards the wife’s treatment, and only a modest harvest helped them make ends meet.
Igor decided to help. He offered to pay for a caregiver for the old man’s wife and take on the expenses for her treatment. He also organized the roof repair, finding reliable workers. This incident became a revealer for the young man of another side of life, one he had never even considered before. Meeting the old man taught him to see the world from a different angle, to be more sensitive to the difficulties of other people, and to rethink his own attitude towards what was happening around him.
