The frost was so intense that the trees seemed as if they were about to crack from the strain. That very sensation overwhelmed Antonina as she stepped out to the shed to get some coal. Upon returning to the hut, she felt warmth slowly spreading through her body while she gazed out the window. Suddenly, her eyes caught a movement: a little girl, barely managing to move her legs, was slowly making her way toward the house.
— My goodness, she’s like a snowball! — Antonina blurted out, her heart tightening with worry.
Without a moment’s hesitation, she threw on her down jacket and rushed to help.
Many years ago, Antonina Petrovna Klimova had worked as a doctor in the city hospital, but she was dismissed for experimenting with folk medicine. Even back in school, she had realized she wanted to become a doctor and began collecting recipes passed down through generations. When her dream finally came true, she started applying that knowledge to ease her patients’ suffering. She was quite successful, yet the hospital management did not approve of her methods. Thus, the “doctor from God” turned into a recluse.
Her mother had warned her that nothing good would come of it, but Antonina seemed not to listen. Her husband, Vitya, had died early, leaving her alone. Her husband’s funeral and the disappearance of her daughter had pushed Antonina to decide to leave the city. She sold the apartment that had become alien to her and moved into an abandoned little hut.
Her pension was enough to live on, and the locals, whenever they needed help, would come to her for advice and thank her with food. She deliberately never took money. No one bothered her with trifles.
— Why, dear, are you wandering in the forest in such frost? — Antonina cried out in alarm upon seeing the little girl barely able to stand.
The girl remained silent, as if the cold had robbed her of speech.
— What is your name? — asked Antonina Petrovna.
— Vika, — the girl answered softly.
— Come along, Vika, inside with me. Come in, take off your clothes, warm up — Antonina offered affectionately. — I’ll soon make you some tea with blackcurrant twigs. And you should take off your sweater while you’re here, it’s warm.
The girl obediently removed her knitted sweater, and Antonina nearly lost consciousness. Hanging around the little guest’s neck was a family pendant in the shape of a ribbed oval. It had been passed down through the female line, from mother to daughter.
When her daughter Katya turned sixteen, Antonina had given her this pendant. The thought that it might have been merely a similar piece of jewelry had never even occurred to her. Many years ago, her mother had told her that the pendant was made on order by her great-grandfather and was intended as a gift for his beloved wife.
Antonina felt sick.
“Could it be that this little girl is my granddaughter?” the thought flashed through her mind.
After calming herself a little, she decided to use her old connections to arrange a DNA test. While Vika slept, Antonina cut a lock of her hair.
The problem was that the girl was as silent as a fish. Apart from her name, Antonina Petrovna learned nothing. As soon as Vika had warmed up, she immediately fell asleep.
“Now, I’ll have a long night,” Antonina thought. “Maybe I shouldn’t delay the DNA test? I must catch the train to the city right away.”
She dialed the number of Alexey Romanovich Stepanov, her old friend from medical school who now worked in the forensic department.
— Long time no see! — she greeted him with a smile.
— Yes, indeed, time has flown by, — he agreed. — I heard you’ve moved closer to nature?
— Aha.
— And how did you end up here?
— I have a matter to discuss with you, Alyosh, — she replied. — I need a DNA test done.
— A DNA test? — his eyes widened. — Have some relatives suddenly surfaced?
— Something like that.
— Well, I’ll help however I can — and I’ll give you a discount, as an esteemed colleague. We’ll get it done quickly.
— Thank you, Alyosh.
— Not at all.
A couple of hours later, she had returned to her hut, but Vika was nowhere to be seen. Panic struck her, but she composed herself:
— Calm, just calm! Panic is a bad advisor.
She noticed tracks leading from the hut to the house of Mikhail, the gamekeeper and neighbor. Antonina dashed over there.
The gamekeeper was brushing snow off his porch as if the frost meant nothing to him.
— Hello, Petrovna! — he greeted cheerfully, but upon seeing her face, he asked, — What happened?
— It’s a disaster! — Antonina Petrovna exclaimed. — I had taken the little girl in, and she ran away while I was in the city! — and she began to cry.
— Now, now, don’t cry, — Mikhail reassured her as he untied his dog.
They went after the dog. They arrived just in time. Amur was standing by a bear’s den, whining.
— Oh my God! — Antonina Petrovna covered her mouth with her palm. She thought all was lost. But the dog had climbed into the den and pulled out a limp Vika by her sleeve.
— Ran away? But why? — Antonina whispered, hugging the girl.
She had already lost her husband and daughter; losing her granddaughter was something she couldn’t bear. Her heart insisted — this was her blood.
— Oleg, look at this! — Chief Physician Sergey Mikhailovich Dudin addressed the head of the department.
They were reviewing DNA test applications when this came up.
— Klimova is getting tested? — the head of the department whistled. — I wonder what that means?
— Her daughter has disappeared, — the chief physician replied. — Perhaps a body was found? Or has an illegitimate child surfaced, one whom she rejected in her youth?
Oleg Vasilievich laughed.
— Who knows!
They did not care much for Antonina, to put it mildly. Harming her was a matter of honor. And now the opportunity had arisen. The thing was, all the DNA tests were personally signed off by the chief physician. So Dudin wouldn’t let this case pass by unnoticed.
— Ah, I’ll stir up some old memories, — he said.
— What do you mean by that?
— I’ll perform a comparative analysis.
— You seem to have something planned, — said the head of the department.
— Yes, I have a little idea, — the chief said slowly with a sly smile.
The next day, the chief visited the forensic department and demanded the biological material provided by the recluse from Alexey Romanovich.
— Yes, but I’ll handle everything myself, — Dudin snapped in a tone that brooked no argument.
— Antonina Petrovna called me and said she wanted the results as soon as possible, — Alexey Romanovich said hesitantly.
The forensic officer was well aware of the past events surrounding her dismissal. And now the chief physician was personally interested in her request? Something was amiss…
— Everything is fine, — Sergey Mikhailovich said reassuringly, lightly patting him on the shoulder. — Antonina urgently needs it, and you’re already swamped. And old grudges — they’re nothing.
Alexey just shrugged skeptically and handed the chief a matchbox containing the girl’s hair.
Shortly thereafter, rumors began circulating in the hospital corridors about the once-pregnant former employee of the chief… The head of the department became so caught up in the idea that he decided to use it for his own purposes.
— Where did these details even come from? — asked an inquisitive ultrasound technician.
— She ordered a DNA test, — Dudin said meaningfully with a smile. — I checked something — and it really turned out to be confirmed.
— Well, I’ll be! — the doctor shook her head in astonishment.
— Life is full of surprises, — the chief philosophically remarked.
By evening, the entire hospital was abuzz with the news. Some denied it, insisting that Antonina Petrovna was an impeccable person. “Think of all the people she’s helped!” — the hematologist indignantly declared. — That doesn’t matter, — countered the ultrasound technician. — Such people often hide a dark past.
— I don’t believe it!
Meanwhile, Antonina Petrovna, completely unaware of what was happening around her, was trying to break through Vika’s informational blockade. But the girl remained impenetrable, answering in monosyllables or remaining silent altogether.
— Any changes? — the gamekeeper asked kindly, peering into the hut.
— No, — the woman sighed bitterly.
— Tonya, what if we call Lisa? — he suggested. — She’s a psychologist. Maybe she can help?
Lisa, Mikhail’s daughter, had indeed graduated from the psychology department and was successfully working in a rehabilitation center.
— Really? — Antonina asked in surprise. — How fast time flies!
— Yes indeed, our little girl has grown up, — the neighbor said warmly. — She graduated with honors. I’m sure she’ll help.
Mikhail contacted his daughter, and she agreed to come.
“I’ll be there in a couple of days,” she said.
Vika’s first meeting with the psychologist was cautious, but gradually the little one began to trust her new acquaintance. After an hour of conversation, Lisa shared the results with Antonina and Mikhail: the stepfather had been brutally mistreating the girl, and her mother was supposedly dead. The woman’s heart ached with pain.
“I lost my daughter, but perhaps I have found my granddaughter,” flashed through her mind.
Later that evening, when the whole house had fallen asleep, Antonina Petrovna sat by the window with a cup of her favorite tea made from blackcurrant twigs, contemplating the future. Perhaps they would have to move to the city — Vika needed new friends and an education.
With trembling hands, she printed out the test results three days later. “Probability of kinship 0%” — those cold words struck her heart. But instead of sadness, she felt a strange warmth.
— Did something happen? — Vika asked worriedly.
— It happened, — Antonina whispered, hugging the girl tightly. — I love you.
— And I love you, — the little one replied.
At that moment, it no longer mattered whether they were related by blood. The important thing was that their hearts had already become one family.
Later, Vika eventually revealed the address of her stepfather, and Antonina decided to take action.
— Where are you headed? — the gamekeeper inquired.
— To Vika’s stepfather, — she explained. — He lives beyond the forest.
— Oh! — Mikhail snorted. — I was just about to head to the settlement. Will you come with me?
— Thank you, Misha, — Antonina nodded. — But it’s better if I go alone.
They quickly found the man’s house.
— Maybe you can come with us? — the neighbor offered.
— No, — she refused. — It’s an intimate conversation.
The owner greeted her in an extremely unfriendly manner.
— What do you want? — he grumbled.
— To talk, — the guest replied calmly.
— I have nothing to talk about, — he abruptly declared, trying to slam the door.
But Antonina was prepared. Skillfully, she placed her foot and abruptly pulled the door toward herself.
— You can kick me out, — she said. — But then the police will learn about your treatment of the child. Do you know what could have happened to runaway Vika?
— Alright, alright, — the man relented. — Just be quiet…
He revealed that the girl was not his biological daughter. He had been raising her at the request of his late friend.
— What was her name? — Antonina asked, holding her breath.
— I can’t remember, — Alexander shrugged. — Either Tanya or Katya…
Her suspicions only grew stronger.
“Something is not right with the test,” she decided as she returned home, and called Alexey Romanovich.
— That couldn’t be, — he admitted after a long conversation. — I conducted the analysis myself…
— I understand, — Antonina interrupted. — I’ll have a repeat analysis done elsewhere.
— That’s right, — the expert approved.
Now she faced two tasks: to find Vika’s real mother and to establish the true kinship.
— I must do this, no matter how hard it is, — she insisted, as if it were a spell.
Two days later, Antonina Petrovna submitted an additional DNA analysis, which ultimately confirmed: Vika was indeed her granddaughter.
— You scoundrels! — the woman muttered indignantly. — How dare you tamper with the results?!
— For such people, this is nothing, — Mikhail philosophically observed. — They have neither honor nor conscience.
— There’s nothing human left in them! — she fumed. — I’ll show them! I will definitely sue them!
And three months later, the court case ended in an unequivocal victory. The chief physician and the head of the department, trying to shift the blame onto one another, received three years in a general regime colony each, along with the loss of their medical practice.
— Congratulations, Antonina, — the gamekeeper said ceremoniously, handing her a bouquet of white roses.
— And what’s this for? — she asked, arching an eyebrow in surprise.
— Just because, — he smiled. — Like in a cartoon.
— Of course I remember, — she laughed.
The scent of spring now filled the air, imbuing the soul with bright joy.
— Where are you, my dear Katya? — Antonina Petrovna murmured thoughtfully.
— I swear, we will find you, — Mikhail replied confidently.
This time, Antonina and Mikhail decided to meet Alexander again to learn more about Katya’s work. To their surprise, the man turned out to be much friendlier.
— Yes, she went up north to work as a cook in Irkutsk, — he explained. — She left an address. I’ll look it up now.
After obtaining the exact coordinates, the recluse sent a query and received a reply a week later. It turned out that Ekaterina had moved to a neighboring region. Antonina Petrovna published a reward announcement for her whereabouts. Her daughter was found in a social hostel for people facing difficult life situations.
Seeing Katya, the mother’s heart ached with pain. Her daughter had become terribly emaciated, looked far older than her years, and had lost several teeth.
— Mommy, you were right, — Katya said through tears. — Tolik turned out to be a good-for-nothing. When I went to work, he abandoned me, and everything went wrong. I began to abuse alcohol, lived on the streets… That’s how I ended up here.
— Why didn’t you get in touch with me? — the mother asked, her voice full of pain.
Katya lowered her head:
— I was ashamed to show up before you like this. I thought I could manage on my own. I wanted to take Vika with me… But now it’s too late to talk about it.
— Forget about that, — the mother said softly. — Vika is with me now, you hear?
Antonina Petrovna told her daughter about the meeting with her granddaughter.
— I can’t believe it! — Katya exclaimed, wiping away her tears.
Of course, Antonina took her daughter in. Mikhail’s daughter Lisa agreed to help with the adaptation. When Vika saw her mother, she timidly hid behind her grandmother’s back.
— Vika, what’s wrong? — Antonina asked gently. — This is your mother.
The little girl, who had practically no memory of her mother, continued to look at her with caution.
— Don’t worry, — Antonina reassured her. — In time, everything will be alright.
With the psychologist’s help, Katya decided to start a new life. She got herself together and found a job washing dishes. However, establishing a connection with her own daughter proved extremely difficult.
— Look what I brought you, — Katya said joyfully, producing a large bar of chocolate.
But Vika only looked at her suspiciously and, putting on her jacket, ran out of the house.
— Vika, where are you going?! — Katya shouted in alarm, chasing after her. The girl, not watching her step, slipped and fell under the ice.
— Vika!!! — the mother screamed wildly and, without hesitating, dashed to help.
Katya caught a severe cold, but she saved her daughter. Her temperature soared high; she was delirious, but the first thing she heard upon coming to, was the caring question from Vika: — Mommy, how are you? Are you alright?
Katya managed a weak smile, and tears streamed down her cheeks. Now, everything would be alright.
From that moment on, a slow reconciliation began between mother and daughter. They often strolled through the forest and visited the settlement. It was there that the local district officer noticed them.
— You haven’t been here before, — he said.
— No, we’re new here, — Katya replied.
— I see, — he nodded and introduced himself: — I’m Maxim.
Ekaterina smiled.
Maxim and Katya soon fell in love, and a month later he proposed to her.
And Mikhail finally gathered the courage to confess his feelings to Antonina, which, to his delight, were mutual. Two months later, the whole village celebrated a double wedding.
