About Kristina’s Kind Heart Everyone in the neighborhood knew about Kristina’s kind heart. The grandmothers on the benches would either admire her, saying, «You can’t find such people these days,» or shake their heads, saying, «This simple girl will perish—she won’t survive in our cruel world.» Her coworkers cleverly took advantage of her helpfulness, knowing that Kristina would never turn down a request. Beggars, seeing her, would immediately perk up—Kristina really never left anyone without help, even if it meant surviving on bread and buckwheat until payday. Somewhere deep inside, she knew that such boundless generosity was harming her, but she immediately justified herself: «If people forget about kindness, the world will become empty and harsh.»
The Chance Encounter That Changed Everything One day, on her way back from work through the park, Kristina became an unwitting witness to an argument. The man was yelling so loudly that the leaves on the trees trembled, his fists clenched, and his eyes were full of rage. Kristina slowed down, her heart pounding wildly in her chest.
— «What do I care where you go?!» he shouted. «Go to whoever you got pregnant by! Don’t you dare come near my apartment! I don’t give a damn about you or your daughter! It’s your problem—deal with it!»
He roughly shoved the woman and headed toward the parking lot, and Kristina noticed a small girl peeking fearfully out from behind her mother’s dress.
Decision Driven by the Heart Kristina’s inner voice drowned out all rational thoughts. She turned around and headed back. The stranger was still sitting on the bench, holding her daughter close and silently crying.
— «Sorry…» Kristina began timidly, but the woman didn’t even lift her head. «Do you need help?» she repeated more insistently.
The stranger slowly looked at her. There was a fresh bruise under her left eye.
— «Thank you, but you probably can’t help…»
Kristina shuddered. «Did he hit her?» The thought of violence always repulsed her. «Why didn’t I become a police officer?» crossed her mind.
— «I heard that man yelling at you… If you have nowhere to go, you can stay with me.»
Her mind immediately started filling with warnings: «What if they’re scammers? Pretending to be helpless, then robbing my apartment?» But what did she have of value? No jewelry, expensive tech—just a modest home. And could these two even know that Kristina would offer them help?
— «Where should I go?» the woman quietly asked, hugging her child tighter.
— «Come to me… I have a small two-room apartment. It’s a bit tight, but you can stay the night.»
Silence stretched. The stranger bit her lip, and the rain began to fall harder. Kristina felt awkward—it seemed her offer hung in the air. But then the little girl shivered from the cold and sneezed.
— «Let’s go,» Kristina said firmly, taking off her light jacket and draping it over the woman’s shoulders. «The child will freeze.»
The woman looked at her, and for the first time, there was a spark of hope in her eyes.
An Awkward Situation and an Unexpected Decision — «Well, if you don’t want to… I should go. It’s getting cold,» Kristina said, feeling her unease freeze her movements.
She had already taken a step away, but the woman suddenly called after her:
— «Wait!» Hope rang out in her voice. «I don’t know if this is right… but me and my daughter really have nowhere to go. Thank you.»
On the way, the woman introduced herself—Olga—and her little daughter was named Mashenka. She immediately began pouring out her heart, telling Kristina how her husband had turned into a tyrant: yelling, humiliating, and lately even hitting her.
Kristina truly felt sorry for Olga and hoped that she would quickly find a job and move out. After all, Kristina hadn’t intended to bring them into her life for long. Already, doubts were creeping in: «Maybe I shouldn’t have started this?» But her conscience immediately reminded her: «How can you walk away from someone else’s misery?»
A Long Evening and Unexpected Revelations After dinner, Mashenka immediately fell asleep, and Olga, as if gathering courage, continued to complain about her fate. It seemed she just needed someone to listen.
— «Petka used to be different… We lived in harmony in the village. But after we moved to the city, everything changed. He started drinking, yelling… Someone whispered to him that Mashenka wasn’t his daughter, and now every time we argue, he brings it up…»
Kristina silently nodded, though her eyes were closing from exhaustion. Early work tomorrow, and yet here was a midnight confession. Olga cried, got angry, and then returned to her memories of the village.
It wasn’t until their guest finally went to sleep that Kristina could breathe out. She fell asleep quickly, despite the uneasy thoughts: «A stranger in my home… What if something’s wrong?» But the fatigue won out.
The Days That Changed Everything A few days passed, and Kristina unexpectedly realized she had gained a friend. She shared her work problems with Olga:
— «They haven’t promoted me in a year, even though the newcomers are moving up faster!»
Olga nodded sympathetically, then began again with her stories of how good life was with Petka in the village.
Mashenka almost never spoke. When Kristina asked questions, Olga just waved her off:
— «At her age, it’s normal! She’ll catch up when she’s older.»
The woman assured Kristina that she was looking for a job and promised she would leave as soon as she found one.
An Unexpected Visit and an Explosion of Emotions One evening, there was a knock at the door. Kristina wasn’t expecting guests and was surprised, but Olga quickly ran to open it.
— «This is for me!» she said with some strange pride.
Kristina’s stomach lurched. «Did she invite someone into my apartment?»
She was even more surprised when she saw the same man who had yelled at Olga in the park standing in the doorway. They were speaking quietly in the hall, and Kristina, sitting in the kitchen, caught a glimpse of Olga hugging her husband.
«Well, fine,» Kristina thought. «If they made up, she’ll be leaving soon, and everything will be fine.»
But the peaceful conversation suddenly turned into an argument. A loud slap echoed—Kristina realized that Olga had been slapped.
Without thinking, she ran into the hallway:
— «How dare you raise your hand to a woman?!»
The man stared at her in shock:
— «Who the hell are you?»
— «I’m the owner of this apartment! And if you don’t leave right now, I’ll call the police!» Kristina said firmly.
Petka scoffed:
— «The circus left, but the clowns stayed?» He waved his hands and stormed out.
Olga rushed after him but returned a few minutes later—angry, with trembling hands. She started throwing the things Kristina had given her into a bag.
— «You fool! No brains!» she yelled at Kristina. «He came to make up! And you with your lectures! Who asked you to butt in?! You should have stayed quiet!»
Kristina stood, stunned. The only thought that ran through her mind was: «This is the gratitude I get…»
Kristina froze in shock. She was speechless, as she never expected such gratitude for the help she had given.
Grabbing the baby and the bag of belongings, Olga hurried to the door, casting a furious glance at Kristina before leaving.
«From you, I never expected this!» she shouted. «I can’t even call you a friend—you’re a real villain! You don’t have your own life, so you’re trying to ruin mine out of jealousy!»
Kristina couldn’t have predicted such a turn of events. When the door slammed behind Olga with a bang, Kristina went back to the kitchen, sat down on a chair, and held her head in her hands.
For the first time, she thought about how overly helpful she was to others, and how they only took advantage of her. No one had ever shown her sincere gratitude. And she had given herself completely, just to help those who were in difficult situations.
That evening, a lock specialist arrived, called by Kristina. She was afraid that Olga, along with her husband, might try to return to the apartment and steal what was inside…
«She could even steal my underwear without blushing,» Kristina thought bitterly.
This incident left an unpleasant mark on her soul. She felt sorry for the child, as the parents clearly didn’t care about little Mashenka. They were completely mired in their quarrels, thinking only about themselves, without considering how this would affect their daughter. Kristina reproached herself for not checking Olga’s ID, and for not reporting to the authorities about the unhealthy family dynamic. But how many such reports usually go ignored?
Only seven days later did Kristina manage to calm down a bit. But she constantly thought about how she needed to change something in her life. But what exactly? Where should she begin the transformation? She knew she had to do something about her too-soft nature. How could she make herself stop helping everyone? Not everyone, of course. But Kristina couldn’t make herself completely harden, yet she had to learn how to recognize people. It was clear when someone was manipulating you, when they sincerely needed something, and when they were just using you.
«Chris, you know, the boss is pushing us on the reports… He wants them on his desk in an hour, and I have a meeting. Can you go through the papers and sort them?» Denis, her colleague, approached with a folder.
He often asked Kristina to do his work for him, and she could never refuse him. He placed the folder on her desk and left without waiting for her agreement.
Kristina glanced at the folder, then slowly turned her gaze toward the back of her departing colleague. She was tired of always helping everyone, while she was left, as they say, in the losing position. Those she helped were quickly climbing the career ladder, and she was left with nothing. And she was getting fed up with it. It was time to start making changes right now, so she didn’t stay stuck in this rut forever.
Getting up from her seat and taking the folder Denis had just brought her, Kristina headed for the smoking area. She knew Denis wasn’t busy with meetings, he just liked to offload his work onto her so he could take a break. And she was tired of being the one who always did everything.
As expected, Denis was sitting in the smoking area, telling his colleagues some vulgar joke while they laughed. Kristina approached him, threw the folder onto the windowsill, and said with indignation:
«Do your own reports!»
Kristina turned and headed straight for the boss’s office. She decided that if she was going to change her life, she would change it completely. Writing up her resignation letter without a required notice period, Kristina left the office and called the real estate agent, telling them she wanted to sell her apartment. Kristina decided to move to a new place and start everything over. The lesson that Olga had taught her had borne fruit. She was no longer willing to offer help to others, which only turned against her. Only acts of kindness given to those who truly needed them could bring satisfaction. Now Kristina was convinced of this, and she promised herself she would no longer live as Mother Teresa. If she did help others, it would be done consciously.
