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😉 Greetings, dear readers! “The Return of the Beloved” is an amazing incident from the life of an elderly widower. Hope you find it interesting …
About 15 years ago, not far from our multi-storey building, behind the railway line, there was a private sector. There were not too many houses, but in almost every yard there was a small farm: chickens, ducks, a vegetable garden, fruit trees. We bought eggs, young potatoes and apples from private traders.
In the garden of one elderly couple – Ivan Gavrilovich and Anna Ivanovna – an unusually large and tasty Antonovka grew up. Our family took apples only from them.
The old couple – 80 years old – lived together. Always and everywhere we went in pairs. And shopping, and in the clinic. When Anna Ivanovna died, the widower’s grief knew no bounds. He fell ill, and at first he did not even go to the store for bread.
Neighbors brought in groceries and ready meals. And someone from our family certainly helped the old man. This is how the autumn passed. Winter began, and Ivan Gavrilovich became very bad. Life without Anna Ivanovna seems to have lost its meaning for him.
Новогодний подарок
One day before the New Year, Gavrilych (he later told us this) felt so sad that, despite the late hour, he decided to take a walk. As if someone was pushing him out of the house forcibly. And it pounded in my head: “Go! Go! ”
And he went to admire the multi-colored lights of garlands in the windows of high-rise buildings. Once upon a time, she and Annushka decorated their house with New Year’s garlands.
After a hard frost that day, there was a slight warming. It was snowing quite hard. There is no one at all to the people. Everyone, apparently, was preparing for the holiday. So Ivan Gavrilovich walked, unhurriedly, indulging in his grief.
After going a few more steps, the old man saw that in the middle of the street someone threw out a dirty fur coat was lying around. Walking around her, the old man realized that it was a dog curled up in a ball. He opened one eye, but did not raise his head.
As soon as the widower had moved some distance away, the dog jumped up, shook himself noisily and trotted, wagging his tail in a friendly way, after the pensioner. Ivan Gavrilovich was not afraid, on the contrary, he, looking around, talked to the dog, wondering where it came from and where is its owner.
And the dog, as if understanding what they were asking, then barked happily, then ran ahead, looking into the old man’s eyes.
Approaching high-rise buildings, Ivan Gavrilovich even tried some commands – “Come to me!” and “Near!”. The dog obediently performed them. It was definitely a smart and quick-witted dog.
It was time to return, and Ivan Gavrilych, jokingly, asked aloud if the dog wanted to go to his house to live. She seemed to be just waiting for that. She ran ahead and, as if knowing that this was Ivan Gavrilovich’s house, sat down at the gate. The old man once again marveled at the dog’s ingenuity and firmly decided to take the animal for himself.
Once in the house, the dog suddenly became sad. Her exhaustion and fatigue became noticeable. Gavrilych threw an old sheepskin coat on the floor, but it lay down on the bare floor. And she never touched the food in the plate or the water in the bowl. The morning of the evening is wiser, the old man decided, and left the guest alone.
Alive soul
At night, the guest behaved strangely, not letting the owner fall asleep. She scratched the floor with her paws, as if she were about to dig a tunnel. Puffed, sniffled. She stomped noisily from kitchen to room and back. She behaved very restlessly.
Towards morning, the dozing old man suddenly heard the voice of his deceased wife. She called him by name, loud and drawn out. Poor Ivan Gavrilovich rushed out into the corridor as if scalded. It turned out that this was a dog, yawning widely, with a howl, making such sounds that it seemed as if it was calling an old man.
The pensioner went into the kitchen to pour water. But his hands were shaking, and, taking out a mug, he dropped his wife’s favorite bowl on the floor. An enamelled blue vessel with a red stripe galloped resoundingly across the floor.
And the dog twirling right there underfoot grabbed the bowl in the teeth, carried it to its rookery and lay down, wagging its tail and showing with all its appearance:
– In! From it I will eat!
It was evident that the dog was in a good mood. And her master was amused too. It became light and warm in his soul. From what? He himself could not answer this question. It just seemed like a new life had been breathed into him. And instantly the old man felt comfortable and calm, as before, when his Anechka was alive.
Everyone who knew about the amazing appearance of Naida (as the owner called the foundling) in the house of Ivan Gavrilovich said that this was the return of his beloved. The late wife came in the form of a dog. It was not for nothing that Naida was so nervous until she grabbed Anna Ivanovna’s favorite bowl.
Petomitsa appeared to prolong the years of the unfortunate old man. So that he does not get bored and walk more in the fresh air. To have someone to talk to and someone to take care of. There was now another living soul in the house.
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