I learned about this story many years ago. I was 18 years old at the time. I thought I was an adult. But after my mother told me this story, my whole world, my whole life was turned upside down.
I couldn’t even think about the fact that my mother had ever done such a thing. Here’s what my mother told me.
When she was pregnant, the doctors put her in the hospital. It was already very far along, my mother was about to give birth. It was just before the New Year. At first, my mother was alone in the room. She was bored, and then, three days before the New Year, a woman was put in the room. It seemed to Mom that she was ten years older than she was. Mom was very happy about that: now she wouldn’t be alone. It meant she would not be so bored and lonely.
Only then did my mother notice that the woman was in a very serious condition. She slept a lot and very rarely opened her eyes. Very often my mother listened to her breathing at night: she was afraid that her neighbor would not die. After a couple of days, the woman got better.
The woman’s name was Maria. She came from a village. Maria was a lonely woman who grew up as an orphan. She had no husband. Her mother did not ask her any more questions, and Maria said nothing more. It was her first child. At her 42, the pregnancy was a great miracle. Maria really wanted to be a mother and was very happy that she finally managed to get pregnant. She was not 10 years older than my mom, but 20 years older.
The nurses treated Maria very badly: they didn’t like the fact that she was from the countryside. She was already eight months pregnant. She was still a long way away from giving birth, she had a very high risk of miscarriage.
Outwardly Maria did not look like a village woman at all. You could tell that she was from the village only by her large, straining hands. It was obvious that Maria worked very hard. But otherwise she was a very pretty woman: she had big blue eyes, a long thick braid. She spoke calmly, was cheerful, not touchy. Very soon they became friends. Mama liked Maria very much, because she was very kind, but with a strong character.
Daddy used to bring Mama different tasty treats. Mom shared everything with Maria. She was as happy as a child with every tangerine, every apple and every chocolate candy.
Everything was good. The women waited for the birth of their children, exchanged addresses so they could go and visit each other. But during the night, misfortune struck: Mom woke up to the fact that there were many doctors and nurses in the room. Maria was taken away on a gurney; she looked very bad. The rest of the night she did not sleep, and in the morning she had an unusual dream.
It was as if she was sitting in the kitchen, closing tomatoes for the winter. Around her, the light was so warm, and she could hear children’s voices. Then Maria appeared and said to her mother:
– I came to say goodbye to you. You and I have become such good friends! You are so wonderful! It’s a pity we are separated now. But don’t leave my son. Take him and raise him as your own. I know you’re very kind. You’ll be a good mother to him. You have a big heart and there is room in it for three children!
After these words Maria disappeared. Mom woke up upset and immediately ran to the doctors:
– How is Maria? What is wrong with her?
– There is no more of her. She is dead, – said the nurse.
– And how is the boy? How is her little boy?
– The baby is fine. He is weak, premature, but healthy. And how do you know that Maria gave birth to a boy? – the doctor asked.
Mom groaned and said nothing. From the excitement and sleepless night she also went into labor, her water broke quickly. During the labor, my mother thought about Maria’s words: what three children were we talking about? And then, after a couple of hours, everything became clear: my mom gave birth to twins: me and my little brother.
Dad was very happy, and it took my mother a long time to tell him that she wanted to adopt another child, baby Maria. She was worried that Daddy would not agree and the baby would be sent to a Baby House, that he would remain an orphan and grow up in an orphanage, just like his mother.
But his father did the wise and humane thing: he agreed to adopt the boy. The doctors went along with my parents and registered the boy as the third child my mother gave birth to.
Maria very often dreamt about my mother and always gave her very important life advice. And one time Maria even saved me. I was very sick, my temperature was very high. Maria came to my mother in a dream and said that I had to be taken to the hospital immediately, otherwise I could die. My mother listened to Maria and called an ambulance. They managed to save me: I had a severe bilateral pneumonia of the lungs.
Years went by and my parents decided to tell Nick that they were not his relatives. After that, our family’s attitude towards Nick didn’t change.
He became even more careful and affectionate to our mother. Recently, he got married and went to live in another country. He often calls and writes to us from there.
We miss our wonderful brother very much.
