– Will you take the groceries to Maria? They have no money again.
– Nothing new.
Sabrina didn’t think her relatives were that poor.
– Wait a minute. Look, there’s biscuits in the bag, enough for a month. There’s cereal. Well, this time at least from us.
Everyone cared about Maria more than they cared about themselves. About Maria, her husband and two sons.
– Well, they are unlucky, – Sabrina added as her husband shook his head.
Sabrina believed it, as did a dozen other relatives. A few years ago, when Sabrina went to visit them, she was immediately told: Maria had been fired from her job and Roy was in deep debt. Something to do with work. It was his fault.
They can’t even buy groceries. Sabrina, naturally, ran to the store and brought them two bags of essentials. What else could she do? Everyone knows each other.
– Thank you, – rejoiced Maria.
The problems were just beginning. Gradually other relatives found out about it, they also helped as much as they could. Whether it was clothes, shoes, or food.
Several times I had to help close several small loans.
– Sabrina, don’t you have any money now?
– I have a little bit.
– We took a couple of credit cards, we did not want to ask you, but we can not return them.
– Sure, I’ll help you.
Sabrina then gave the last money she had. And for a week until the next paycheck, she and her husband managed as best they could. The husband was not offended. You can’t abandon people.
Once in the yard, when many friends were walking with their children, Sabrina was talking to a woman from the house opposite.
– You are sisters with Maria from the apartment 204, right? – the woman asked.
– No, no, she is my mother’s half-sister. They have a common father, my grandfather.
– Poor woman, – the woman said sadly – So many things are happening to them… I myself do not live well, but recently I found some money for them. It can happen to anyone. A man worked hard, tried, did not want anything bad, then once he did something wrong and for many years he was in debt. You wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
I thought it was strange.
– And what did they ask you for?
– To close some loan. I have to pay it back. She said you didn’t have any. Oh, that’s too bad.
Just a few days before, Sabrina had once again helped Maria and her husband close a loan. Is there a new one? Or what?
At home, Sabrina told all this to her husband.
– Don’t you think it’s strange? If she had two loans to close urgently, why didn’t she tell her family, us and others? And if there was only one, then why did she ask for money twice?
– Apparently, she did not want to ask us again. We help all the time. We, your mother, uncle and aunt, and everyone else. In fact, recently I saw my neighbor bring them things. That’s probably why she didn’t ask us.
Sabrina nodded her head. It sounds very logical.
– Is there anything else you need? – Sabrina asked when she came to Maria’s house again.
– Yes, we have everything.
We just got the children ready for school. It took a lot of money, and others helped a lot, but now Sabrina has no money left for her own purchases. This is all despite the fact that Maria has already found a job.
Before these events Sabrina’s mother did not communicate with her sister, who is much younger, very often, but now she helped.
– It’s unbelievable… Both of them work, poor things, but they have to pay this debt for another 10 years. They’re always short.
Everyone was thinking about it. It was an accident. It could have happened to anyone. So we especially wanted to help.
And her mother said that Maria almost persuaded her to take out a loan.
Sabrina could not stand it anymore. They are in debt, everything is clear. Everyone helps as much as possible, even to the detriment of themselves and their needs. But to try to get a loan for an elderly person who has only a pension…
She did not find relatives at home, instead she found a scandal in the yard. Susan, a trusting elderly woman, who had already taken out a loan for Maria, was quarreling:
– You have no conscience!
– What’s going on? – It’s Sabrina.
– And look at the car they came in! My son immediately said that it is very expensive. So, these people ask for money for food, we help them, and then you walk by and see what expensive cars they buy.
– What do you mean?” Sabrina was already looking at Maria.
There was no huge debt. And they had no problems. All this was cleverly invented for compassionate relatives and neighbors who carried things for them and got into debt themselves. All a deception. Poor relatives were not so poor.
– Oh, but we paid only half of it, the rest on credit, – said Maria, – Well, we wanted to buy, but it didn’t work out. We asked for your help.
– But that’s not what you asked for, – Sabrina said.
– You would not have given it.
That’s logical.
Everyone slowly went to their apartments, and Sabrina could hear Susan arguing all the way to her own door. It was hard to disagree with her.
At home, the man said what Sabrina thought:
– It’s not the money that’s a pity. If people really need it, it is not a pity, let them take it. It’s purely human. It turns out that they were just deceiving everyone. It would be better to help someone else who really needs it.
And on Monday Maria wondered why no one brought them food. They have no money, they have a loan to pay now.
