Fyodor Petrovich had long dreamed of visiting the cemetery to see his son. However, his health had prevented him from fulfilling this wish for a long time. The paint and tools had been prepared in advance, and today he woke up feeling better. After breakfast, he began to get ready. Two months ago, he noticed that the fence on his son’s grave had become slanted and the gate was hanging unevenly. This was not surprising, since almost ten years had passed since he buried his boy. In fact, Sasha was not his biological son. Fyodor Petrovich and his wife had lived together for 20 years, but they had no children. After much thought, they decided to take a child from an orphanage. There, they immediately noticed a skinny five-year-old boy who looked at them sadly. Fyodor Petrovich felt his heart squeeze.
“Why is this boy sitting alone?” he asked.
“Sasha is special to us,” they answered. — His mother brought him here six months ago. It was a difficult scene. He cried, did not want to part with her, and our hearts were breaking. Since then, he has lived on his own, cannot forgive and understand this betrayal. No matter how hard we try, he does not want to contact.
Fyodor Petrovich and his wife immediately decided that they could help Sasha believe that life is not so gloomy. While they were filling out the documents, they took him for walks. Sasha did everything that was offered to him: ate ice cream, rode the carousel, but his eyes remained empty.
It took a whole year for Sasha to start looking at them without fear. Only after a year, he came up to Fyodor Petrovich one evening and asked:
— Will you really never leave me?
— Never, I promise you.
Little Sasha clung to him and cried. From that moment on, they forgot that Sasha was not their biological son. The boy made them happy in everything. He studied well and after school he entered a military school. They lived in a small village, and few of the boys continued their studies after school, so his parents were incredibly proud of Sasha. On holidays and vacations, he came not to rest, but to help his parents. Everyone in the village was jealous, seeing how reverently Fyodor Petrovich and his wife treated their son.
Sasha stayed to serve. His parents were worried, especially when he did not get in touch. They knew that he was in dangerous places. Later, he was written off for health reasons. Sasha became sad and fell ill two years later. The doctors just shrugged their shoulders. The disease was discovered too late.
Soon after the de.at.h of his son, his wife d.ied, and Fyodor Petrovich was left alone…
He went out into the yard, and an old dog named Buyan ran up to his feet. The dog was already getting on in years. If you translate it into human age, he was the same age as Fyodor Petrovich.
— Well, Buyan, shall we go to Sashenka? Let’s go.
The old dog seemed to understand his master’s words and happily wagged his tail.
They closed the gate and headed along the dirt road. The cemetery was at the other end of the village. They had to go through the entire settlement, and then cover another kilometer.
— Good afternoon, Fyodor Petrovich! Where are you and Buyan heading? — Marya Stepanovna called out to him.
— Hello, Marya Stepanovna. I’m going to my son and wife. The fence needs to be repaired and painted.
— Oh, what about you yourself? You’re sick, aren’t you? Is there really no one to ask?
— God didn’t give you grandchildren, and asking a stranger… You know yourself, he’ll take the money, and then you’ll have to redo it. These are the times now…
Fyodor Petrovich and Buyan continued on their way. At the entrance to the cemetery they met a man, clearly not from here. He passed by without saying hello. Fyodor Petrovich was surprised: in their village everyone says hello, even if they don’t know each other. And then…
The cemetery was in disarray. A week ago there was a strong wind that broke the branches. Fyodor Petrovich sighed…
– Oh, how much work we have to do, Buyasha.
The dog growled.
– Why are you angry? Didn’t you like that passerby? Neither did I. But what does that matter to us…
When Fyodor Petrovich had already collected the branches, Buyan suddenly began to dig the ground right next to the fence. The earth flew to the sides. The dog dug, barking and squealing at the same time. Finally, he stopped and barked loudly.
Fyodor Petrovich approached the hole and froze. In the hole dug by Buyan, the corner of a cardboard box was visible. It had obviously been bu.ried recently, since the cardboard had not yet had time to soak through from the damp earth. Perhaps that same stranger had hidden it. Fyodor Petrovich cleared the earth around the box, which turned out to be quite large, and pulled it out with difficulty.
And then something began to move in the box. He began to tear the cardboard, and Buyan spun around, barking without stopping.
– Quiet, quiet…
There were rags inside. Fyodor Petrovich carefully moved them aside and screamed. There was a baby in the box, a tiny n.ak.ed girl. She moved, opened her mouth, tried to breathe in air, but she did not have the strength to scream. How long had she spent underground? Probably no more than half an hour. There was enough air in the box so that she did not suffocate.
– Oh, my God!
He grabbed the baby and ran to the exit of the cemetery, and Buyan raced ahead, barking loudly.
The dog had not run like that for many years. Fyodor Petrovich’s heart was pounding as if it was ready to jump out of his chest, and his breath burned his throat. But he did not stop. They hurried to Olga Sergeyevna, the former paramedic of their village. Although the first-aid post had long been closed, residents still turned to her for help.
Olga Sergeyevna was digging beds in the garden when she noticed Fyodor Petrovich running to her house. Apparently, something serious had happened. Quickly rinsing her hands in a barrel of rainwater, she ran to meet him.
– Fyodor Petrovich, what happened?
He could barely hand her the girl and croak:
— Found… in a box… buried…
At that moment the baby squealed softly, and Olga Sergeyevna, as if waking up, quickly picked her up and ran into the house.
She deftly swaddled the baby in a soft towel, while her husband frantically dialed the ambulance number and asked Fyodor Petrovich many questions. Half an hour later, ambulance doctors and police officers were already standing at Olga Sergeyevna’s gate. Curious neighbors were bustling around. One of them gave Fyodor Petrovich heart drops.
The next day, an unusual car drove up to Fyodor Petrovich’s house, which he had never seen before. The man tried to get up from the sofa, but his legs, tired after yesterday’s events, did not obey. Sasha, the paramedic’s husband, looked out the door.
— Who’s there?
— Hello. Are you Fyodor Petrovich?
— Yes, it’s me, — the old man answered, rising with difficulty from the sofa and going to the door.
— I’m Herman, the grandfather of the girl you saved.
Fyodor Petrovich saw a strong guy bring in a large box and put it on the table. Herman put a wad of money next to it.
— This is for you, treats. And this money for your needs. I understand that thanking with money may not be entirely correct, but I don’t know how else to express my gratitude. Please accept this, from the bottom of my heart.
Fyodor Petrovich sat down. Herman continued:
— My daughter got married against my will. I immediately realized that her husband only wanted money, but she didn’t listen. When she became pregnant, I thought that perhaps I was wrong. Alas, she died in childbirth. I knew nothing about it. The girl survived, and the son-in-law wanted to get his inheritance as quickly as possible. So he decided to get rid of her. I couldn’t even imagine that this was possible. The investigation will find out everything. My son-in-law has already been arrested, and the girl… This is the only thing that connects me with my daughter. I had to insist on my own, but I didn’t want to interfere with her family.
Fyodor Petrovich understood how hard it is to lose loved ones.
“Is the girl okay?” he asked.
“Yes, everything is fine, you made it in time. Thank you very much.”
Fyodor Petrovich told me over and over again how it all happened. He also mentioned that the fence on his son’s grave was crooked, and he came to fix it.
Fyodor Petrovich was able to move normally only two weeks later. There was so much in that box of gifts that there would have been enough money not only for a new fence, but also for a monument. One clear day, Fyodor Petrovich took a tape measure and left the house, and his faithful dog ran next to him.
“Will you come with me, my friend?”
The dog happily wagged its tail and barked loudly. They went through the gate and almost immediately met Maria Stepanovna.
– Where are you heading, Fyodor Petrovich?
– To the cemetery. That girl’s grandfather came by and left some money. So he decided to take measurements and order a new fence. The old one is completely crooked.
– Go, of course.
Fyodor Petrovich continued on his way, and the elderly woman looked after him and involuntarily crossed herself. She knew more than he assumed, because she had been to the cemetery herself the day before.
Fyodor Petrovich walked, turning around from time to time and talking to the dog:
– The main thing is that everything goes smoothly today, right, my friend? Yes, we’ll manage without any troubles.
Suddenly the old man stopped and looked around, not understanding where he was. A majestic memorial complex towered in front of him. Tall and graceful fences made of massive black chains, white rubble, tiles and majestic black monuments. Fyodor Petrovich froze in amazement, noticing that the monuments had the names of his son and wife engraved on them. They looked so realistic that they seemed alive.
— Sanechka…
Turning to the second monument, Fyodor Petrovich immediately understood who had arranged all this. Of course, it was Herman. He bowed quietly and whispered:
— Thank you, kind man. You did everything as it should be.
Fyodor Petrovich sat down on a bench next to the graves.
— Well, my dears. Now we can rest. Everything is done, as I dreamed. I did not come to you until I finished my business, but now everything is in order.
In the evening, Maria Stepanovna noticed that the dog Buyan returned alone, without his owner. The dog whined pitifully, as if trying to say something. The woman realized that something had happened, and went to Fyodor Petrovich’s house. As she expected, the house was locked. She quickly gathered the neighbors, and they hurried to the cemetery.
Fyodor Petrovich sat on the bench with a smile on his face. He left. German took charge of the funeral arrangements. And Buyan did not want to leave Maria, despite German’s offer to take him to the country house. The dog often ran to the cemetery. He lived two more years after his owner and died near the beautiful fence, near which he was buried so that he would remain close to his family and Fyodor Petrovich.
