“Oh, Lord, what’s happening to me?” Claudia Thompson exclaimed, barely straightening up after planting seedlings in the garden. “Ouch!” she yelped again from the pain in her lower abdomen, the fifty-six-year-old woman writhing between the rows. After catching her breath from the latest attack, the woman thought in horror. “This has never happened before. That’s it. I’m dying. And I so want to live a little longer, very much, to babysit my grandchildren!” Claudia whispered. Tears streamed down her flushed face like hail. She barely finished the work in the garden and trudged home.

Her mood was darker than a storm cloud. “What’s for lunch?” her husband Mike asked sternly as soon as Claudia crossed the threshold. He was a good man, but he loved order in everything too much.

And if something deviated from the schedule, Mike’s mood changed instantly. “Soup in the fridge,” the woman said faintly. She sank onto the couch and burst into sobs.

Mike, frightened, ran to his wife and took her hand. “Claudia, what’s wrong? Did you lose something?” “I’m dying, Mike, I’m definitely dying.” “What?” Mike was surprised, his eyes widening.

“Where did you get that idea?” Attacks of severe pain in the abdomen and back have tormented me, I can barely drag my feet. “P-p-probably, it’s a fatally incurable disease,” Claudia stammered, swallowing tears. “Oh come on, Claudia, that can’t be!” Mike wasn’t surprised at all.

“Remember, our neighbor Taylor had cancer discovered, she wasted away beyond recognition. Skin and bones left, but you’re swelling up like a river in flood, what kind of fatally ill are you!” “That’s true,” Claudia thought. “My husband is right, I’ve really been bloating like yeast in recent months, I don’t know why, but I’m not a girl with a wasp waist, I’m 56 years old, probably age is catching up.”

Claudia calmed down a bit, and the attacks seemed to stop. “But it wouldn’t hurt to go see our paramedic Lucy, maybe she’ll refer you to a surgeon in the city,” added the sensible Mike. “Calm down, and let’s go eat lunch.”

“Thanks, Mike, for the advice, I’ll do that.” Claudia kept her promise and the next day went to the local clinic to see paramedic Lucy Miller. The charming and kind young woman treated all the residents with kindness and attention.

She greeted Claudia like family. “Claudia Thompson, hello, it’s been a while, come in, make yourself at home and tell me what happened?” Lucy said with a sunny smile. She liked the local residents, simple, straightforward, sincere, real.

When Claudia shared her worry, Lucy tried to stay calm and chose good words to cheer up the upset woman. “Claudia Thompson, let’s not jump to conclusions, I’ll order some tests for you, you’ll take them, we’ll get the results and talk specifically, if needed, I’ll prescribe treatment, agreed?” “Yes, Lucy, you’re our bright little person, thank you from the bottom of my heart,” the woman thanked. “No need yet, Claudia Thompson, be healthy.”

Claudia would never forget that Saturday morning. She was tidying up the house as usual and wanted to go to the garden when the phone rang. “Claudia Thompson, this is Lucy, the paramedic, your test results are in, can you come see me today?” “Yes, Lucy, of course I can,” Claudia agreed immediately.

Suddenly, an anxious pause hung in the air, as if Lucy wanted to say something but hesitated. Claudia’s heart sank, intuition told her something was wrong, and the paramedic spoke with poorly concealed excitement. “What’s wrong with me, Lucy?” the woman asked as soon as she crossed the threshold of the medical office.

“Am I dying?” “No, Claudia Thompson, what are you saying, no, you…” Lucy hesitated. Then she blurted out in one breath, “pregnant.” Hearing these words, Claudia sat down on the chair and froze in place like a wax figure.

Only after a few seconds did the meaning of Lucy’s words sink in for Claudia. “What?” the woman paled, her eyes widening in horror. “That’s not true!” she screamed hysterically, scaring the paramedic so much that she jumped aside.

A few seconds later, it dawned on the woman. “My tests got mixed up with someone else’s, that’s for sure, I can’t get pregnant at fifty-six, that can’t be.” “This is some nonsense, check again, Lucy, there was a mistake.”

Lucy just shook her head. “Claudia Thompson, there’s no mistake, these are your tests. Yes, you’re at an advanced age, it’s very rare to get pregnant at such years….

It’s an exceptional case, one in a million, and it’s yours, you need to calm down and not panic.” The woman’s hands and feet went cold, then, angry at the whole world, she exclaimed. “Calm down? Are you kidding, I don’t need this pregnancy, not at all.

If I’m pregnant, do an abortion immediately, I won’t give birth anymore.” It was hard for Lucy to withstand Claudia Thompson’s pressure, but she found the strength to reply. “It’s too late for an abortion, you’re almost four months pregnant.

And that’s not all, there’s not one fetus, but two.” After these words, Claudia Thompson slumped in the chair. Her arms hung like whips.

She stared blankly at one point. Lucy, frightened, jumped to the woman and offered water. “It’s okay, we’ll monitor the pregnancy, everything will be fine.”

She comforted her as best she could, though she herself was excited to the limit. This was a first in her medical practice. “Can I help you with anything else?” Lucy asked when Claudia Thompson somewhat came to herself.

“No,” the woman said detachedly and shuffled to the door, carrying the burden of misfortune that had fallen on her. Lucy silently watched her go and thought about her own life. For her, pregnancy certainly wouldn’t be a grief, but would turn into real happiness.

With Ethan, they tried in vain for several years to have a child. A bunch of useless attempts to conceive led to nothing. In the end, they broke up, unable to build a family life.

Then it got worse. Lucy faced real tests of strength from colleagues at the children’s hospital. They constantly teased her, saying, a cobbler without boots.

Lucy couldn’t take it, quit everything, and moved to a rural backwater. At least here, no one knows about her. Today, learning about Claudia Thompson’s pregnancy, Lucy was beside herself, as if someone had pulled out that story about the child again and opened an old wound in her heart.

Claudia Thompson perceived her pregnancy completely differently, as nothing less than God’s punishment for committed sins. But for what! She and her husband Mike always lived honestly and conscientiously in their hometown since childhood. They had a daughter, Irene, a beauty and smart girl….

But her character wasn’t simple. She left for the city to seek career and personal life. And got neither.

She worked as a waitress in a cafe for a small salary. Personal life didn’t work out either. She married a young guy, and he left her after six months.

Despite all the misfortunes, Irene didn’t want to return to the town under any circumstances, but gladly accepted financial support from her parents. Claudia never complained about fate. What is, is.

But now she couldn’t hold back. She snapped. She slowly walked along the town streets, waddling from side to side like a duck.

Even her gait had changed. Her whole life flashed before her eyes like a bright ribbon. Only greetings from townsfolk brought her back to reality.

“Good health to you, Claudia!” came from all sides. For a moment, the woman imagined that very soon these town people would mock her and say completely different things. Like, in old age, she’s completely lost her mind, how shameful to conceive a child at such an age, disgrace! These thoughts gave Claudia chills.

She won’t endure the mockery and ridicule. Claudia clearly realized this in her mind. And Mike has a tough character, he won’t accept such a blow of fate…

Home was just a little away, only cross the bridge over the small river and that’s it. Suddenly, a wild thought came to Claudia’s head. What if I jump into the river from the bridge and get rid of all problems at once, which hang on me like chains.

Well, life? I’ve lived most of it, and that’s enough. God will forgive me, he forgives everyone. Claudia herself doesn’t remember the moment when, with difficulty, she climbed over the railing, looked down at the murky water.

Scary, but I’ll jump. A few seconds remained until she put the final period. Suddenly, the air was torn by a piercing scream.

It was her husband Mike, who by happy coincidence was nearby at the right time and place. He saw and saved Claudia from the rash step. Mike inwardly shrank from fear when his wife, bursting into tears, told about her pregnancy.

Yes, this isn’t the old age I dreamed of, quiet and peaceful. Baby diapers and nighttime crying weren’t in the plans at all. But still, it’s better than losing Claudia, Mike thought bitterly.

Only now, stingy with emotions, Mike realized how dear his wife was to him. The news of the pregnancy was so stunning that Mike and Claudia didn’t dare tell their daughter Irene yet. They need to get used to the idea themselves that they will have babies, and it happened soon.

Since the Lord sends us children, it means it’s God’s will, Mike and Claudia decided simultaneously. Together they came under the arches of the local church and prayed to all the saints. They learned to rejoice in every day that brought them closer to the birth of the babies.

Days and months passed. Claudia’s pregnancy was difficult. Her legs swelled, she was tormented by morning sickness and headaches.

But tests and ultrasound procedures showed that the babies were fine. For Claudia, that was the main thing, and she endured all the hardships and adversities steadfastly. Nothing foreshadowed trouble, but it treacherously awaited Claudia and Mike and came from where they least expected, from the closest person, daughter Irene.

They never dared to tell her everything. Who knew that this indecision would play a cruel joke on Claudia and Mike. Today’s Sunday is special.

Claudia’s pregnancy has passed the seven-month mark. It was on this day that Irene called. “Mom, I’ll come today, okay?” the girl chirped in a gentle voice.

She rarely visited her parents in the town, no more than twice a year. Mostly, Irene’s communication with relatives was limited to rare phone calls. “Yes, of course, daughter,” Claudia replied.

From excitement, her voice trembled and her hands shook. Her belly immediately made itself known, rippling from the kicks of the babies’ feet. Apparently, the mother’s worries were transmitted to the little ones.

Claudia and Mike waited for the evening when Irene would arrive, with bated breath. They regretted not telling their daughter about the pregnancy in time. They knew Irene was a complicated girl and prepared for any reaction from her.

But what they heard from their own child exceeded all their expectations. “Hi, Dad, I’m not staying long, I need your help!” Irene muttered casually, pecking her father on the cheek. A few seconds later, the girl’s face turned deathly pale, and her lower lip trembled with indignation.

“What’s this?” Irene exclaimed, looking at her mother. “Are you pregnant? You’re too old for this, you’ve completely lost your mind!” “Don’t you dare talk to your mother like that!” Mike stood up for Claudia. “And you too,” the girl grumbled at her father…

It’s time to think about retirement and eternity, but they decided to have children. Claudia and Mike were stunned with horror when Irene shouted heartlessly, making not only the air shudder, but also her parents’ hearts. “We raised a snake in our bosom,” Mike thought.

“Who did she turn out so heartless and cruel?” Irene got even more fired up and scolded her parents like naughty students. “Have you thought about the future? Who knows how much longer you’ll live? Don’t you dare hang extras on me. I need to arrange my own life,” the girl fumed.

“I won’t support your children, if it comes to that, don’t count on me.” Claudia’s blood ran cold from such words. A feeling of resentment and bitterness took over her.

“Did I raise my daughter so badly that I deserve only such treatment?” the woman thought, but found no answer. Tears welled up in her eyes. She swallowed her daughter’s rude words like a bitter pill.

She tried to pull herself together, calm down, but nothing worked. Suddenly, Claudia felt nausea rising to her throat, and a second later, unbearable pain in her abdomen burned her body. The woman screamed hysterically, leaned her hand against the wall, and slowly slid to the floor.

Mike ran to her, grabbed her hand. “Claudia, what’s wrong?” “Mike, I feel bad, call an ambulance.” “But it’s not time yet!” the man muttered in confusion.

“Call!” Claudia pleaded and broke into a new scream. She paled, and her face contorted from the strongest pain, which was impossible to endure. Then Claudia rolled her eyes and lifelessly slumped in Mike’s arm.

He got so scared that he couldn’t hold back tears. With shaking hands, he dialed the ambulance number. “Hold on a little, the ambulance will come soon, we’ll go to the maternity hospital.”

By the time the ambulance arrived, Claudia was in a semi-conscious state, interrupted only by the strongest pain attacks. They arrived at the city maternity hospital almost an hour later. On the gurney in front of the large wide doors to the operating room, Claudia, losing consciousness, could only whisper to her husband…

“Goodbye, Mike, take care of the children, don’t abandon them.” “And you?” the man asked with tears in his eyes. “I probably won’t be anymore,” Claudia said with difficulty, feeling her last strength leaving her.

The time spent in the maternity hospital’s admission department seemed like eternity to Mike, though only a few minutes passed, and fear and anxiety completely took over him. Even he, a person far from medicine, understood that the children would be born seven-month premature. And that means there could be big health problems.

Claudia herself felt terrible before the birth, afraid it would end badly. Her last words and today’s experiences took their toll. The pain tore at Mike’s heart.

He could barely stand on his feet, and when he sat down, he threw his head back and dozed off. He woke up from someone’s hand touching his shoulder. “Sir, you can’t be here,” said a middle-aged nurse with a kind face.

“But my wife is giving birth now, difficult birth,” Mike said, stirring. “Everyone gives birth here, it’s a maternity hospital, when the birth ends, the children are born, we’ll definitely call you,” the nurse promised. In fact, she knew about the elderly woman in labor.

And not only her, the whole maternity hospital was buzzing with this news. It’s not often that almost retirees give birth here. Of course, giving birth at such an age is unsafe, and who knows what kind of children will be born.

The nurse didn’t upset the already terribly worried man. She pretended it was ordinary birth and just needed to follow the rules established in the maternity hospital. Yes, of course, Mike reluctantly agreed and, hanging his head dejectedly, trudged to the door.

Despite the fatigue, the man didn’t want to leave. Being here, he was closer to his wife and would be the first to learn the news. And at home, what? Lonely bare walls and memories that make you want to howl like a wolf.

That’s exactly what Mike wanted to do, burst into tears, if not for his daughter Irene. When Mike saw her, he was indignant to the depths of his soul. The girl, as if nothing had happened, was laughing merrily and chattering on the phone, arranging a meeting with a friend.

What heartlessness and cruelty towards her mother. She sent her unfortunate mother to the hospital prematurely and doesn’t care about her at all. Yes, we missed her with Claudia…

We overlooked the moment when she turned from a good girl into a monster. Mike was even more upset. He passed by his daughter, unable to talk to her now.

He sank onto the bed, unable to stand on his feet anymore. He couldn’t fall asleep either. Claudia stood before his eyes so clearly and vividly, as if she were in the room with him at that moment.

Mike never even thought he loved his wife so much. Endlessly. True, he rarely told Claudia about it.

Or rather, never. Except perhaps on the wedding day. Claudia was always there, and Mike lived behind her like behind a stone wall.

He didn’t notice her beauty, kindness, generosity. And now Claudia was suddenly not by his side. His chest was immediately squeezed by unbearably aching feelings of loneliness, hopelessness, and uselessness to anyone in this world.

If only he knew that hopelessness was in the air not only in his thoughts, but also in the operating room, where doctors fought for Claudia’s and her children’s health. The woman was still unconscious. But the operation was successful.

Now the tiny bodies of the two seven-month-old baby girls would be examined by doctors and midwives, then placed in a special unit where their lives would be supported. The young doctor Ethan Zane couldn’t hold back and exclaimed. Why did she get pregnant at 56 and not have an abortion? What a fool, completely crazy.

What was her gynecologist looking at? You have to be such an ignoramus to make a granny give birth, and prematurely at that. Don’t even say it, she’s hanging by a thread herself, and the kids, if they survive, will definitely have pathologies, no need for a fortune teller, it’s clear, his friend and colleague seconded.

Shut up, you suckers, expressing yourselves like that in the presence of the woman in labor, aren’t you ashamed, the gray-haired doctor Leonard Anderson was indignant.

The chief doctor of the maternity hospital played it safe and threw almost half the staff at Claudia’s operation, after all, not every day do ladies of respectable age give birth. Well, Leonard Anderson, we didn’t say anything, just the truth, the young generation of doctors babbled. Besides, the woman in labor doesn’t hear anything anyway.

They didn’t even think that Claudia, emerging for a few seconds from the darkness into reality, caught the meaning of their words. Immediately her body twitched as if in convulsions, and a few seconds later, a piercing scream from one of the midwives rang out. “Leonard Anderson, the woman’s pressure has dropped sharply…”

Lord, exactly, Lera, and the heartbeat is weak, we could lose her any moment. Urgently to resuscitation measures. The whole staff rushed to help, but the irreparable happened.

Twenty minutes later, Claudia Thompson was gone. Her body couldn’t withstand such hellish strain. Tears welled up in the eyes of the midwives and Leonard Anderson, and the young doctors guiltily backed to the wall.

But, as they say, trouble doesn’t come alone. A few hours later, the prophetic predictions of one of the doctors came true. Claudia’s children indeed had pathologies.

One of the baby girls had an underdeveloped optic nerve. She practically saw nothing. And the other had a severe heart defect.

She won’t live even two months, the doctors predicted. The news of Claudia Thompson’s death and the terrible diagnoses of the children was devastating for Mike. No, he didn’t take his own life, but his brain forever refused to accept what happened…

The town women were chattering about Mike and Claudia. “Hey, Vicky, Mike went crazy after Claudia’s death. Cross my heart, I heard it myself,” one of the neighbors chirped.

“I agree with you, Mary, yesterday I asked him when Claudia’s funeral would be. He was delirious, talking nonsense. The man couldn’t bear the grief, even stopped going to the maternity hospital.

It happens, pity him.” Though town talks are often like gossip, this time the gossip was the terrible truth, which even Irene, Mike’s daughter, didn’t want to believe. The sudden death of her mother shook her.

She always thought her parents would be at hand and wasn’t ready for their departure. But it never occurred to her that her guilt was in her mother’s death. Irene’s heart had hardened so much that she didn’t feel her guilt and it didn’t occur to her to repent.

“Dad, we need to bury Mom, let’s decide on the funeral.” The girl said excitedly. “What is it, honey, what are you talking about? Who to bury? Mom went to visit relatives, to your grandma, she’ll be back soon.”

Mike replied as if nothing happened. “Dad, what? Grandma died long ago, and yesterday Mom died too.” “Oh dear, Irene, you’ve been reading adult books about the dead again,” Mike said and shook his head.

“When Mom comes back, she’ll scold you for it, oh, she will. Better look at the weather outside, the sun is shining bright, go for a walk, or you’ll go to school and won’t have time, go, Irene, go, just don’t stay out late, come back early so Mom and I don’t worry.” Irene looked at her father in horror.

She couldn’t say anything more. She got very scared hearing his words. Her hands and legs trembled from fear.

Unable to control herself, Irene rushed out to the street and pounded on the neighbor’s door with all her might. “Aunt Gail, please open,” the girl shouted loudly. “Coming, coming,” a voice came from inside the house, and a few seconds later the door swung open and Gail Matthews appeared on the threshold.

She and Mom used to work at the post office and were friends. “Irene, what happened to you?” the woman asked excitedly. “We need to bury Mom, and Dad, he…” Irene hesitated.

“He’s forgotten everything, as if he’s flown to another planet. Please help.” “You’re right, Irene, there are pains some people can’t cope with, your dad couldn’t either.

Don’t worry, we’ll take care of the funeral, everyone in town loved and respected Claudia.” What to do with Claudia’s kids? Gail Matthews asked the question Irene hadn’t even thought about. “Aunt Gail, I can’t take them, how can I raise them without money, my waitress salary won’t even cover diapers, and besides, the kids are sick.

You decide this with the maternity hospital, Irene, I know you can write a statement there refusing the children.” When the woman said these words, her heart bled, probably God will punish her for this. But who to give the sick infants to? Irene is young, unmarried, what will she do with them? Without absolute desire to care for children and financial means.

Her father Mike has lost his mind because of Claudia’s death. Claudia has no relatives able to take her children for upbringing. We all, Claudia’s friends, are not young, not very healthy, could end up in the cemetery any moment…

Forgive me, Lord, for telling to refuse the children, it’s a big sin, I know. But at the moment, they’ll be better off in state care, and then maybe some childless couple will take them into a foster family. I’ve heard it happens, they take even sick children.

Gail whispered words of repentance silently. Gail Matthews kept her word, organized Claudia Thompson’s funeral. The whole town buried Claudia, many loved and respected her, knew what happened.

Because of that, the bitterness of loss became even heavier. Only Claudia Thompson’s family wasn’t with her in this mournful moment. Daughter Irene came but stayed apart and was afraid to approach the coffin to look at her mother’s dead face.

She didn’t approach, didn’t dare ask forgiveness for her misdeed. And Mike wasn’t at the cemetery at all, continued to be in happy oblivion. He relapsed into times when he and Claudia were young, and little Irene just started school.

The cemetery silence was broken by a mournful women’s wail. They wailed in all keys in polyphony, wailed and a few minutes later fell silent, humbly bowing their heads, the funeral procession of the town cemetery moved back to the town. Only one person stayed at the cemetery and sobbed aloud at the freshly dug grave.

It was paramedic Lucy, who discovered Claudia Thompson’s pregnancy. She blamed only herself for her death. Didn’t oversee, didn’t track, sent to the city for ultrasound on an old machine, which might have given wrong readings, didn’t see the pathology in the children.

“Oh, Claudia Thompson, Aunt Claudia, what have I done to you? Forgive me if you can, I’ll pray for your forgiveness on my knees all my life. Though your body is lifeless, your soul is alive, and it hears me,” Lucy begged, and tears streamed down her cheeks like hail. And then it dawned on the girl.

She shuddered with her whole body, then raised her tear-filled eyes to the gloomy sky and said again like a vow. “Claudia Thompson, I really want to atone for my guilt before you and God. I dream of doing what you couldn’t — raise and bring up the children you bore.

I don’t know why, but I believe they won’t perish, won’t die. They’ll live for themselves and for you, I promise, and I’ll do everything possible to keep the promise.” Lucy didn’t expect such words from herself.

But they came not from the head, but from the heart. Therefore, the words she said were the most sincere and real. For a long time, Lucy couldn’t tear herself away from the grave, stand up and go with everyone to the town.

Only when heavy rain started, she, soaked to the skin, returned home. You don’t throw around such strong promises. If you vowed, you must fulfill.

To do otherwise is to not respect yourself. And Lucy decided to start implementing the plan immediately. Nothing can be hidden from people in the town.

And Lucy, of course, knew what happened to Claudia’s husband Mike. The next morning, as if on wings, she rushed to the maternity hospital, where she ran head-on into Irene, who had just written a statement refusing her mother’s children. Lucy couldn’t hold back her emotions and right after Irene burst into the office of the maternity hospital head Helen Sanders…

But she was clearly in a bad mood. An elderly woman in labor died right after the operation with a bunch of doctors in the room who couldn’t provide medical help. That’s an event, they won’t pat on the head for it.

Infants with pathology, refusal of them, that’s a headache. “What do you need?” finally tearing away from the papers, the head asked in a displeased tone. When Lucy told about the purpose of her visit, Helen Sanders just twirled her finger at her temple.

“Girl, you’re a paramedic, and you’re talking such nonsense, the maternity hospital doesn’t give children for adoption, go to the orphanage. If you’re talking about the elderly patient’s children, don’t you know they were born premature and are under round-the-clock medical supervision? I can’t help with anything, please leave the room.” From the unexpectedness, Lucy lost her speech for a few seconds, then, having sipped unsalted, left the office.

“But nothing, don’t hang your nose, no one said it would be easy,” Lucy said to herself. She waited with bated breath for the baby girls to be transferred to the orphanage. Despite the doctors’ comforting forecasts, the girls survived anyway.

Lucy tirelessly prayed for their health, happily went shopping and bought baby things, thus bringing closer the moment of meeting the girls. It took a whole six months before Lucy had the opportunity to come to the orphanage and ask to adopt the girls. The orphanage director, Tanya Sanders, turned out to be a kind-hearted person, but said something that shocked Lucy.

“I’m sorry, Lucy, but the girls already have a foster family, it’s a well-off middle-aged couple, any day now they’ll finalize the adoption documents.” “But how?” Lucy exclaimed. “The girls should be with me.”

The director looked surprised at the strange young woman who entered. “Why exactly with you? You’re not married, live alone in a one-room apartment, you have a small salary. How were you going to support the children, treat them? You probably know both girls need constant treatment.”

“But…” Lucy tried to find words and couldn’t. “That’s it, it’s a miracle that such girls found a foster family, apparently they were born under a lucky star,” Tanya Sanders said confidently. Lucy sat beside herself, she understood this was the end.

“They won’t give her the girls, she won’t fulfill the promise given at Claudia’s grave. What a cruel life, I hate it.” The girl shook with indignation and pain, and tears approached her eyes.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, and a man and woman about 55 entered the office. “Tanya Sanders, we brought the documents for adoption,” the woman said, handing a folder. “Good day, thank you, sit down, Olivia Johnson, Victor Sanders…

Lucy is leaving now,” the head said, casting a disapproving glance at the girl. Lucy guessed that before her were the future foster parents of the girls. Unexpectedly even for herself, she begged them to listen to her.

She told her sad story so touchingly and sincerely that she melted the hearts of Olivia Johnson and Victor Sanders. “Lucy, we see you’re a good, kind person, but we still won’t give up the girls. You understand, they need expensive treatment.

However, we can offer you a nanny position, then you’ll be with the children all the time, do you agree?” “Yes,” Lucy said quietly, understanding this was her only chance. “What will you name them?” Together with my husband, we decided to name them Claudia and Victoria,” Olivia Johnson said with a smile. At the word “Claudia,” Lucy’s face brightened.

She understood everything should turn out well. A difficult path lay ahead, but the foster parents’ money and Lucy’s prayers did their job. Victoria had expensive heart surgeries abroad in infancy, Claudia needed eye surgeries so she could see the world through glasses.

Eighteen years flew by like one day. All this time, Lucy was nearby, living with the foster parents and the girls in a big private house. From the first days, they treated her like a member of a close-knit and friendly family.

Largely thanks to Lucy, Claudia and Victoria turned from naughty tomboys into well-mannered, smart, kind girls, and soon they’ll become students at prestigious universities. Lucy didn’t create her own family, and she didn’t strive for it. The girls became her family, Lucy couldn’t imagine a better fate for herself.

The day the girls called her mom became the happiest day in her life, and only then did Lucy proudly say, “See, Aunt Claudia, I did it, I kept my word, you must be happy in heaven now, and I’m here on earth. Someday we’ll definitely meet, you’ll see, I promise.”