Abandoned in the Forest — Saved by a Stranger

Night had already fallen over the forest, turning the trees into dark silhouettes under the dim sky. While most families were safe at home, a strange and unsettling scene unfolded in the woods: an elderly woman was leading her two grandchildren deeper into the darkness.

“We’re here!” said Valentina Igorevna, her voice oddly cheerful. “They told me you’re evil… and I have to rid the world of you.”

The boy looked confused.

“Grandma, why do you think we’re evil?”

“Silence!” she snapped. “You’ll turn into worms and destroy everything good!”

But her anger faded quickly. She gently stroked their hair, tears falling down her cheeks.

“Don’t be afraid. Your mother will thank me for freeing her from you,” she whispered, as if trying to convince herself.

She knelt down and began digging a shallow hole with her bare hands. Into it, she placed an old broom—as if it marked the end of something dark.

“I’m cold, Grandma… can we go home?” the little girl, Anya, pleaded, her voice shaking.

Her words struck something in the woman. Suddenly, she burst into a shrill laugh.

“No! You killed your mother! This is where you’ll stay! You’re never going home!” she screamed, then ran into the woods and vanished into the shadows.

Anya broke down in tears. Her older brother wrapped his arm around her and led her through the brush, desperately searching for a way out. They were freezing—their grandmother had dressed them in clothes far too thin for the cold night.

Elsewhere, a woman named Nadezhda was finishing up at the local dump. She had gathered what little she could reuse and loaded it into her cart. Her tiny shack—isolated but safe—was her only refuge after a life full of loss.

Years earlier, she had married a man she loved deeply, only to discover he was a drunk and a liar who claimed to be a former sea captain. Nadezhda worked as a milkmaid on a nearby farm, picking up extra shifts to support them. But her hard-earned money always ended up in bottles shared with his drinking buddies.

She had two children she often brought to work. But the constant yelling, the drinking, and the chaos wore her down. Eventually, she filed for divorce.

That day, fate struck cruelly: she had to cover a shift for a sick coworker and left the children home with their father, who was sober—at least at first.

But after she left, he started drinking again. He lit the stove and sealed the chimney too early. Carbon monoxide filled the house.

When Nadezhda came back, both of her children were gone.

Grief consumed her. She wandered cemeteries aimlessly, started drinking, lost her job, her home—and ended up living on the fringes of society.

One bitter night, she walked toward an abandoned factory to warm up and make tea. Then, she heard crying.

Following the sound, she found two freezing children sitting on a stump. The boy was begging his sister to keep moving, but the girl wouldn’t get up.

“Where are your parents?” Nadezhda asked gently.

“We don’t have anyone,” the boy said. “Grandma left us in the forest. She said we’re cursed. Our mom died in the hospital.”

Nadezhda froze. Something broke open in her heart.

“Come with me. I’ll feed you, warm you up. I had children too… but I couldn’t protect them…” she said, tears in her eyes.

The children, having nothing to lose, followed her. She brought them into her shack and wrapped them in thick blankets.

That night, as they slept, Nadezhda whispered to herself, “You won’t suffer anymore. I won’t let them put you in an orphanage. Not while I’m alive.”

She retrieved her own children’s birth certificates, hidden for years. As dawn broke, she finally drifted to sleep.

Meanwhile, Liliya—the children’s real mother—lay restless in a hospital bed. At 26, she once had a promising life. Her mother, Valentina, had been a powerful official who helped her rise.

She married Dmitry, a loving man—until he changed. When he got a job abroad, he left her and never returned. Heartbroken, Liliya’s mother turned to religion, but eventually fell into a cult. She gave away everything she owned and began to spiral into madness.

After a car crash left Liliya hospitalized for months, she worried constantly about her children. Her mother never visited, never gave news.

When Liliya was finally discharged, she found her home in ruins. Her mother laughed one moment, cried the next, and the children were gone. Liliya had no choice but to commit her to psychiatric care.

She nearly lost all hope—but something kept her going.

Then one day, a woman named Nadezhda walked into the kindergarten where Liliya worked. She had come to apply as a nanny, claiming the children were hers.

But when she stepped into the office, the children screamed:

“Mommy! Mommy!”

They ran to Liliya, hugging her tightly.

Nadezhda stood frozen.

When the truth came out, Liliya didn’t blame her. She embraced Nadezhda.

Two broken women, both shattered by life, found healing in one another.

Liliya reunited with her children—and Nadezhda became their second mother. Together, they rebuilt what pain had once tried to destroy.