Human kindness is not always appreciated
Alla Nikolaevna, an elderly woman, about 80 years old, lives in our house. She lives alone, buried her children, and her grandchildren are somewhere far away. She lives poorly, there is not enough pension, sometimes she begs. The residents of the house try to help her as much as possible. Some of them bring food, others bring clothes and shoes. The old lady is very kind and timid.
I lived alone, my husband and I divorced, I was lonely. I began to visit Alla Nikolaevna, we drank tea, talked. It became easier for me and I felt not so lonely. Over time, I began to come to her more often, brought groceries, cooked, and sometimes cleaned. It was already very difficult for the old lady to walk, she rarely even left the apartment. I helped her as much as I could. For this she always thanked me very warmly and cried. It wasn’t hard for me to help her. I didn’t even think about any selfish goals, although the neighbors sometimes hinted. Like, since you’re taking care of the old woman, let her bequeath the apartment to you. I would just wave it off. Alla Nikolaevna replaced my grandmother and my parents, whom I lost a long time ago. Time passed, I took care of the old lady, everything was fine until one unpleasant incident.
One evening someone knocked on the apartment door. A precinct officer was standing on the threshold.
He claimed that Alla Nikolaevna had written a statement to me about the theft of her pension. It was completely absurd, I took money from my neighbor only for medicines and utilities, she always gave them herself, I didn’t even know where she kept the money. The district police officer explained that today the neighbor received a pension, I came to her at lunch, and in the evening she did not find any money. Since no one else came to her, she immediately thought of me. I told her that I really came to the neighbor’s house for lunch, but I didn’t take any money. It was decided to sort it out on the spot. We came to Alla Nikolaevna, she again told her version, and also added that I was using her to get her apartment after death. It was insulting and unpleasant to hear this. I helped the old lady from the bottom of my heart, and she, it turns out, has such an opinion about me. The precinct officer once again spoke the version of what happened, asked to check the wallet and bag where the money was lying. They were not in the wallet, and when they began to shake the bag, the money fell out of a secret pocket. The neighbor was taken aback, and then said that she probably put them there herself and forgot. Old age… forgets everything. The incident was settled, the application was torn up, and the district police officer left. I left with him. Alla Nikolaevna didn’t even apologize. The next day she continued to talk to me as if nothing had happened. But my attitude towards her had changed.
Now I very rarely visit her to bring groceries. Despite what I’ve done, I still feel sorry for her. An old, lonely, suspicious woman who is not needed by anyone.
