Asya was washing the floors in the maternity hospital corridor when she overheard a conversation coming from the delivery room.
“We did everything we could. What a tragedy… She was still so young, and she didn’t even get to see her baby…”
The woman had died immediately after giving birth. She had a heart defect. What terrible grief… She probably should never have given birth. She had not been registered for prenatal care and had been admitted as an emergency case after going into labor.
Asya sighed. Things like that rarely happened at their hospital. She felt so sorry for the young woman and the baby. The child would have to grow up without a mother…
It turned out that the woman who had died was an orphan. She had no relatives, so the baby was destined for an orphanage. God willing, new parents would be found, and the child would never know what it meant to grow up as an orphan.
Asya had worked as a cleaner at the maternity hospital for many years. She had never been married.
Ever since childhood, she had heard her mother lamenting, “Oh, Asya, you were so unlucky. You’re unattractive, and you’re cross-eyed too…”
Asya herself could see that she was different from the other girls. She had a broad, bulbous nose, one eye that turned inward, and a congenital injury to her leg that made her limp when she walked. Her reddish hair was thin and sparse, and her eyes were a cloudy shade of blue.
At school, the other children teased her and called her cross-eyed. At first, she was hurt, but eventually they got used to her and stopped mocking her. No boys ever paid attention to her in high school. While her classmates changed boyfriends one after another, Asya would walk home alone after school dances and cry into her pillow.
After finishing school, she planned to enroll in nursing college, but her mother talked her out of it.
“What kind of nurse could you possibly be? You’re afraid of blood. You’d be better off washing floors. Cleaners are always needed, and you don’t need any education for that.”
Asya was used to obeying without question. After all, who needed her besides her parents? She found work at the same factory where her mother worked and began cleaning floors. The salary was small, but it was steady.
One day, her mother said, “Listen, I’ve been thinking. There’s a man working on our shift, Semyonych. He’s single. He’s not young, of course—he’s about my age—but he’s quite an interesting man. Maybe the two of you could get together and live as a couple?”
The author of the story is Notes of an Optimist.
“I mentioned the idea to him, and he isn’t against it. He and his mother have a large vegetable garden and a household to take care of, so they need an extra pair of working hands. Maybe you’ll become a family and have children. Everything will be just like it is for everyone else.”
Asya shuddered. She had seen Semyonych before. He was a huge, potbellied man who always smelled of alcohol, and he was far too old for her.
“Mom, I don’t like him. He’s unpleasant.”
“Are you really in a position to be so picky? Look at yourself in the mirror first! Who do you think would want someone like you? At least this way you’d have a husband. Of course, you’d have to work hard. What else did you expect? He’s certainly not choosing you for your pretty eyes. You should understand that.”
Asya felt deeply hurt. How could her own mother say such things to her? Her father almost always remained silent, but Asya could see that he looked at her with pity. That made her feel even worse.
For the first time in her life, she refused to obey her mother and firmly rejected the idea of a relationship with Semyonych. Her mother was displeased at first, but eventually she calmed down.
“You bring home money, you don’t run around, and you cook and clean the house. At least you’re useful for something. Stay an old maid, then. Maybe it’s for the best. Otherwise, God forbid, some man might throw you out later with a child in your arms.”
Asya had no intention of living with her parents for the rest of her life. That existence oppressed her. It seemed as though they merely tolerated her out of pity. They had no other children. She was their only daughter, and she had been born with defects.
Then her grandmother died unexpectedly, and Asya moved into her apartment. It was an old two-bedroom place, but at least Asya was the mistress of her own home. Her mother transferred ownership of the apartment to her, and Asya was grateful for that.
Later, Asya found a job at the maternity hospital and stayed there. The staff were kind and accepted her as one of their own. She was good-natured and compassionate, often doing other people’s work and helping whenever she could.
Love came into her life once.
The son of an elderly neighbor came to visit while on vacation. He noticed Asya and even invited her to the movies. For her, it was an extraordinary event. He began spending the night at her apartment, and Asya could hardly believe her happiness. He was a pleasant man, not an alcoholic, seemingly decent—and yet he had chosen her.
He gained her trust and even said that he wanted to marry her. Only one thing troubled her: he wanted her to transfer the apartment into his name. He claimed that he needed it for some business matter.
When Asya told her mother, she quickly brought her back to her senses.
“Are you completely foolish? Why would he need you? He wants to take your apartment! You’ve been listening to his lies with your mouth hanging open.”
Asya finally saw the truth and ended the relationship. Later, she learned that the man had been imprisoned for fraud. He had turned out to be a swindler.
After that, she decided there would never again be any relationships or men in her life.
One evening, Asya began her night shift. It was her favorite time of day. There was no commotion in the corridors. Only pregnant women with enormous bellies wandered quietly around, waddling like ducks with their legs spread apart. There were also women who had already given birth.
Some recovered quickly after childbirth, while others walked around for several days holding their stomachs. Everyone was different. Asya treated these women, who had experienced the joy of motherhood, with kindness and understanding.
Deep inside, she wanted to become a mother too. But apparently, it was not meant to be.
A baby in the nursery was crying without stopping. Asya decided to see which child was making so much noise. By the time she reached the room, the baby had gone silent.
She looked inside and froze in astonishment.
A young woman in a beautiful blue dress stood beside the incubator. She had long, fair hair and was gently stroking the baby’s head. She looked strange, almost translucent.
“What’s going on? Who are you?” Asya asked loudly.
The woman looked at her and pressed a finger to her lips, signaling for her to be quiet.
The other incubators were empty because the babies were staying with their mothers in the wards.
“Asya, what’s happening? Why are you standing there?” Valya, the nursery nurse, asked, touching her shoulder.
“Well… the baby was crying…”
“Oh, that one. He cries and then suddenly stops. Poor little thing. It’s almost as though he can feel that he’s all alone in the world. Completely alone. I had only gone to the bathroom.”
There was no woman in the room anymore.
Asya decided that she had imagined it. Her mind must have been playing tricks on her. How could a stranger have entered the nursery? She was simply tired.
In the morning, she returned home after her shift and went to bed, as she always did after working through the night.
She had barely begun to fall asleep when she suddenly heard a quiet female voice say, “Take little Misha.”
Asya opened her eyes. No one was there.
Had she dreamed it? Or was she hearing voices from exhaustion? She desperately needed some sleep.
Who was this Misha anyway? First she had imagined a woman in the nursery, and now she was hearing a voice. She had clearly been working too hard.
A moment later, she fell into a deep sleep.
The following day, Asya worked another night shift. Her colleague had asked her to cover for her. The extra money was useful, and Asya always agreed. Besides, what was there for her to do at home? She went to work as though she were going to a celebration.
While washing the floors in the nursery, she looked into the incubator where the orphaned boy lay. He was awake, his little forehead wrinkled as his eyes moved from side to side.
Suddenly, he looked directly at Asya with a strangely aware expression and smiled with his toothless mouth.
How could that be? Babies that young could barely see and certainly could not look at someone like that. And he was smiling too.
She must have imagined it.
“Admiring little Misha?” someone asked. “I feel sorry for the boy, but maybe someone will adopt him quickly. Dr. Gleb Mikhailovich said he’s perfectly healthy.”
“Misha?” Asya asked in surprise when she heard the name.
“That’s what we’ve started calling him. He has such chubby cheeks, and he often grumbles like a little bear.”
Asya remembered the voice and the words: “Take little Misha.”
She had not known then that the boy was called Misha.
What a strange coincidence.
Asya thought about it all day. Her heart felt heavy. She pitied the little boy so much that she wanted to cry. He was completely alone. No one would sing him a lullaby or hold him against their chest.
Then she suddenly realized that she wanted to take him home.
She would become his mother. She would love him with all her heart. Misha would be her little son.
She immediately went to the head of the department and announced her decision.
“Asya, why do you need these problems? No one knows what kind of genetics he has. And you don’t have a husband. Will you manage alone?”
“That’s exactly why. I’m alone, and he’s alone. We need each other, don’t you understand? I have an apartment, and I have money. I’ve saved a little from every paycheck because I have almost nothing to spend it on. How much do I really need? I’ve always dreamed of becoming a mother.”
“Well, it’s your decision. You’ll have to take maternity leave from work. You’re a good person, Asya, and you deserve happiness. I’ll help you with the paperwork.”
When all the formalities were completed, Asya took Misha home.
She had bought a crib, a stroller, a baby bathtub, and everything else a child needed. She was going to become a mother, even though the baby was not biologically hers.
Asya’s parents reacted well to the news.
“If you don’t have children of your own, then let Misha be yours. We’ll love him like our own grandson.”
Five years passed.
“Mommy, this is for you!”
A fair-haired little boy ran up to a woman sitting on a bench in the park and handed her a bouquet of tiny daisies.
“Thank you, my darling! This is the most beautiful and wonderful bouquet I have ever received!”
The woman bent down and hugged the boy tightly. He wrapped his arms around her neck in return. Their faces shone with genuine happiness and love.
An elderly woman passing by smiled. There was so much tenderness and warmth between the mother and son.
Asya could no longer imagine her life without her beloved little Mishutka. Her eyes shone with happiness—the happiness of being a mother.
“Mommy, you’re the most beautiful woman in the whole world. I love you very much!”
“Thank you, my darling. I love you more than life itself. Let’s go home now, sweetheart. It will be getting dark soon.”
Mishutka took his mother’s hand, and they slowly walked home together.
Two kindred souls.