Anna had been working at the Niewier family’s house for many years. That day, the owners had gone away, and after finishing all her duties around the house, she decided to rest a little by the window. Suddenly, her attention was caught by a boy walking along the fence. He was thin, wearing torn clothes, and looked very tired.
“He must be hungry,” Anna thought, feeling pity for the poor child. She looked at the clock, realizing the owners wouldn’t return soon, and went out to the yard.
“Hi, what’s your name?” she asked gently, approaching the boy who was watching the street carefully.
“Mariusz,” he replied, looking at her with distrust.
“Come with me,” Anna offered. “I’ll give you some apple pie,” and without hesitation, the boy followed her. He was very hungry and hadn’t eaten anything all day.
In the kitchen, Anna cut a big piece of pie and placed the plate in front of the boy.
“How delicious!” Mariusz exclaimed, biting into the pie. “My mom used to bake these too!”
“And where is your mom?” Anna asked cautiously. The boy froze, stopped eating, and lowered his eyes.
“I’ve been looking for her for a long time… She disappeared,” he said quietly.
“Eat, eat,” Anna said gently. “You will surely find her.”
At that moment, the door opened — the owners had returned. Anna flinched at the sound of footsteps.
“And who is this?” asked Sergiusz, surprised as he looked into the kitchen. His eyes widened when he saw the boy.
“Who did you bring, Anna?” he asked sternly.
“This child is looking for his mother, he’s hungry, so I decided to feed him,” she replied calmly, shrugging.
“So now you help everyone you find on the street? And we don’t care?” Sergiusz was outraged.
Mariusz began to cry at those words.
“I’ll go now,” he said, putting down the unfinished piece of pie.
Ewa stepped in:
“Wait, boy,” she said gently. “Where did you lose your mother?”
Ewa had always been kinder than her husband, and although Sergiusz often scolded her for being too soft, he couldn’t change her nature.
“I live with my grandfather, but he’s mean. He keeps yelling at me,” Mariusz admitted, pulling an old photo from his pocket. “These are my parents, we used to live together,” he said, handing the picture to the owners.
Ewa took the photo and froze, recognizing her daughter Maria.
“Sergiusz, this is our daughter!” she called out in a trembling voice, handing the photo to her husband.
Sergiusz took the photo in disbelief.
“Mariusz, where did you get this photo?” he asked, surprised.
“I found it at my grandfather’s. There was an address on the back, so I came here. I thought maybe my mom lives here,” the boy answered, calming down a bit. “Grandpa said mom abandoned me, but I don’t believe him!”
“Impossible!” Ewa repeated, remembering how their daughter Maria once ran away with a man named Paweł. For several years, there was no news about her, then she returned… and soon died in a car accident on the way home. That day became their true nightmare, leaving only the two of them.
“And where is your father?” Sergiusz asked.
“He’s not here. He died six months ago,” Mariusz replied, crying again.
The couple was shaken. They had found their grandson! Tired of loneliness, they decided to keep the boy with them.
“You know, little one, we’ll take you to your room,” Ewa said.
“Will mom come?” Mariusz asked.
“Your mom is now with your dad,” she answered sadly.
Mariusz turned pale.
After some time, the couple arranged the adoption papers. The grandfather did not object when he learned the boy was being taken in by wealthy people.
Anna was happy. Thanks to that day when she met the boy, the owners regained happiness. Over time, Mariusz stopped being a poor orphan. He became a well-dressed boy with good manners and a loving family.
