PART 1 — The Woman Who Never Forgot Me
Every evening when I came home, the first thing I saw wasn't the light in the empty living room… Instead, it was a plate of food standing in front of my door. My name is Maria, and I am 67 years old. Since the day my husband passed away, the house that was once full of laughter and warmth has turned into a quiet place. My children have built their own lives.
They love me, but due to the distance, we can see each other less and less often. Some days, I didn't speak to anyone at all. Until about two months ago, when this plate appeared. At first, I thought someone had placed it there by mistake. But the next day, it was there again. A bowl of warm soup. A piece of bread. Sometimes potatoes, exactly the way my husband used to prepare them for me.
I asked my neighbors if they knew who was bringing the food, but no one had an answer. The strangest thing was that this person never left a note. He or she simply brought the food silently… and vanished again. On a rainy evening, I decided not to bring the plate inside right away. I turned off the light, stood behind the curtain, and waited. Twenty minutes later, a shadow appeared at the end of the hallway.
An elderly woman walked slowly toward my door. She set down the plate. Just as she turned around and started to leave, I opened the door. "Are you the one who brings me food every evening?" The woman startled and turned around. Under the dim street light, I recognized her. Elena. My neighbor who lived three houses down. "Why are you doing this?" I asked.
She remained silent for a long time, then said softly: "Because I know what it feels like to open the fridge… and not know who you are still supposed to cook for." That evening, for the first time in months, I sat at the table with someone. Yet before Elena left, she looked at me for a long time and said: "Tomorrow, I won't bring any more food." "Why not?" She only smiled. "Because tomorrow I want to take you somewhere." The next morning, Elena stood in front of my door holding an old wooden box. And when I saw what was inside that box… I understood that it had something to do with my husband. The man who had died five years ago.
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