Old Maria had dedicated her entire life to her children. She had given her home, her health, and all her strength, without ever complaining.
But as the years dragged on and her vitality began to wane, her children began to see her as a burden. They no longer treated her as a beloved mother, but as an old and useless object.
One cold winter morning, as the snow fell silently on the tiles, they came with a proposal that stabbed her heart like a knife. “You must move to the old, dilapidated house on the edge of the village.
It is the only place where you still have room,” they told her, while they held the large, warm house that she loved so much.
Maria, crushed by their words, did not answer. She only fell silent and shook her head without showing anger or resentment. Her children thought she had given up.
But Maria was hiding a secret, deep in her heart – a secret she had never shared with them.
Weeks passed and the cold, dark house she now lived in seemed to swallow her up. But one day, the door opened and Maria called a notary in.
In a calm but decisive manner, she transferred all her property, the precious house she had once owned, to a charitable organization. Her children, unaware of her decision,
went on with their lives, until they suddenly learned of the move – and their world collapsed.
Anger, terror, confusion! They ran to Maria, filled with accusations and bitterness. But she, their former source of life, sat calm, her eyes radiating a deep and unchanging peace.
“You took everything I had,” she said calmly. “But you forgot the most important thing: conscience and respect.” Her voice was like a gentle breeze blowing away the trappings of the world.
The house now belonged to those who truly deserved it—those who desired not riches and estates, but true dignity and love. Her children, who had hoped for the inheritance, found themselves empty-handed.
Their hearts were filled with remorse and bitterness, while Maria, in her quiet wisdom, knew she had done the right thing.
