No, seriously, have you ever wondered who grants wishes? I'm sure you have. And not only have you thought about it, but you have your own answer to this question.
Because really, if you ask this question to random people, no one will be silent.
Children will answer that it is Santa Claus (if they believe in him), and if not - then mom, dad, grandma and grandpa, or some other relatives. Someone else (mostly girls), can name a fairy or some magician. And what about adults? Oh, they have their own answers to this question. Someone may answer that God or the Universe, someone will remember the well-known since childhood Santa Claus or, again, some wizard, and someone in general may say:
- No one helps me, I do everything myself.
And they're right in their own way. As you know, you can't get a fish out of a pond without work. But still, there are cases when a little help is needed. It's just that not everyone thinks about it.
Here, you want to eat, let's say... a cake with nuts. It would seem that there is no problem - go and buy it. But imagine, you came to the store (where such cakes are sold), and it is not there! And all the cakes from this store are not gone, but there is no one like your favorite. Come to another store - the same thing, the third - again no. And such a story can be not only with a cake, but with something much more necessary.
And here to make them as little as possible, there are special helpers. They help to fulfill small wishes even those people who do not believe in Santa Claus, or have already spent their wishes for the New Year and birthday. There are situations when there is no possibility to wait for the holiday, and the wish should be fulfilled as soon as possible. And here it can go far beyond just gifts.
Let's say, for example, someone needs some unusual skill for work. They need to learn something they have little or no knowledge of. This can be done in many ways, so we need to choose those that will be affordable and will not take much time. The assistant's task is to make sure that his mentee comes across at least one such method.
Wish-fulfillment misfires do happen, though. It's when someone gets a thing they didn't want in the first place. The sad thing is that a similar situation can happen not only with a thing.....
People have taken in some kind of animal. Maybe it's a small animal, but most often it's a cat or a dog (in the latter case, it's good if the breed is relatively small). And then something went wrong... It doesn't matter what exactly happened, what matters is that the owners realized they couldn't handle the pet. Or maybe there were several pets, and the old-timers didn't accept the new one... It happens. The result of all this is the same: the pet needs to find a new home. And urgently. It's good that in the second case the pet is luckier.
***
So, let's begin our story. In one town all the people had such helpers. People never saw them, so they didn't know they existed. But they did. And among these helpers was Lusha. Lusha was very good, but... not very lucky. And Lusha often had failures like the ones I've already mentioned. Somebody else gets the wrong thing, or something else happens. And Lusha had so many failures that she failed the exam. Yeah, yeah, don't be surprised, the helpers have them too. Only the consequences of failing are much more serious than ours. Lusha, because of her failure, was left for a second year, and now she had to do an urgent good deed - to fulfill someone's big wish.
Lusha realized this and went to think. Who would want her help? After all, everyone who knew her tended to fulfill serious orders themselves. So it had to be someone who hadn't contacted their service yet.
- But where to get one? - she thought, because everyone in the town had lived there for a long time and knew each other. But, as it turned out, even in such a town there were secrets....
That day, the phone rang in their waiting room, and since there was no one else around, Lusha picked it up. She was sure it was one of her own, but for some reason the person on the other end was... some grandfather. Lusha didn't know anything about him except two things - he was definitely a man, and she was unfamiliar with him.
- Hello - he said hello in the meantime - is there anyone here who could talk to me?
- I can... I guess," Lusha answered hesitantly, "Unless you need some adults, of course. If you need help, I can call one of them.
- No," replied her interlocutor, "I'm really calling just to talk. You see, my name is Vasily Stepanovich, and I live alone. And what is your name, dear young lady?
- Lusha," she answered. For some reason she liked Vasily Stepanovich at once. They talked a little about this and that, and her interlocutor hung up the phone himself. And although Lusha liked him, she couldn't understand how it could be that such a good man had no one to talk to. And why had he called the wish fulfillment service in the first place? So Lusha went to her grandmother for advice.
After listening to her granddaughter, she sighed.
- So he has no desires stronger than this. You, Lucha, write down his number just in case. I'm guessing this isn't the last time your friend will be here.
And grandmother was right. Soon Vassily Stepanovich became a frequent visitor, and if he got to someone else, the elders would call Lusha on the phone.
Meanwhile, Lusha herself continued to be troubled by one question. How did it happen that such a good man as Vasily Stepanovich had no one to talk to but a strange girl. Once - okay, but he calls every day. When Lusha shared these thoughts with her grandmother and parents, they said:
- It happens, maybe his wife died, he had no kids, so he was alone.
And even though Lusha had only her grandparents around, for some reason she thought:
- No. He doesn't look like the type. His wife may be dead, but there's definitely someone else.
And in one of the conversations, she asked:
- Vasily Stepanovich, I was wondering. Do you have a granddaughter of your own? Or a grandson?
- Yes," he replied after a while, "a grandson. Maybe there's more than one. I don't know.
- How so? - Lusha didn't understand.
- When Sasha was little, his parents and I had a very bad fight. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I don't even remember what it was about. And for almost five years Sasha has been growing up without me. Don't think, dear Lusha, I called them and tried to send gifts to Sasha, but I failed. Forgive me, perhaps such a young lady is not interested in listening to an old man whining....
- No, no, it's all right - Lusha tried to calm him down. But Vasily Stepanovich finished the conversation anyway. Lusha really wanted to help him, but she couldn't even imagine what it would take. And she couldn't even imagine what would happen very soon.
***
That evening their phone rang again.
- Lusha, there's a phone call for you! - said my mother with a smile, who thought it was Vasily Stepanovich again.
- Now! - Lusha came running in, who was also sure that her acquaintance was calling. But a child's voice on the other end said:
- Hello, I'm Sasha. Is this the place where wishes come true?
- Yes. It's me, Lucha. What did you want?
And almost as much as Vasily Stepanovich, Sasha asked:
- Can you talk to me?
- Of course. - Lusha replied, "You don't have to be afraid of me. We can talk about anything.
And the conversation began. It turned out that Sasha, who is almost eight years old, lives a full life - he has parents, favorite cars, several boys at school with whom he is friends, and even a dog. But something in his story was still missing for Lusha. So she asked:
- Do you have grandparents? I do.
Here Sasha, who had been cheerful before, immediately became sad for some reason.
- There is one grandmother, but she lives in another country. And my grandfather... one died a long time ago, and I lost the other one.
- What do you mean, lost? - Lucha didn't understand
- My parents told me that when I was little they had a fight with him. Grandpa never came to our house again.
- Why?
- I don't know. Maybe they don't even remember anymore.
Lusha and Sasha talked some more and then he hung up.
And then Lusha suddenly realized. First she gets a call from a grandfather who hasn't seen his grandson for five years, then she gets a call from a boy who tells the same story about himself and his grandfather. Weren't they looking for each other?
And Lusha rushed out.
- Grandfather!" she shouted, "Urgently find me where Vasily Stepanovich's and Sasha's calls were made from! And show me the rooms, if you can! I need it badly!
Grandfather found it. And indeed, Vasily Stepanovich had a wall at home, on which stood a photograph of a little boy with his parents. The boy was no more than three years old. And almost the same picture was at Sasha's house. All this time they had been looking for each other! And Lusha quickly dialed the last number.
- Ale...
- Do you always want someone to talk to? Do you want to talk to your grandfather? - she asked, out of breath.
- Y-yes," Sasha staggered back.
- Then hurry up and write down the number. He'll definitely take it! - and Lusha dictated the number to him.
And then everything was quiet. Neither Sasha nor even his grandfather called her. Lusha didn't even know how the story ended. Meanwhile, the exam was approaching. And suddenly, early in the morning, on the day of the exam, the letter carrier came with a letter. And the only thing he said was:
- It's for Lucha.
In the envelope was a small note with the words, "Good luck on the exam, sweet young lady! And thanks for everything."
Also in the envelope was a picture of Sasha with his grandfather. And it had been taken quite recently.
- We met after all," Lusha thought with a smile. She did pass the exam.
The end