Many children grow up in orphanages, and Petya is no exception. He is a child who has been in such institutions almost since birth.
The orphanage provided him with a lot: a place to live, a separate bed, food, education, and more. However, what Petya needed the most—love and parental care—was something the orphanage couldn’t provide. He never saw or experienced that love because caretakers, with numerous children to attend to, couldn’t offer individualized care and affection. People who genuinely love children don’t always work in orphanages; sometimes, they work just to make ends meet.
Even though Petya doesn’t remember his mother and father, he had rather peculiar dreams. Strange because it was, one could say, the same dream that repeated all the time. In the dream, there was a tall girl with thick, long chestnut hair and light blue eyes that seemed so dear and full of love. In each dream, she affectionately stroked Petya’s head and kissed him on the cheek. Although Petya was just a little six-year-old, he remembered these dreams well, starting almost from the first transfer from the baby house to the orphanage.
No one ever looked at Petya with such a gaze, and each time he woke up in tears with a persistent feeling of nostalgia and sadness.
The most significant event at their orphanage was the arrival of strangers who brought toys, sweets, clothes, and more for the children. For the kids, it meant that someone would soon have a family, and there would be one less child for a happy family, maybe even two or three. All the children tried to stand out when potential parents visited: some sang songs, some recited poems, others danced and played.
But Peter never did. He just watched from afar. He couldn’t force himself to smile, dance, or sing in front of strangers. Everyone in the orphanage thought that no one would ever choose Petya.
During one of the subsequent visits from couples and individuals looking to adopt or foster a child, Petya sat quietly and played again while other children did their best to draw attention. However, he couldn’t sit still and just watch for long. A girl entered the room—the same one from his dreams. Holding his breath, he felt a strong excitement and tears streaming down his little child’s cheeks.
The boy looked at her directly, unable to believe he had encountered the “mother” from his dreams, the one who looked at him with boundless love in her eyes. However, she didn’t approach; she just observed, and he couldn’t hold back his tears. They betrayed him, streaming down his face.
The girl, whose name turned out to be Liana, noticed someone closely watching her and found the one who was looking and crying like that. She saw Petya, wiped his tears, and they started talking.
Now, Liana only visited Petya. Each meeting came with a walk, delicious homemade cookies that the girl baked herself, long interesting conversations, and the joyful laughter of children.
Only three or four meetings were enough for Liana to make the firm decision to adopt Petya. Liana’s husband supported this idea, and now the little boy has a family. And the mother from his dreams stepped out of his dreams into reality.
