The boy was begging for his sick mother. But when they followed him, they learned a terrible secret. Manuel is a very nice boy. He is 8 years old, and although his voice is a little hoarse, he speaks quite clearly. He always behaves well-mannered, and everyone in the village loves him. “what a cute and educated boy. A real treasure” – these phrases sound wherever Manuel appears, begging for alms when he goes home.
The boy first came to this village at the end of February. He began to walk from house to house, asking for help. He said that his mother was very ill and could not work, so he needed money for everything necessary for her. When people heard this sad story from the mouth of an angelic creature, they could not help but feel his story. Everyone began to sympathize and worry about the child, he was welcomed hospitably in all homes.
Some gave him food and water, while others gave him some money. After a couple of houses, the boy could not even finish everything that was put on him and later said that he was already full. This child won the hearts of all the locals, for them, he practically became an adopted child. Now the poor orphan has a huge new family of people who cared and worried about him. As time passed, the boy came to the village every day.
No one knew where the child lived with his mother, but they believed that perhaps they lived in one of the neighboring villages or on the way there. When asked where he was from, the boy only answered “Over there”, pointing his finger towards the south, where the dense forest began. When asked about his mother, he also answered the same thing, that she was ill.
All the villagers were satisfied with the answers of the boy, and they were glad that they could help such a cute child, but there was one person who decided to find out the whole truth. A local priest from a 20-meter tower saw the boy coming to the village every morning. From such a height, he could see very far away, and watched as the child walked along the path from the village along the same route into the distance. Sometimes he would go upstairs and watch the boy leave the village on the same path.
The priest began to think: “Where does this child live anyway?”. He imagined an old dilapidated house made of wooden slanting boards, a plot without a fence or a small hut that could not protect from the weather. Over time, the man began to think about it more often. He started asking the villagers about the boy, and all they knew about him was that he was very nice and his mother was sick.
The priest began to suspect something was wrong, one morning he decided to follow him, walking at some distance. So he followed the boy for almost 3 kilometers, the elderly man had a hard time this way, and he constantly hoped that Manuel’s house would soon appear. When the priest climbed another hill, he lost sight of the boy. As the man was in no hurry, he could not find the child anywhere else. He walked on and on, but never saw him.
Suddenly, in the distance, he heard a child’s laughter, but it came from somewhere to the side, from the side of the trees. The priest with great difficulty, but persistently began to make his way through the thickets of trees, he almost fell several times as the sun descended lower and lower. Suddenly the children’s voices died down, and the man heard an angry dog barking, but the priest was not afraid and continued on his way.
In the end, he was able to make his way through the thicket of trees and get out into a small field on which the hut stood. The dog began to bark even louder, sensing the priest’s approach, and the children came out of the hut at the noise. It was Manuel with a 6-year-old girl. Dark hair framed a round, pale face, but the child looked healthy enough for such an environment. It was obvious from the children that they were brother and sister.
Manuel and the girl drove their dog away from the priest, who rushed at him to protect his owners. It was finally dark outside, and the priest decided to stay overnight with the children. He understood that it might not be safe to return to the village in the dark, besides, the man wanted to hear the story of the children.
Realizing that it would not be possible to hide the truth further, the boy told the man that their mother had died last year. The priest realized that about a year had passed since the woman’s death, and around this time Manuel appeared in the village for the first time. The news about where the boy lives spread through the village instantly.
The mother of the babies was reburied at the local cemetery, as she was only covered by a pile of stones not far from the hut, what else could the little children do? According to Manuel, their father left the children in that place after his wife fell ill and went in search of help, but never returned. Manuel’s mother died, and he had to take care of his younger sister.
They did not go to the village because they were still waiting for their father and at the same time did not want to leave their mother’s body here. This story aroused unprecedented interest in the village. One adult childless couple, owners of the only bakery in the village, decided to adopt children. Manuel and his sister found happiness with their new parents, as well as the love and care that they missed so much after their mother’s death.
They grew up in a new family, but every Sunday they visited the grave of the woman who gave them life but left this world so early. It’s amazing how strong and devoted children can be, and most importantly, their feelings are always real, it’s a pity that with growing up, sincere love for parents is often blunted.