After her husband’s funeral, the stepmother left her mute stepdaughter to die in the forest swamp… But a year later, a surprise awaited everyone…

Clouds drifted through the crystal clear water all the way to the bottom. Mary couldn’t help but gaze at them, feeling just as light and free. Grandma Karen was the first to shed her shirt and skirt, revealing a simple nightgown-like garment.

She straightened her back and didn’t appear as ancient as Mary had initially thought. Feeling somewhat shy, Mary also took off her clothes and dipped her toes into the water. It’s cold.

«Brr,» Mary exclaimed. «Be brave, my girl, or the water might refuse to take the sickness away.»

Grandma Karen said sternly from behind her. Mary took a step, then another, and suddenly she was underwater with her head submerged. She flailed her arms, opened her mouth in a silent scream, and a hoarse, high-pitched «a-a-a-a» emerged from her throat.

Grandma Karen, standing just a step away, scooped up handfuls of water and poured it over the girl while murmuring something under her breath. «With goose water, let Mary be rid of all her ailments.» It sounded to the frightened girl.

Then her fear dissipated instantly. Her breathing evened out, and she found the ground beneath her feet. It turned out she only needed to take one more step.

«Try to say something,» Grandma Karen demanded. «Speak.» «A-a-a,» the girl managed to say in a sing-song tone.

Her throat didn’t cooperate, but now she was certain she would speak again soon. «Good job!» Grandma Karen praised her. «The river accepted you and agreed to help.»

«We’ll come here every day. You’ll see; everything will get better.» Mary nodded.

She didn’t want to leave the water herself. She splashed around a bit near the shore. Here, Grandma Karen tossed her the wreath.

«Give it to the river as a thank you for healing.» Mary stroked the flowers and gently pushed the wreath into the water where the current took it away. The river picked up the gift and carried it away into the distance with the clouds.

She watched it with a smile. Right now, she felt so good, and the world seemed to shine in new colors, not just dark and cruel. On the shore, her skin was covered in goosebumps, and she shivered a bit while resourceful Grandma Karen wrapped her in a large fluffy towel.

Returning along the same path was much more cheerful. Mary skipped ahead, picking blades of grass, and behaved like an excited puppy. Grandma Karen smiled as she watched the girl, appearing younger herself.

Once inside the cottage, Mary unexpectedly felt hunger. She glanced at Grandma Karen, who was peacefully reading, comfortably seated on the bed. Mary mumbled, trying to get her attention.

However, the old woman, either hard of hearing or engrossed in her book, didn’t turn her head. Mary approached closer, patted her stomach, and let out a couple more faint sounds. «Don’t murmur; speak with words,» Grandma Karen responded without looking up from her book.

Mary felt a deep sense of injustice. How could she speak with words? She didn’t know how. «So, not so eager, I see,» Grandma Karen calmly remarked, noticing her confusion.

Mary tensed. Sounds bubbled up in her throat, but they refused to come out. She imagined them as billiard balls, needing an invisible cue to be hit, rolling up her throat.

She mentally picked three of these balls and pushed them. «I am.» She managed to say it unexpectedly.

Grandma Karen put her book down, dangled her legs off the bed, and patted Mary’s head. «Well done,» she approved. «Everything will work out; you just need to try.»

«But for now, it’s time to eat. Grab a bowl; go to the backyard. I have some chickens there; collect eggs, and we’ll fry them with bacon.»

«Oh, it’ll be delicious.» Still a little disoriented from the experience, Mary went out to the yard. True to Grandma Karen’s words, there were colorful chickens and a brightly colored rooster.

Ignoring his disapproving clucking, the girl collected five eggs and triumphantly returned home. «Well done.» Grandma Karen smiled.

Soon, the cottage was filled with the mouth-watering aroma of sizzling bacon. The scrambled eggs turned out to be incredibly delicious. Mary scraped the remnants from the plate and closed her eyes in contentment, like a satisfied kitten.

However, Grandma Karen didn’t seem to share her jubilant mood. She seemed to be listening to something inside herself, then approached the door, opened it, and barely moved aside in time. Leshy burst into the house.

The wolf whimpered, pacing around the room, glancing at the door, as if calling someone to follow him. Mary, with terror in her eyes, noticed blood on Leshy’s fur. «Something happened to Kevin.»

Grandma Karen cried out. «Looks like he ran into poachers. Stay here.»

«I’ll call for help. Stay put.» However, Mary didn’t hear the old woman’s shouts behind her.

Following Leshy who had rushed out of the house, she sprinted down the same path that Kevin had used to bring her here. Leshy looked back on the way, as if checking if she was following. Mary ran with her heart pounding in her chest.

Leshy led her to a clearing and howled. Mary, her heart racing, saw a man lying in the grass. She rushed to him, knelt beside him, and tried to turn him over.

For a moment, she thought Kevin wasn’t breathing. His camouflage pants were soaked with blood, and she got dirty in the process. She continued shaking him, hoping that he was still alive…