Big, Kind Heart by Anastasija Baranovska

It was around 10 p.m. on a February evening. Samantha was standing outside in the very center of the city that she lived in. She always liked to experiment with her looks, and it was probably one of the reasons that led her to the profession she chose. Samantha was a designer. She had just finished a meeting with one of her customers.  Samantha’s husband always told her that she loved her job too much.

This night turned out to be one of those nights that she would never forget. She was freezing as she stood outside. The February snow was hitting her face. That was the snow that did not make anyone happy. It was the February snow that everyone was tired of because it turned out to be the coldest and the most ruthless snow of the winter. She stood there for a good fifteen minutes since she left the apartment of the customer. Samantha was really cold, and she tried to warm herself up by rubbing her hands against each other, but it seemed like the blood in her veins was lazy and didn’t want to circulate.

Samantha’s husband was on his way to pick up his pregnant wife. He was in a hurry because he knew that a pregnant woman needed to have enough sleep. He also knew that she shouldn’t be standing outside alone on a February night.

He loved her very much. Samantha loved her husband even more. They were friends because they were able to drive in a car for hours without talking and feel completely comfortable. They enjoyed the silence, and they enjoyed each other’s company. They were soul mates. The first thing that they wanted to do every morning was to look into each other’s eyes, and they could do it for the rest of their lives. They meant everything to each other, and they both knew it. Now that Samantha was pregnant, she couldn’t wait to have a baby. Moreover, she was sure that she would be an amazing mother to her husband’s child.

As a designer, Samantha had that artistic ability to see and recognize even slight differences in color, shades, and light. She knew it was her husband’s car that had just pulled up on the intersection of the road because the car had lights that were different from any other. When it started to move again to park next to her, time stopped suddenly. She saw a big red truck appearing out of nowhere and running at high speed, straight into Samantha’s husband’s driver’s seat.

She couldn’t move. Snow, wind, cold fingers that were just freezing no longer existed. She heard only the sound of the brakes on the wet, snowy asphalt. Her husband’s car jumped away like it was a toy, and it looked like it was so light that it was made out of paper. It flipped in the air and landed on the side of the road. She didn’t hear herself screaming. She didn’t hear anything else around. She ran towards the car.

People, a lot of people. A big crowd surrounded the car. They pulled her away and didn’t let her see what happened to her husband. He was dead. In the emergency room, they said to her not to be depressed and sad because she was pregnant, and it could affect her baby. This advice was not helping much. She had just lost her husband, friend, soul mate. She had just lost her reason to live.

Later, when she woke up, in the cold, light room of the hospital, doctors asked her if she would agree to sign a document for organ donation. She didn’t even think about saying “no” because her husband had a big, kind heart. Without a single doubt, he would be willing to donate one and save someone’s life. So she signed it. Then a nurse entered the room and gave her a shot because she couldn’t stop crying. Finally, Samantha fell asleep. She had a dream about her husband. He was in a spacious room, sitting on the floor with a child, and he was helping a little boy put together a puzzle. Both of them seemed very happy, and when they noticed her, they smiled at Samantha and waved at her.

The time dragged. Day after day, Samantha woke up and fell asleep with the thought of her terrible, life-changing loss. The baby she was carrying was the only motivation for her to keep moving. She buried her husband. Friends and family were there for her, but they were not able to replace her sweetheart. However, time was the medicine she needed. She started to recover after weeks and months of crying. The dream that she had in the hospital was coming back to her all the time. At first it bothered her, but later, she was happy because it was her only chance to see her husband smiling again.

Samantha delivered a beautiful healthy boy in the springtime. It was a total renewal for her. Her dream came true. When she became a mother of her husband’s child, all her love and all her attention was given to little boy Robert. Samantha started to smile and laugh much more often. She found a reason to live again, even though a very important part of her was still missing. Samantha and Robert were a new little family, and they were happy together. She came back to her work again, and everything was working out well for her, but the dream was coming back to her all the time.

Andrew. It was his name. He was wearing light blue jeans and a silly green shirt. His brown, deep eyes were smiling all the time, and he had a beautiful voice. “What a fine looking man,” said Samantha when she saw him for the first time. He was five years old. Samantha was adopting Andrew just because she knew that she needed someone else in her house, and his eyes seemed so familiar and meaningful to her. She loved him just like she loved Robert. Andrew found his home and true family. He was a great help for Samantha with little baby Robert; he was there for her all the time and loved to take care of his little brother.

After several months of living together as a family, Samantha received a call from the orphanage. They were calling to notify Samantha that she had to get an annual health check for Andrew, with extra attention to his heart. The reason was that as a baby, he received a donation from a man who died in a car accident. They also mentioned the contact information of that man’s wife because Samantha wanted to go and let Andrew visit and thank that woman. The donation of an adult heart, even though surgeons used a part of it, saved Samantha’s adopted son’s life.

Time stopped again. Samantha had thought she would never experience that feeling again. Now she was able to put it all together. Now she understood why those smiling brown eyes of Andrew were so close and darling for her. She quietly wiped the tears of happiness from her eyes and entered the room where the boys were playing. She could not believe her eyes; there he was. Her son Andrew was sitting next to Robert on the floor, while the sun was shining really brightly, and the light was reflecting off her boys’ faces. Andrew was sitting next to Robert, helping to put the puzzle together. They both saw Samantha and started waving at her. The dream had come true.