In her lifetime, Anna was very successful. Since her thirties she had been constantly at work, working her ass off, providing for her family. Her husband lived like a king, and he expected the same after her death. They had a beautiful three-room apartment, a house in the suburbs, and three children who were entitled to an inheritance. Philip himself was always at work, too, but even with being an excellent worker, he could never get more than Anna. He was also not so thrifty and could not save carefully and keep a large sum in the bank as his late wife had done.
What was his surprise when it turned out that the apartment was left to him, about ten per cent of the amount of savings was also left to him, the suburban house to the children and another ten per cent to each of them, and the remaining sixty Anna had transferred to an unknown man.
Philip was furious. He had no doubt that the man was a lover. He seduced Anna and begged her for a place in her will.
After the meeting at the notary’s office, Philip summoned the man for a cup of coffee to discuss everything and find out for himself. He wasn’t going to listen to silly excuses, only the naked truth that would explain such an act by his wife.
– I don’t want that money,” he said. – It won’t fix anything anyway, and it can’t change the past in any way…
The man was depressed and took a long time to find the words to tell Philip a story from his youth. Once Anna and his wife had gone swimming together, and in the summer they worked as lifeguards on the beach. They were good friends and went out on the same shift. They had fun and worked together, were very friendly, but when it came to saving people’s lives, especially their own, everyone was on their own.
At sea, where the waves were raging, it was necessary to save a little boy who was drowning. Anna rushed first, but could not cope with the bad weather. Her faithful friend went to the rescue. Something unimaginable was going on in the waves, and while they were rescuing the child, Anna began to be pulled further into the depths. She was exhausted and began to panic. In an attempt to save herself and the boy in the circle, she didn’t keep track of her friend going underwater. Later, she thought she was the one who pushed her away and wasn’t attentive enough, causing her to blame herself for years.
Anna’s friend was left with a husband and daughter who had been grieving for a long time, which is why Anna later put a seemingly stranger in her will.
After listening, Philip told him not to give up the money. Even though it wasn’t enough to pay off someone’s life, Anna did it from her heart. She may have been guided by guilt, but that did not negate the fact that she had done the right thing.
– It’s her money, she could have done with it as she pleased, and she thought you needed it too, so don’t refuse the inheritance. It’s the least she could do,” Philip said, realizing that his wife was not only a hard worker, but a very good person.
