Anna never liked to come home to the village, always seeking to quickly return to the city. She tried to visit her parents rarely. Then Anna got married and stopped going at all. But then first her father died, and then her mother fell ill, and Anna came home.

The house was dilapidated, ramshackle, with the garden and vegetable garden not taken care of for a long time. The house was very damp and untidy. Her mother was in bed, sick. Anna talked to her mother, then gave her medicine, and decided to clean the house a little, especially since she was going to live here until her mother got back on her feet.

It was cold in the big room, the stove had not been stoked for a long time, and there were a lot of cobwebs. But a lamp was burning near the icons. Suddenly it made her feel cozy, and she remembered her childhood. Then Anna warmed some tea and sat down to look at old photographs with the wood crackling in the stove. The photos were all faded, many even seemed gloomy. And all of course black and white, now it is a color photo, it turns out beautifully. Then Anna came to the icons. She was not too religious, but she believed in God. The icons were old, you might say ancient. One of them depicted her patron saint, Saint Anna, looking as if reproachfully. The girl turned away, feeling a little embarrassed.

Her mother had not recovered after all, as Anna had hoped. After her mother’s funeral, something had to be done about the inheritance. Anna had already found buyers for the house, and she decided to just give away the rest of the furnishings and the rest of the stuff. Only when it came to the antique icons did the girl’s heart tremble. But her husband, who was a hardened atheist, resisted taking them home. So Anna decided to take them to their village church.

On arriving at the church, she spoke with a wise priest who dissuaded her from leaving the icons with them. – These are your inheritance from your late parents, the only memory, let you have them. By the way, St. Anne is prayed for the gift of children. Do you have children?” asked the priest affectionately.
– I do not.
– Let this be a sign from on high for you.

Anna took away the icons despite her husband’s protests. She and her husband really did not have children, although Anna was already 35. Six months later she became pregnant.