The most dangerous woman in the prison grabbed the elderly woman by the hair and forcefully shoved her face straight into the dough. The other inmates froze in fear, while the criminal burst into loud laughter and raised her hand, preparing to slap the old woman across the face. But at that very moment, something happened that left everyone present completely stunned 😨😱
The elderly woman had arrived at the women’s prison about three months earlier. She was sixty-nine years old, barely spoke to anyone, never got involved in arguments, and spent most of her time in the prison kitchen.
No one really knew what she was in prison for. The old woman did not like talking about her past, and whenever the other inmates asked her questions, she simply replied that she had made a terrible mistake and now had to pay for it.
But there was one woman in the prison who, for some reason, was especially irritated by the old woman’s calm behavior.
Her name was Bertha. Huge, strong, with tattoos covering her arms, she was serving a long sentence for murder and several brutal assaults. Even some of the female guards tried not to argue with her unless absolutely necessary.
From the very first day, Bertha took a dislike to the new inmate.
She constantly took the old woman’s food, forced her to do her work, deliberately knocked her plate onto the floor, or shoved her in the hallway.
“Why are you so quiet, old woman? Do you think you’re better than everyone else here?” she often asked.
The elderly woman never responded to the insults, and that only made Bertha even angrier.
One morning, as usual, the inmates were brought to the kitchen to prepare bread for the cafeteria. Each woman was given a task: some kneaded the dough, others placed it into molds, while the old woman prepared a large batch for the next round.
That day, the kitchen was short-staffed, so everyone was in a hurry.
Bertha walked up to the elderly woman and ordered her to hand over the dough that was already prepared so she would not have to bother doing the work herself.
“Take another one, please. I’m almost finished with this,” the old woman asked quietly.
“Are you telling me what to do now?”
“I’m just saying that if you mix everything up, we’ll both have to start over.”
Bertha suddenly grabbed the bowl and slammed it down onto the table with all her strength. Part of the dough fell onto the floor, and the old woman instinctively shook her head.
“My God, there’s so much anger inside you, girl…”
Hearing that last word, Bertha completely lost her temper.
“What do you mean, girl?! You old hag, have you forgotten who you’re talking to?!”
She grabbed the woman by her gray hair, jerked her head downward, and forcefully shoved her face straight into the huge mass of dough lying on the table.
Several inmates screamed in fear, but no one dared to come closer.
Bertha pulled the old woman back up by the hair, looked at her flour-covered face, and burst out laughing.
“Well, does it taste good? Maybe I should put you in the oven too?”
The elderly woman was breathing heavily, gripping the edge of the table with both hands.
“Please let me go. I haven’t done anything to you.”
“I’m not finished yet!”
Bertha yanked her hair again, turned her to face her, and raised her huge hand, preparing to strike. But at that very moment, something happened that made everyone present freeze in horror 😨🤔 The continuation of the story can be found in the first comment 👇👇
But at that moment, the old woman suddenly said:
“Go ahead, Bertha. Hit me. But this time, I won’t say that I fell on my own.”
The criminal’s hand froze in midair.
“What did you say?”
“Sixteen years ago, you did the same thing. Back then, I lied for you. And look how everything turned out.”
The kitchen became unusually quiet.
Bertha abruptly let go of her hair, and for the first time, the arrogant smile disappeared from her face.
“Shut up!” she hissed. “You don’t know anything!”
But the old woman slowly straightened up, wiped her face with the edge of her apron, and looked directly into her eyes.
“Sixteen years ago, I worked at an orphanage. And you were that girl no one wanted to take home. Do you remember when you broke a window and hit another girl? She ended up in the hospital, and I told the police it was an accident.”
Bertha turned pale.
The other inmates looked back and forth between the two women in surprise.
“I recognized you on the very first day,” the old woman continued. “Even with all those tattoos. I thought maybe you had changed after all these years. That’s why I stayed silent while you bullied me.”
“Then why are you here?” Bertha suddenly asked.
The old woman lowered her eyes.
“Because a few years ago, I felt sorry for the wrong person again. My grown son asked me to hide money that he had stolen with his friends. I knew where it came from, but I agreed anyway. I was convicted for helping conceal the crime, and he never even came to visit me once.”
Bertha slowly lowered her hand.
“You were the one who told me back then that I could become a good person,” she said quietly.
“I did. And I still believe that. But you don’t become a good person just because someone keeps forgiving your cruelty.”
At that moment, the head guard approached the table. She had heard the shouting and had managed to see what was happening through the glass door.
“Bertha, hands behind your back. Now!”
For the first time, the criminal did not argue and did not even try to resist.
As they were already leading her out of the kitchen, she suddenly stopped and turned back toward the elderly woman.
“Do you remember bringing me rolls on Sundays? When the other children were picked up by their parents and I was left alone?”
The old woman looked at her in surprise.
“Of course I remember. I always saved the biggest one for you.”
Bertha turned away so no one could see her face.
A few days later, the elderly woman was brought back to the kitchen. She walked over to her workstation and noticed a small package. Inside was a freshly baked roll, and beside it was a sheet of paper folded into quarters.
Written on it in uneven handwriting were the words:
“Forgive me. I recognized you on the very first day. I only hated you because you were the one person who treated me kindly, and I still turned into a monster. I didn’t want you to see what I had become.”
The old woman stared at the note for a long time, then carefully slipped it into the pocket of her apron.
That day, for the first time in three months, she asked the guard for permission to visit another inmate.
