When her husband left, Priya was only 25 years old.
He went to work abroad—and never contacted her again.
Priya cried a lot… but even with tears in her eyes, she lovingly prepared porridge for her mother-in-law.
Mrs. Amma, her mother-in-law, had suffered a stroke. She was completely bedridden and depended on Priya for everything.
Everyone advised her to return to her family and start a new life.
But Priya only smiled sweetly.
From the day she was married, Amma had treated her like a daughter.
Once, when Priya became seriously ill, it was Amma who spent the entire night by her side, checking her medicine and warm water.
And whenever Priya felt broken or lost, Amma would hold her hand and whisper,
“I’m still here, beta.”
So Priya stayed.
Day after day, she cooked, cleaned, washed, helped with physical therapy, and fed Amma.
On cold days, when Amma shivered, Priya massaged her with warm oil and covered her limbs so she could sleep peacefully.
Even when she was exhausted, Priya cooked her favorite porridge and gave it to her spoonful by spoonful.
Amma looked at her with silent gratitude—too deep for words.
Twenty years passed.
Gray hair began to appear in Priya’s hair.
Neighbors murmured in admiration:
“Who in this life has a heart like that?”
Some men tried to woo her.
She gently shook her head:
“As long as Amma is alive, I can’t leave.”
One day, Amma’s health began to deteriorate.
She called Priya, took her hand with trembling fingers, and whispered:
“Thank you, my child… But there is something I never told you.”
Priya leaned closer, holding her breath.
Amma spoke softly:
“When your husband filed for divorce, he asked me to sign the papers.
I refused. He stormed off.
A few years ago… he had an accident.
He passed away.
His ashes were sent from abroad… I kept them under the altar.”
Priya’s heart sank—but there were no more tears.
Then Amma added:
“In the closet is the deed to the land. It’s in your name now.
I never had any daughters—but you have always been mine.”
Amma passed away peacefully.
At the funeral, the whole village came to say goodbye.
Everyone wept when they saw Priya kneeling beside the coffin, a silent grief welling up from the depths of her soul.
Days later, Priya opened the cupboard.
Along with the deed, she found a savings account: more than two million rupees.
Amma had been secretly saving for years:
renting out the back of the land, selling a small vegetable garden, setting aside money from her pension—all in Priya’s name.
On the first anniversary of Amma’s death, Priya renovated the house.
She opened a small shop in the front yard and called it:
“Amma’s Oatmeal House.”
Customers paid what they could.
Some paid nothing at all.
When asked why she didn’t charge more, Priya just smiled:
“Amma lived off the oatmeal I made for her.
Now I live off selling it—and helping others.
That’s more than enough.”
That afternoon, the place was packed.
In a corner, a shivering old woman was slowly eating the hot porridge.
She looked up and said,
“My child, this porridge is delicious. It warms the soul.”
Priya’s eyes filled with tears. She remembered Amma.
She leaned in slightly and whispered,
“Madam… I made it with all the love I once received.”