A homeless man took an elderly woman he saw stranded on the street and brought her into his house to live with his family. After she passed away, he anticipated the little girls’ children would knock on his door with an odd request.
One evening after work, Evan hurried past the gridlock, mumbling, “I have to get home before it starts raining.” After a long day at the factory that processed wood, he was driving home and was fatigued.
An elderly woman’s weak form could be seen on the sidewalk as the father-of-three rushed across the street. Holding her wheeled walker for stability, she stood beneath the street lamp.
She seemed to be in danger of collapsing and unable to continue walking.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pixabay
“Hey, wait up! Lady, please be careful!… Hold on; I’m coming!” Evan shouted as he immediately pulled over near her.
“We will call the cops and report you for robbing our mother…where have you hidden the box?” yelled one of the ten children.
He took her immediately and forced her to sit on the sidewalk. “Here, have some water. Are you alright?”
She took a sip of water before desperately scanning the distance of the road. She stood up, sighed, thanked Evan, and prepared to continue walking for however far her feeble legs would allow.
“Wait a minute…I’m heading that way. Do you want a ride?” asked Evan, concerned about leaving the woman alone when it was almost about to start raining.
“Son, thanks for trying to help this old Doris. But my destination is unclear. I don’t know where I’m walking to,” replied the woman as a confused Evan wondered what she was talking about.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pixabay
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Doris. See, I’m heading this way. I don’t mind dropping you. Please tell me your address.”
The elderly woman was sobbing uncontrollably. She began sobbing and covered her face in her fists.
“I was kicked out of the nursing home this morning because I couldn’t pay.”
“Oh my God…that’s insane! Doesn’t Medicaid cover you?” asked Evan, curious to know more.
“The facility does not accept Medicaid,” Doris said in half-broken sentences.
“Do you have children?”
“Yes, I do have ten children.”
“Shall I drop you at their house? Where do they live?”
“No, please don’t take me to them. They were the ones who sent me to the nursing home. They don’t need this old mother anymore.”
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pixabay
Evan was moved to tears after hearing Doris’s tale. He worked as a poor carpenter and shared a modest home with his wife, Emily, and their three children. He reflected on his deceased parents and decided that he could not leave Doris alone on the street.
“Listen, we can sort this later. But right now, please come home with me. I have a wife and three kids at home. You can stay the night with us.”
Doris agreed and rode with Evan to his place since she was hungry and exhausted.
“That’s so sad. I’m glad you brought her here. It has started to rain, and thank goodness you found her,” Emily said after Evan narrated the encounter.
In addition to sharing a hearty lunch with them, Doris spent the night with Rose, Lily, and Iris, three of Evan’s daughters. She found solace in the children’s presence because she had always yearned to spend time with her grandchildren.
After a few hours of blissful sleep, Doris awoke with thoughts of her next day’s destination.
“He only offered me to stay for the night. Where will I go tomorrow?” she sobbed.
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Doris prepared to leave the house the next day. She gave the children a final kiss before thanking Evan and Emily.
“Ms. Doris, are you leaving?” asked Evan.
“Yes, son. I thank you for letting me stay here last night. I will never forget your help.”
“Where will you go?” Emily chimed in.
“I don’t know…I’ll walk as long as possible.” Doris was disappointed to leave. That’s when Evan’s daughters flocked around her, melting her heart and urging her to stay.
“Grandma! Please don’t go! We like you! Please be with us!” chorused the girls.
Even they wanted Doris to stay, so Evan and Emily were overjoyed. “Please, Ms. Doris. Stay with us. We are poor, but we are happy. Please don’t go. The kids love you.”
Doris took her luggage inside, moved by their devotion. She resided with the family and experienced a boost in optimism. Her physical health started to decline two years after her sustained emotional scars began to fade.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
“Yes, your mother, Doris, is with us. Can you please come to visit her? Her condition has worsened,” Evan told Jake, one of Doris’s children.
“Look, I don’t have time for her,” said Jake, hanging up immediately.
Evan used the phone numbers in Doris’s old diary to call the other children. However, none consented to pay her a final visit and see her.
Despite their distress, Evan and Emily chose to remain at Doris’ side to provide her with solace.
“Son, I promised I would repay you for all you’ve done for me,” Doris softly said, holding Evan’s hand in the hospital.
Two days after her 87th birthday celebration, she was admitted to the hospital due to an old age illness. She committed to Evan that she would make up for his generosity when she gave him some of her birthday cake.
The last thing Evan heard from Doris was, “I’ll repay you one day, son. I love you and your family.” She made her final pledge to him as she passed away, clutching his hand.
Evan assumed that was it and they wouldn’t see one other again because Doris’ children didn’t speak to him after her funeral.
But to his surprise, the late Doris’s children showed up at his house the following day with an odd request for a family relic.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
“I don’t know what you’re talking about…Ms. Doris did not tell me anything about the jewels,” said Evan, startled when her children threatened him.
“We will call the cops and report you for robbing our mother. Where are the jewels?” yelled Jake. “Tell me, where have you hidden the box?”
“Let’s call the cops and not waste time,” urged Jake’s brother.
Along with his family, Evan was shocked. He tried to recall Doris having previously mentioned heirloom jewelry, but he was unsuccessful. What you’re saying is not making sense to me. You may exit now.
As Jake reached for his phone to call the police, a lawyer appeared with some papers and a box and interrupted them.
“There’s no need for that, Jake,” he said. “You must be Evan…” he added, shaking a confused Evan’s hand.
“Yes, but what’s going on?”
“Well, Evan, I’m Adam, Doris Clark’s lawyer. And this box of jewels belongs to you now. Mrs. Clark mentioned you in her will as the sole inheritor of the jewels.”
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
Jake and his siblings found this news shocking. “What? Mom gave him all her jewels?”
“I’m afraid yes. She specifically stated that her children, the ten of you, don’t get even the dust of gold from this,” explained Adam.
“You better give those jewels to us! They’re our moms!” threatened Jake.
“Yeah, you were nobody to her. She was our mom. Give those jewels!”
Evan resisted, though. Knowing this was it, he remembered Doris telling him she would “payback.” Additionally, he realized that it was more than simply the jewels. It was also about her love for him and his family.
My mother? What happened when she needed you? You abandoned her and let her pass away on her own. Not her treasures, but her forgiveness should be your goal. I’ll call the police if you don’t go, yelled Evan.
When Jake and his siblings realized they had no hope of disputing any longer, they smirked and departed.
Evan gratefully accepted Doris’s gift and went to her grave with his family to lay her favorite white flowers on her headstone.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pixabay
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