A kind man shelters a poor old woman living in a dirty trailer to give her a better life. When she dies, he discovers that she has left him a million-dollar inheritance. He wonders where she got that much money until he reads the letter she left him.
Hector Hoffman stopped trying to catch his breath. He looked at his Apple watch and squinted in pleasure when he saw the number of calories burned. The evening run was certainly doing him good and he was glad he had been taking such good care of his health lately.
On days when the weather was pleasantly windy, Hector made it a habit to run in the evenings. He was a businessman who worked mainly from home, and because of the overly comfortable working conditions he had put on a lot of weight, which he knew was bad for him.
After running for a while, Hector sat on a bench and drank some water before starting a new round. Looking around, he saw that a number of trailers were parked in the area. Many people in this part of the city lived in mobile homes and trailers, considering it more comfortable than permanent housing.
When Hector felt he was ready, he ran back to the park, and that’s when he noticed an elderly woman sitting on a bench deep inside. This was the fourth time he had seen her in a week. He knew that she lived in one of the old trailers and that she was often alone.
The woman reminded Hector of his grandmother, who had the same physique, the same soft smile and wore the same round glasses. Before leaving the park that day, Hector decided to stop by the old lady’s house and ask if she was all right.
“Hello ma’am,” he said. “My name is Hector. I live in the area. I don’t know how to say this, but you remind me of my grandmother. I just wanted to ask if you’re all right. I always see you around, and you’re always alone.”
The old lady blushed. “Oh, Hector, you’re such a caring person. It seems like people don’t care about each other these days. Please have a seat. I’m Lydia”.
When Hector sits down next to Lydia, she starts telling him her story. “I have three sons,” she said. ” It’s not so lonely when you think about it. But they’re all busy with their lives and their jobs. I hope they’ll come see their mother someday”.
“I’m sure they’ll show up, Lydia. But if you ever need to talk to anyone, let me know. I come to this park every night to run. I’ll be more than happy to listen”.
“That’s very generous of you, son. Thank you!”
Before leaving the park that day, Hector left his calling card with Lydia.
When Hector returned to the park the next day, he expected to see Lydia again, but she was not there. He thought she might not come to the park, but after running a little, he noticed her. She was wearing sneakers, and she was standing at the other end of the park, looking around, lost.
“Lydia?” Hector smiled, stopping in front of her. “Are you okay?”
Lydia fixes her tracksuit and cleared her throat, blushing. “I thought I’d join you while you run around the park. You see, walking is great exercise. May I?”
Hector could not help but smile at how cute Lydia looked in her running suit and shoes. ” Sure, that’s fine, Lydia,” he said with a smile. “You look great. Come on!”
From that day on, Lydia joined Hector whenever he went for a run in the park. Although she was often tired and gave up too quickly, she did her best to keep up, and eventually became friends with Hector.
One day Lydia did not come to the park when they had planned to go for a walk. Hector waited for her, thinking she was just running late. He had her phone number and called her, but she did not pick up.
Hector suddenly became worried. He went to her caravan, but she was not there either. He decided to ask the neighbours and then found out that Lydia had been taken to hospital the night before after fainting.
Hector immediately went to the hospital where he saw a pale Lydia smiling weakly at him from her bed.
“What’s wrong, Lydia?” – he asked, worried,” “Why didn’t you call me when you weren’t feeling well?
“Oh, dear, I was just about to,” she said softly. “But I don’t know what happened. I only remember waking up here…”.
“Do you want me to call your family? I think they should know you’re here”.
“You can try, she said weakly, but I don’t think they’ll come. I don’t…”
Hector still dialed Lydia’s sons, but as she predicted, they weren’t going to visit her. “She’s not our problem! Never call us again!” her youngest son said and hung up.
Seeing Lydia fading before his eyes, with no family to lean on, Hector decides to seek legal custody of Lydia.
“I want to offer to spend your last days with me,” Hector offers Lydia. She readily agrees, because her children have disowned her, and she also wants to breathe her last sigh of joy. The custody arrangement was a tedious process, but it all worked out in the end.
Lydia and Hector lived harmoniously, taking regular walks in the park and watching her favourite TV series. Hector did everything he could to brighten his friend’s final days. On the eve of her death, Lydia said that these were the best months of her life.
Lydia’s last wish was that her sons should at least attend her funeral, but they did not want to, and Hector had to work hard to convince them.
Finally, on the day of the funeral, after everyone had finished praying and it was time to say goodbye to Lydia, a black car stopped in front of the cemetery. An imposing man gets out of the car and introduces himself as Lydia’s lawyer, Mr Benerson.
“Did Mum have a lawyer? What would she do with a lawyer? After my father died, she could hardly do that!” – says his eldest son, shocked.
Mr Benerson approaches Hector and hands him an envelope. “Mr Hector Hoffman? Mrs Woolf left something for you and her sons. She knew her final days were near and asked me to give it to you after her death. To be precise, you inherited all of Mrs Woolf’s money – a million dollars.”
“One million dollars ?” There was panic amongst Lydia’s sons. “Where did she get that much money? How could she leave it to a stranger?” They threatened to sue Hector and demand the money, but Hector did not respond.
Instead, after Lydia’s funeral, he sat alone at her freshly dug grave and read her letter. Soon he felt hot tears rolling down his cheeks.
“Dear Hector,
Don’t be sad. I knew this day would come, and I prepared for it.
Thank you so much for all you have done for me, Hector. You became the family God sent me at a time in my life when I was terribly lonely. Since you took care of me like family, I had to do this for you. I have been saving this money all my life and have never spent a penny on myself. Why, you ask? Because I didn’t see the point in it. At first I wanted to give everything to my sons, but once they became independent, they didn’t need me.
I was content with the modest life I was leading. I didn’t know what to do with the money when I realised I didn’t have long to live, until I thought of you. You’ve earned it, Hector, so I hope you’ll accept it with gratitude. Thank you for being my family when I needed someone to lean on. I will always be indebted to you for that.
I love you,
Lydia Wolf.”
Hector could not stop crying. He knew he would always miss Lydia. He sat on her grave for a long time, telling her how much he would miss her company, and wept profusely.
Meanwhile, Lydia had not neglected her sons. She left them a letter telling them how badly they had treated her. And she had prepared a surprise for them:
“…You will get what you deserve, boys. After all, you never cared for me and hated me for my poverty. Don’t worry, I didn’t leave you empty-handed. You can have my old van. It will need an overhaul, but I’m sure you can take care of it. I hope you have a good life!
With all my love,Your mother.”
