A poor man found an elderly woman on the street and took her to his home to live with his family. He was surprised at the strange request of the woman’s children after she died.
One evening, on his way home from work, Evan took a route that allowed him to avoid the traffic. He thought, “I have to get home before it starts to rain”. He worked in a woodyard, and his day was long and tiring.
As the father of three was crossing the street, he saw the frail figure of an elderly woman on the pavement. She was standing under a lamppost, leaning on her wheeled walker.
It seemed as if she could no longer walk and was about to fall over.
“Hey, wait! Ma’am, be careful…! Hang on, I’m coming!” – Shouted Evan, instantly stopping beside her.
He held her up just before she fell and sat her down on the pavement. “Here, have some water. Are you feeling better?”
The woman took a sip of water and looked out over the long road. Sighing, she stood up and thanked Evan, then prepared to continue her journey with difficulty again.
“Wait… I’m going that way. Do you want me to give you a lift?” – Evan asked, worried about leaving her alone when it was about to start raining.
“Son, thank you for trying to help old Doris. But my destination is unclear. I don’t know where I’m going,” the woman replied. Evan was puzzled by this answer.
“Nice to meet you, Mrs Doris. You see, I’m coming this way. I don’t mind giving you a lift. Please give me your address.”
The elderly woman could not hold back her tears. She hid her face in her palms and began to cry. “I was kicked out of the nursing home this morning because I couldn’t pay anymore.”
“My God… this is crazy! Doesn’t Medicaid cover you?”, Evan asked, wanting to know more.
“This institution does not accept Medicaid,” Doris replied in a half-whisper.
“Do you have children?”
“Yes, I have ten children.”
“Should I drop you off at their house? Where do they live?”
“No, please don’t take me to them. They’re the ones who sent me to a nursing home. They don’t need their old mother any more.”
Tears came to Evan’s eyes after listening to Doris’ story. He was a poor carpenter who lived in a small modest house with his wife Emily and three children. He remembered his dead parents and decided that leaving Doris to her fate was out of the question.
“Look, we can sort this out later. But for now, please come to my house. My wife and three children are at home. You can spend the night with us.”
Exhausted and hungry, Doris accepted his offer.
“…It’s so sad. I’m glad you brought her here. It started raining and thank God you found her,” Emily said after Evan told her about their meeting.
Doris ate a hearty dinner with Evan’s family and then fell asleep with their three daughters, Rose, Lily and Iris. The children’s presence comforted her as she always wanted to see her grandchildren.
She slept peacefully for several hours, but this happiness was short-lived. Waking up, she wondered where to go the next day. “He only offered to let me stay overnight. Where will I go tomorrow?” – she asked herself, crying.
The next day Doris prepared to leave the house. She thanked Evan and Emily and kissed the children goodbye.
“Mrs Doris, are you leaving?” asked Evan.
“Yes, son. I want to thank you for letting me stay here last night. I’ll never forget what you did for me.”
“Where are you going?” added Emily.
“I don’t know… I’ll go as long as I can.” Doris was saddened that she had to leave. It was then that Evan’s daughters ran up to her, melting her heart and urging her to stay.
“Grandmother! Please don’t go! We like you! Please stay with us!” – The girls exclaimed together.
Evan and Emily were delighted as they shared the same feelings as their daughters. “Please, Mrs Doris. Please stay! We are poor, but we are happy. Please don’t go. The children love you.”
Touched by their love, Doris stayed. She lived with the family and was happy. Her psychological scars began to heal, but after two years her health deteriorated.
“Yes, your mother, Doris, is with us. Would you mind visiting her? Her condition has deteriorated,” Evan said to Jake, one of Doris’ children.
“Look, I don’t have time to take care of her,” Jake replied and immediately hung up.
Evan called the other children, using the phone numbers in the old woman’s old notebook. But none of them agreed to visit her and see her one last time.
Evan and Emily were distraught, but decided to stay by Doris’s side to comfort her.
“Son, I promised to repay you for everything you’ve done for me,” Doris said quietly, holding Evan’s hand in the hospital.
She fell ill with old age and was transferred to hospital two days after her 87th birthday. When she gave Evan her birthday cake, she promised him that she would thank him for his kindness.
“Someday I’ll be sure to give it back to you, son… I love you and your family…” – were the last words Evan heard from her. She died holding his hand, making one last promise.
Doris’s children attended her funeral, but they did not speak to Evan. He thought they would never see them again, but he was wrong.
To his surprise, the next day the deceased’s children showed up at his house with a strange request for the family inheritance.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about… Mrs. Doris didn’t tell me about the jewels,” Evan said, startled when the children began to threaten him.
“We’re going to call the police and report you for stealing our mother. Where are the jewels?” – yelled Jake, “Tell us where you hid the jewelry box!”
“Let’s call the police right now!” – Jake’s brother insisted.
Evan and his family were stunned. He searched his memory, but could not recall Doris ever mentioning the family jewels. “I don’t understand what you’re saying. Please go away.”
Just as Jake took his phone out of his pocket to call the police, a lawyer who had arrived interrupted them by bringing the papers and a box.
“You don’t need this, Jake,” he said. “You must be Evan…,” he added, shaking an embarrassed Evan’s hand.
“Yeah, but what’s going on?”
“Well, Evan, I’m Adam, Doris Clark’s lawyer. And this box of jewellery belongs to you now. Mrs. Clark listed you in her will as the sole heir to the jewels.”
Jake and his siblings were shocked to hear this. “What ? Did Mum give him all her jewellery ?”
“I’m afraid so. She specifically pointed out that her 10 children would get absolutely nothing from that box,” Adam explained.
“You’d better give us those jewels ! They belonged to our mother ! ” threatened Jake.
“Yes, you meant nothing to her. She was our mother. Give us those jewels !”
But Evan refused. He remembered that Doris had told him that she would ‘return the favour’ and realised that the time had come. Moreover, he realised that it was not just about the jewellery, but about her love for them.
“Your mother? Where were you when she needed you? You abandoned her and left her to die alone. You should be seeking her forgiveness, not jewellery. Get out of here or I’ll call the police!” – Shouted Evan.
Seeing that they didn’t stand a chance, Jake and his siblings just grinned and walked away.
Evan accepted Doris’s token of gratitude and went with his family to her grave to place her favourite white flowers on the grave.
