An old lady was drawn into a drama she knew absolutely nothing about after she innocently gave a homeless girl shelter from the pouring rain.
Sarah was a 78-year-old woman who had lived most of her life in Houston, Texas. She was born there, went to school there, and set down roots there when she found her man.
Her husband, Pete, passed away just the year before, and Sarah was feeling the strain of his absence. Her husband had been a well-known and well-loved figure in their neighborhood which is the only reason why he was able to protect their home.
They were owners of an old bungalow that sat between two fine cottages. The expensive establishments belonged to a rich rancher named Chris Shepherd; the veteran turned rancher had returned from war to invest heavily in real estate.
He set his sight on Sarah’s neighborhood because of its serene environment. He systematically bought the run-down houses in the area and tore them down to build the luxury cottages.
The younger couples had left first, eager to use the money they got from selling their houses to make a new life for themselves. Sarah and Pete had refused to sell because they loved their neighborhood and their home, which held all of their memories.
They raised their only son, Shawn, in the same house and were determined to leave it to him when they passed. Pete kept Shepherd at bay while alive, but after he died, the rich man renewed his efforts. He visited Sarah just two weeks after the burial with a proposition.
“I know things will be harder for you now that Pete’s gone, but I’m prepared to make things easy for you; take the money I’m offering and move to another place of your choice, and I promise it’s the last you’ll hear from me.”
“I’ll do no such thing sir,” Sarah replied stiffly. “I suggest you go somewhere else if you wish to make a profit.”
“Stop being stubborn Sarah. You know you could use this money. I heard your son had been in and out of jobs recently, don’t you think he needs help? Help only money can provide?”
“My son has not asked me for such help and if he is having trouble it’s because there’s a lot going on in his life right now. Rest assured if he needs me to provide support, I will happily do that without your money!”
As soon as he left that day, Sarah called her son. “Come home,” she told him. “We need to talk.”
Shawn promised to visit in the evening, so Sarah sat outside her home as the sun set, waiting for him. When he arrived, they hugged and spoke in quiet tones because they still mourned the loss of their patriarch.
The peace only lasted until Sarah brought up the topic of selling the house. “I think we should hire a lawyer to help us fight off Mr. Shepherd. He seems to still be bent on acquiring this house,” she said.
“I believe we need to move on mother and what better way is there to do that than by moving to a new environment loaded with cash to make the move easy.”
“What? You want me to sell this place? But it holds all our memories!”
“I know that mom, but I think we need the money more right now.”
“This house is my life and I will not give up, and if you were really your father’s son you would help me protect it,” Sarah said, effectively ending the argument. Shawn hated that his mother would not listen, and it drove a wedge between them that lasted a year.
One night, Sarah laid awake in her bed, listening to the wind and rain ravage her old home. The creaks and groans hardly kept her up usually, but that night, there was a thunderstorm, and she shuddered after each boom.
Sarah got up to pee but froze when she heard a banging on the door. She listened hard for the sound to repeat, thinking she was hearing things.
The banging came again, so the old woman went to the door and asked, “Who is there?”
“Please let me in,” a woman’s voice answered.
After a short moment of hesitation, the old woman opened the door and saw a young woman. “Who are you?” she asked.
“I’m Rakeesha and I’m sorry for intruding, but please, can I stay here? I got lost and I have nowhere to go.”
The girl was trembling as she spoke, and Sarah immediately felt empathy for her.
“Come in please,” she said.
Sarah cared for her that night, but the girl disappeared when she woke up the next morning. A note on the couch where she slept caught Sarah’s attention. It read, “Thanks for hosting me, you helped me escape from where I don’t belong. I left gratitude at the entrance.”
Sarah hurried to the door and found a small sack there, and it was full of money. Her hands flew to her mouth, and she hurriedly ran outside hoping to see the girl, but she was indeed gone.
That evening, the old woman saw on the news that a millionaire’s daughter was missing and that anyone who reported her whereabouts would be greatly rewarded.
Sarah learned that the missing daughter was the same girl who stayed the night at her home. She thought of reporting it, but she changed her mind, and a month later, she received a package that contained a letter. It read:
“Thank you for saving my life and for not reporting our encounter, after all, I’m sure you most likely saw the news on TV. You ave me the chance to find true freedom. I didn’t want to marry a man I felt nothing for. Believe me, there is no happiness higher than the feeling of real freedom, and for this, I want to give you my mother’s house. She was supposed to live there but she died. She was always by my side and after my progress and you reminded me so much of her. Thank you and goodbye.”
Aside from the letter, the package also contained the keys to the home. Later that day, a driver came and took Sarah to the amazing new home.
After that, she agreed to sell her old home, and she gave the proceeds to her son, making things right between them again. “All is well that ends well,” she murmured to herself as she closed her eyes to sleep in her new luxury home.
What did we learn from this story?
Help whoever you can, however you can. Sarah had a lot of things on her plate when the rich girl wandered into her life, but she did not turn her away, especially when it was clear the girl needed help. That act of kindness went a long way, and Sarah was rewarded for it even when she was not expecting anything in return.
Trust your gut; it is seldom wrong. Sarah helped the rich girl that night because she empathized with her, but it was her gut that warned her against providing details of her meeting with the girl. She listened to her gut and was rewarded immensely by the rich girl.
