A little boy named Jacob decided to check on an old lady who lived near him after he realized her lights had been off for days in the middle of winter.
An 11-year-old boy named Jacob lived in a trailer with his parents. They struggled financially, as both his parents were minimum wage earners.
While his parents were at work, Jacob would often walk around their neighborhood, as he had many friends that lived nearby. Every day, he and his friends would pass by the large property of an old woman who lived alone. She lived in a beautiful house, but it was not well-kept as no one would visit the old lady to tend to her house.
After a couple of days of walking and playing with his friends near the old woman’s property, Jacob realized that her lights were constantly off even at night. “Do you notice that Mrs. Jacobson’s lights have been off for a couple of days now? Do you think we should check on her?” he asked his friends.
“Don’t be silly, Jacob! Why would you walk into a big scary house with no lights on? There might be ghosts in there,” one of his friends replied.
“Mrs. Jacobson doesn’t leave her house, and we haven’t seen anyone visiting to pick her up, either. Something bad might have happened to her,” Jacob insisted.
“You’ve gone mad, Jacob. If you want to check on her, do it yourself. I’m not going anywhere near that scary property,” another one of his friends replied, laughing.
At that, Jacob didn’t hesitate to walk towards the door. He knocked, but no one opened. Suddenly, he saw a letter by the foot of the door and saw that the date was from a few days ago.
He walked back to his friends quickly and said “Mrs. Jacobson hasn’t gone out of the house in days. We have to get help!”
Jacob ran home and told his parents about what he saw. His mom shrugged it off, saying she might have just gone on a vacation. “Maybe she visited her son Adam in New York. Everyone knows he’s a big shot lawyer there,” she explained.
The smart boy wasn’t convinced. He knew that Mrs. Jacobson’s son never visited her, and it’d be difficult for her to travel all the way to New York alone. He decided to borrow his mom’s cellphone to search for Adam’s number on the internet. When he found it, he decided to call.
“This is Attorney Adam Jacobson, how may I help you?” a man on the other side of the line answered.
“Hello, Attorney Jacobson. This is Jacob from your neighborhood in Wisconsin. Is Mrs. Jacobson, your mom there?” he asked.
“Hi, Jacob. No, I have not spoken to my mom in a month. Is something wrong?” Adam asked.
Jacob used his mom’s phone to call Adam, Mrs. Jacobson’s son. | Photo: Pexels
“Well, I pass by her house every day and for the past couple of days, I noticed the lights were off, even at night. I wanted to check if you knew about anything going on. I want to make sure she’s okay,” Jacob replied.
“What? That’s not possible. She’s supposed to be home. Can you do me a favor, Jacob? Can you please check on her for me? There’s a spare key under the flowerpot by the door. I’ll take the next flight out of New York to get there,” Adam said, suddenly worried about his mom.
After explaining to his mom that Adam had not spoken to his mom in a month, they both decide to check on Mrs. Jacobson. They ran there and found the key.
Once they opened the door, they immediately felt cold. The heater was not on despite the snow being heavy outside. “Mrs. Jacobson?” Jacob called out.
“Help,” he heard someone whisper from the living room. Startled, he clung to his mom, who led him to the living room. There, they saw Mrs. Jacobson bundled up in a blanket on the couch.
“Mrs. Jacobson!” Jacob’s mom said, rushing to her. She took off her coat and wrapped Mrs. Jacobson in it, as she was shivering. “Jacob, get some more blankets,” his mom instructed.
Once they’ve covered her with things that could warm her, Jacob’s mom made a cup of tea and a sandwich that Mrs. Jacobson could eat. She looked frail and weak as if she had not eaten anything for days.
Jacob’s mom called 911, and an ambulance took her to the hospital. Jacob and his mom accompanied her there, updating her son about what was happening.
As soon as she felt better, Mrs. Jacobson began to talk. “Thank you for saving my life,” she said.
“I had not eaten anything proper in a few days. When the electricity went out a couple of days ago, all I could eat were biscuits and the juice I had left in my pantry. After a while, it got too cold inside and I was so hungry that I couldn’t move. I ended up lying down on the couch praying that someone would find me,” she explained.
“What about your son, Mrs. Jacobson? Why didn’t you call him?” Jacob’s mom asked.
“Well, I did not want to ask him for any money. I didn’t want him to think of me as a burden. I thought I could wait for my pension money to arrive at the end of the month, but I couldn’t make it without food. I was exhausted,” she explained.
Without realizing it, Adam was standing by the door as she said this. “Mom,” he cried. “You could have called me right away. I’m so sorry for not checking on you and for neglecting you,” Adam said, sobbing.
“I’ve been so busy with work that I completely ignored my responsibilities to you as a son. I’m sorry, mom. Please forgive me.”
“Don’t worry, Adam. Jacob and his mom Annie helped me right in time. Because of them, I am alive,” Mrs. Jacobson said with an appreciative but weak smile on her face, as she was still recuperating.
“Yes, and I will forever be grateful. Thank you for checking on my mother, and for making sure she recovered. Thank you,” Adam said, looking Jacob and his mom straight in the eyes to show his sincerity.
Mrs. Jacobson stayed in the hospital for a couple of days, and her son Adam took over her care. Before she was discharged, he decided to let her know of what was to come.
“Mom, you won’t have to be alone any longer,” Adam said. “You’ll live with me in New York, where you’ll be happy and taken cared of by me, my wife, and your grandchildren. We love you, mom. We’re sorry it took us so long to get you,” he announced.
Mrs. Jacobson couldn’t help but cry. All she ever wanted was to spend the rest of her days close to her loved ones. She never thought she’d get to live with them every day.
“What about my house here?” she asked. Although she didn’t want to live alone, the house still had a special place in her heart, as it is where she and her late husband raised Adam. She didn’t want it to be torn down and sold.
“Well, I asked my assistant to check on Jacob and his family. It turns out, they’ve been struggling and have been living in a trailer. I figured we can leave the house to them, and they can sell the trailer and use the money they earn for their every day needs,” Adam suggested.
“That’s a great idea, sweetheart,” Mrs. Jacobson agreed.
What can we learn from this story?
We should always follow our gut. Jacob could tell something was wrong, so he decided to follow his gut and find out whether or not he was right. He did this even though his friends were against it, as he wanted to do what was right.
While being kind is free, sometimes it brings about blessings in life. Jacob simply wanted to help Mrs. Jacobson and see if she was alright. This led him and his family to have a new home, one that they’ll be able to live in comfortably for the rest of their lives.
