Poor Older Lady Didn’t Let Anyone Into Her Home for 26 Years Until I Set Foot Inside

Faint music. Sad, haunting piano melodies that made my chest feel tight.

And always, without fail, there was the shadow of a cat perched on her front windowsill, watching the world go by.

Two months ago, just after midnight on a Tuesday, red and blue lights started flashing across our bedroom wall like a strobe light. I sat up in bed, heart already racing before I was fully awake.

I looked out our window and saw an ambulance parked directly in front of Mrs.

Halloway’s house.

I bolted outside in my pajamas and bare feet, not even thinking about how I must have looked. Something deep in my gut was telling me to move, to help somehow.

The front door to her house was standing wide open. EMTs were moving quickly in and out, their radios crackling with medical jargon I didn’t understand.

As they wheeled Mrs.

Halloway out on a stretcher, she looked so small and fragile under that white sheet. Her face was pale as paper, and she had an oxygen mask covering her nose and mouth.

But then, as they passed right by me, her eyes found mine. She lifted one shaky hand and clutched my wrist with surprising strength.

She pulled down the oxygen mask just enough to speak.

Continue reading…