{"id":244,"date":"2026-11-07T03:22:39","date_gmt":"2026-11-07T03:22:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/truthstoryusa.com\/?p=244"},"modified":"2026-11-07T03:22:39","modified_gmt":"2026-11-07T03:22:39","slug":"a-woman-cared-for-her-elderly-neighbor-for-a-year-but-after-the-neighbors-funeral-a-lawyer-gave-her-a-note-about-a-mysterious-box-in-the-attic-with-her-name-on-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/truthstoryusa.com\/?p=244","title":{"rendered":"A Woman Cared for Her Elderly Neighbor for a Year \u2013 But After the Neighbor’s Funeral, a Lawyer Gave Her a Note About a Mysterious Box in the Attic With Her Name on It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For a year, I spent my weekends caring for an elderly neighbor who became the family I didn’t know I needed. After her funeral, a lawyer handed me a note about a mysterious box in her attic. I thought it was a final gift. I couldn’t have been more wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Ma’am, do you need help? Please, get in the car. I’ll drive you home.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The elderly woman looked at me through the pouring rain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“I’m perfectly capable of getting home, dear.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Then one of her grocery bags split.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“I’ll drive you home.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Apples rolled across the sidewalk. A can of beans disappeared beneath a parked car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Oh, no,” she whispered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Don’t worry. I’ve got it.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I got out and crouched beside her, gathering what I could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Still perfectly capable?” I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Apples rolled across the sidewalk.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

She gave me a look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You’re rather bossy, aren’t you?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Only when someone’s determined to drown with her groceries. Come on, I’m Josette.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

That made her laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her name was Margaret, and she lived three houses down from me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“You’re rather bossy, aren’t you?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I was 47, recently divorced, and still getting used to living alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought I’d rescued a lonely neighbor that afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A year later, I’d learn how little I knew about her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few days later, I knocked on her door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I thought I’d rescued a lonely neighbor.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“I’m going shopping. Do you need anything?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She handed me a small list before I’d finished speaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“I was hoping you’d come, Josette.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

That became our routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every Wednesday, I collected her grocery list. Most Saturdays, I stayed for tea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

That became our routine.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Soon, tea became lunch, crosswords, and arguments over television shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margaret had opinions about everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“That man’s lying,” she’d announce during a mystery show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“You’ve watched this episode before.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“Maybe. But I knew he was lying before they confirmed it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“That man’s lying.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One Saturday, she produced a basket of yarn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Sit down. I’m teaching you how to knit socks.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“Why socks?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Because everyone should know how to make at least one useful thing.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Why socks?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

My first attempt looked nothing like a sock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margaret laughed until she had to put down her needles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Don’t worry, Jo. We’ll get there.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Nobody had called me Jo before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Somehow, it sounded right coming from her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Nobody had called me Jo before.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

After my divorce, I’d wondered how I’d become so invisible while trying to keep my marriage together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margaret noticed me without being asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I looked tired, she made tea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I brought cookies, she insisted we share them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You’re allowed to enjoy something too, Jo.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

If I looked tired, she made tea.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One Saturday, Margaret was showing me how to fix a dropped stitch when the telephone rang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She glanced at the screen and let it ring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Not answering?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“Not today, Jo.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

She glanced at the screen.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“Everything all right?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She picked up her knitting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Now, where were we?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

But there was one subject she never enjoyed discussing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her family.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Everything all right?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One afternoon, I noticed a photograph beside her bookshelf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A younger Margaret stood beside a smiling woman and a little girl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Is that your daughter?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“My sister and her girl. Trina.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“She’s adorable. Do you see her often?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Is that your daughter?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Margaret picked up the photograph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Not anymore.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Does she live far away?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“Far enough, Jo. Are you finishing that sock before Christmas?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Not anymore.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I let the subject drop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few months later, I found her sitting beside the telephone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her eyes were red.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Margaret, what’s wrong?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“Families are complicated, Jo.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I let the subject drop.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“Tell me about it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She looked toward the window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Some people leave, and you never understand why.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I wanted to ask about Trina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, I made sandwiches and stayed until she smiled again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Tell me about it.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About a year after our first meeting, my phone rang early one morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’m Margaret’s niece,” the caller said. “My name’s Trina.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I sat up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Is Margaret all right?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“I’m sorry. She passed away in her sleep.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“My name’s Trina.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I looked through my window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margaret’s curtains were closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“She mentioned you often,” Trina added. “I thought you’d want to know. I found your number in her phonebook.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Thank you for calling, Trina. My sympathies to you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“She mentioned you often.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I couldn’t manage anything else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the funeral, I cried harder than I’d expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trina stood near the front, greeting people. She looked tired, and I wondered how long she’d been handling everything alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I couldn’t manage anything else.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Afterward, I approached her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Thank you for letting me know about Margaret.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“Of course.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We spent nearly every Saturday together. She taught me to knit, although I’m still terrible at it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I approached her.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Trina smiled faintly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“She used to knit all winter.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“She was wonderful to me.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Her expression changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’m glad somebody got to know that side of her.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Trina smiled faintly.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I stared at her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“What do you mean?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Nothing. I’m glad she had a friend.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

She excused herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three days later, Margaret’s lawyer called.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“What do you mean?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Benson introduced himself and explained that Margaret had left instructions for him to contact me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At his office, he handed me a sealed envelope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside was a note in Margaret’s shaky handwriting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There’s a box in my attic with your name on it. What’s inside was never meant for anyone else.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

He handed me a sealed envelope.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“A box?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Margaret asked me to deliver that note after her passing,” he explained. “Trina is handling her belongings. You’ll need to arrange access with her.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Did she tell you what was inside?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“No. She only asked that you receive her message.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“A box?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I thanked Mr. Benson and called Trina from my car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Margaret left something for me in her attic. Would you mind if I came by?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

There was a pause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“She never mentioned it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I thanked Mr. Benson.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“She didn’t mention it to me either.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Come tomorrow morning. I’m sorting through the house anyway.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trina opened the door the following morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margaret’s knitting basket still stood beside her favorite chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Trina opened the door.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For a moment, I expected her to call out from the kitchen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Are you all right?” Trina asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Yes. It just feels strange being here.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

She glanced at the empty chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Are you all right?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“It does.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She showed me upstairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The attic smelled of cardboard and old books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Near a dresser, I found a wooden box with JO<\/strong><\/em> written across its lid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My throat tightened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“It does.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Inside were several bundles of letters tied with ribbon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A separate envelope lay on top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I recognized Margaret’s handwriting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

A separate envelope lay on top.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“My dear Jo,<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You always asked whether I needed anything. There was something I needed, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These letters are for Trina. I wrote them over the years but never sent them.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was too afraid.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I left them with you because I trust you to decide whether she should receive them. Please don’t feel obligated.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“These letters are for Trina.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Why had Margaret entrusted me with Trina’s letters?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I opened the oldest one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Dear Trina,<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I should never have said what I said about your mother.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You were young. You had every right to take that job.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was frightened of losing you, and I made you feel guilty for leaving.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“You were young.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Another letter was dated two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I miss you, Trina. I wish we could start again.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Why didn’t you send these?” I whispered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I opened another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don’t know how many more years we have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I opened another.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I remembered asking Margaret about her niece one Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Did you two have an argument?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“She took a job in another state.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“That doesn’t sound like a reason to stop speaking.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I remembered asking Margaret.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Margaret had looked away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“I said something about her mother. Something awful.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“Did you apologize?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margaret looked down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’ve thought about it, Jo.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Did you apologize?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Now I understood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She’d written apologies for years without sending them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Trina had never come back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or so I believed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trina was wrapping dishes when I came downstairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Now I understood.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“Did you find it?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Yes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“What was inside?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Letters. They’re all addressed to you.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

She put down a plate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“She wrote to me?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“What was inside?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“For years.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“That’s surprising.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Trina, she regretted what happened.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“You read them?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Some. Margaret said they were for you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trina turned toward the sink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“You read them?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“Then perhaps she should’ve mailed them.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“She missed you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trina faced me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Please don’t tell me what my aunt wanted.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I should’ve stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“She missed you.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

But I remembered Margaret sitting beside the telephone, trying not to cry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“She was lonely, Trina. I saw it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“You saw the last year of her life.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“And where were you?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trina went still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“She was lonely, Trina. I saw it.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For several seconds, neither of us spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then she asked, “You really don’t know what happened, do you?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Then tell me.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“You’ve already decided.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

She picked up her keys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’d like you to leave now. Take the letters with you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Then tell me.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I walked home with the box under my arm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’d spent an entire year caring for Margaret. Surely that meant I understood her better than someone who hadn’t visited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that evening, I remembered another conversation we’d had months earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margaret had been sitting beside her telephone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I drove home.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“Why don’t you call Trina?” I’d asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I don’t think she’d answer.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Want me to help you write something?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“No, Jo.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Why don’t you call?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“Even a birthday card?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her voice had sharpened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Please leave it alone.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I’d assumed she couldn’t bear another rejection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now I wondered whether I’d misunderstood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Even a birthday card?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I opened the box again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One letter began:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I know you tried to see me last spring.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trina had tried to visit?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margaret had never mentioned it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Trina had tried to visit?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I searched the remaining letters, but none explained why Margaret had turned her away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One ended with a sentence that troubled me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I wanted you to come home, but I couldn’t bear to hear you say you wouldn’t.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I set the letter down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margaret hadn’t only been waiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I searched the remaining letters.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

She’d been afraid of what Trina might say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I picked up my phone and called Trina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She didn’t answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I sent a message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I was unfair to you today. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have accused you without hearing your side.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

She didn’t answer.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

There was no reply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two days later, I baked Margaret’s favorite cookies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I packed half into a container, then stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’d spent years bringing people food whenever I didn’t know how to have an honest conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

There was no reply.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Cookies wouldn’t fix what I’d said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I left them on the counter and called Trina again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This time, she answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Hello?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“It’s Josette. Could we talk?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Cookies wouldn’t fix what I’d said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“About Margaret?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“About how I treated you.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A long silence followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’m at her house,” she finally said. “I’ll be here another hour.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I can come over.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“About Margaret?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trina was sitting among boxes of photographs when I arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I accused you of abandoning someone I loved,” I said. “I didn’t know enough to say that.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“You barely know me.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“You’re right. I should’ve asked instead of judging you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“I didn’t know enough to say that.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

She studied me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“I thought you’d come to defend her again.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“I came to listen.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trina opened a cardboard box beside her chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Then sit down.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

She studied me.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Inside were birthday cards, envelopes, and printed messages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She handed me a card addressed to Margaret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A postal mark showed it had been returned unopened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I mailed this five years ago. She sent it back unopened.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

She handed me a card.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I examined the date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Why?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“She wouldn’t speak to me.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Trina showed me two more returned envelopes, then a message she’d sent while visiting town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’d really like to see you. Could we have lunch?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I examined the date.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Margaret’s reply was brief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“There’s no need.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I stared at the words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“When I got that job, I was excited,” Trina said. “Aunt Margaret practically raised me after Mom passed away. I thought she’d be proud.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Margaret’s reply was brief.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“What happened?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“She said I was abandoning her. I told her I needed to build my own life.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trina rubbed her thumb across a photograph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Then she said my mother would’ve been ashamed of me.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I looked up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“What happened?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“She wrote about that.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Did she say what happened afterward?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I shook my head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“I came back the following weekend. I wanted to apologize for shouting.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“Did she let you in?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“She wrote about that.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“No.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trina showed me a photograph of herself outside Margaret’s front door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“My husband took that during another visit years later. She wouldn’t see me then either.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I handed it back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“She told me she missed your calls.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I handed it back.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“I called every Sunday for months.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“What made you stop?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“She called me on my birthday once. I thought we might finally talk.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trina folded her hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“She asked whether I’d quit my job and moved back. When I said no, she hung up.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“She called me on my birthday once.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I thought about Margaret’s letters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She hadn’t been waiting for Trina to return her calls.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She’d been refusing to answer them.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Why didn’t you try again later?” I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trina looked toward the empty chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Why didn’t you try again later?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“Because every time I reached out, she found another way to hurt me.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her eyes filled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“I loved her, Josette. But I couldn’t keep proving it by letting her punish me.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I looked at the returned letters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All those years I’d spent trying to keep my marriage together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Her eyes filled.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“I’m sorry,” I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trina wiped her cheek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“She was good to you. I’m glad about that.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“She was.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But that wasn’t the aunt I knew at the end.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“She was.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I looked at Margaret’s photograph on the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the first time, I could see that both women had been telling the truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I reached for the box I’d brought with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There’s something I want to give you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I looked at Margaret’s photograph.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Trina looked at the letters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Why didn’t she send them?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“I can’t answer that. She said she was afraid.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Trina gave a sad smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Why didn’t she send them?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“She hated admitting she was wrong.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“She wrote that she regretted what she said about your mother. She also wrote about your graduation.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trina touched the ribbon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“She remembered that?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“There’s a photograph tucked inside.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Trina touched the ribbon.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

She loosened the ribbon but didn’t open the first letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Are you hoping I’ll forgive her?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“No. But these are yours, and you should decide what to do with them.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Trina picked up the oldest envelope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She read it slowly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Are you hoping I’ll forgive her?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Then she opened another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she reached the third, she stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“She kept my graduation picture.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“She took the photo out before returning my card.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I nodded.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Trina held the photograph between her fingers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I thought she’d thrown everything away.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“She could’ve apologized while she was alive.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“She should have.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trina placed the letter beside the others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“She should have.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“Thank you for bringing these.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I helped her pack the remaining photographs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four days later, someone knocked on my door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trina stood outside holding Margaret’s knitting basket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I helped her pack.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“I found this while packing away the living room.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stepped aside.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Would you like some tea?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“Maybe later.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She lifted the basket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

I stepped aside.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“Aunt Margaret tried teaching me once. I was terrible.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“So was I.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trina smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Could you show me?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I pulled two chairs toward the table and took out the needles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Sit down. I’m teaching you how to knit socks. Apparently, everyone should know how to knit something useful.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE END…!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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