Later, she came to me with tears in her eyes. “I want to pay rent,” she said.
I shook my head. “You’re family. I don’t charge family.”
Then one afternoon, while going through old boxes in the attic, I stumbled across an envelope in my late husband’s handwriting: For when we’re gone.
Inside was a letter and a check for $15,000.
His note read: If you’re reading this, I hope it’s because you found someone worth investing in. Use this to help someone who needs a leg up—the way someone once helped us.
I sat there, stunned, remembering the kind woman who had once let us live in her garage apartment for almost nothing. She had told us to use the gift to build a life. My husband and I had always promised we’d pay it forward.
That evening, I handed the envelope to her.
She looked at me, confused. “What’s this?”
“It’s your turn,” I said.
Her hands trembled as she read the letter. “Are you serious?”
A New Beginning
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