Old Lady's Food Keeps Disappearing from Her Fridge, She Hides a Camera to Find Out Why — Story of the Day

An old lady decided to embrace technology to discover the reason why her food kept going missing from her fridge — it was the best decision she ever made.

It began a little over six months ago. Velma, an octogenarian who lived alone, discovered that some cheese and bacon were missing from her fridge.

At first, she thought nothing of it; after all, she may have simply run out of them and forgotten to restock. She decided to chalk it up to old age even though it scared her a bit that she was losing her cognitive abilities.

A few days after the first disappearance, she noticed that even more items had been vanishing from her fridge. That day, Velma decided to clean out her house and also walk the perimeter to see if there were signs of rats or raccoons.

Everyone knows raccoons are despicable, smart enough to get into closed compartments, she thought.

Velma knew she would not have heard the commotion if they had found a way to get in because she had hearing problems. Afraid that she was beginning to experience symptoms of dementia, she visited her doctor for a diagnosis.

"Is there a disease that can make me do something at night and not remember that I did it in the morning?" she asked her doctor, Paul Wilson.

"What, you mean sleepwalking?" her doctor asked, concerned.

"No, it's not that," she replied. "I could have sworn I would know if I left my bed at such an ungodly hour."

"Perhaps you should see a psychotherapist," Dr. Wilson suggested.

"Thank you, I will," Velma said even though she had no intention of meeting a psychotherapist.

She was certain something was going on, and it had nothing to do with her. On her way back from the hospital, she took a detour.

"I'll prove it wasn't me," she told herself. "I'll use technology to do it."

She went to an electronics store where she bought a mini cam she could easily hide and a small monitor to view any footage recorded. She figured it would be enough to find out what was going on in her home.

When she got home, the first place she went was where her refrigerator was. It had once again been raided. Some slices of bread along with bacon had disappeared.

"No, I can't be a lunatic," she thought to herself.

She placed the camera somewhere hidden and retreated to her room with the monitor. She fell asleep as soon as her head touched her pillow.

Later that night, quiet footsteps hurried into her kitchen, unaware of the camera recording everything. They belonged to a young immigrant woman named Esme.

She had crossed over from Mexico some years back and was living with her boyfriend, a good-for-nothing man named John who treated her like trash because he knew she had nowhere else to go.

He kept her on a tight leash, for she was a very beautiful woman. If he thought she was acting up, he would threaten to report her to the authorities, which would lead to her deportation.

John often starved her because he felt she was getting too chubby, and he preferred skinny women. One day, Esme had been feeling very hungry, and John had locked their refrigerator and pantry.

That day, she decided to beg for some food from Velma, who, unknown to her, was gone visiting a friend. When Esme knocked on the door and got no answer, her desperation made her try the handle to see if nobody was really home.

The door opened. Velma had forgotten to lock the door that day. The urge was too much for Esme to resist, so she entered and headed straight for the refrigerator, where she found lots of food.

Esme picked some, and she discovered a spare key hanging on the wall on her way out. She took it with her, having decided that she could always hurry over to steal a bit of food to prevent herself from dying.

The way she saw it, Velma would be too old to notice, and she was right to an extent. Velma had no idea her spare key had been stolen, but she knew her food had been tampered with.

But on that fateful night when Velma decided to keep a watch on her fridge, Esme sneaked into the older woman's kitchen, unaware of the camera. She took some butter, bacon and sausages.

The next morning, Velma watched the recording. Imagine her shock when she discovered Esme was the one stealing from her. But how did she get in? Velma asked herself as she watched the footage.

Then she remembered her missing spare key, and it all fell into place. Later that day, she visited Esme while John was at work and showed her the footage.

Esme was afraid. Velma wanted to report the matter but stopped when she realized the younger woman was tearful. "Your crocodile tears won't move me, you've committed a crime," Velma bluffed. She wanted to know why Esme did what she did.

"John shames me for being overweight and has forbidden me from eating in his house. I got pregnant but he has refused to believe the baby is his because he thinks I'm just trying to force him into marriage so I can become a full citizen. I resorted to pilfering food from your refrigerator because I feared for my child. I am very sorry!" Esme narrated tearfully.

Velma was moved, so much so that she arranged to have Esme move in with her. She also convinced her to dump John, who did not take kindly to the idea.

He reported Esme to the authorities, but by then, Velma, who was a retired government worker, had filed to adopt her, making her a full-fledged citizen by family affiliation.

Esme looked after the older woman in the months that followed, and when she gave birth, she named her daughter after Velma, her grandmother.

What did we learn from this story?

• Don't steal. Esme could have easily gone to jail if Velma had reported her to the authorities for stealing. Velma did not because she heard her story, but not everyone can be so good. She would have been well within her rights to call the theft in and have Esme arrested. Stealing is wrong regardless of the motivation behind it.
• Tell the truth regardless of where you find yourself. Esme survived because she told Velma the truth about why she committed her crimes. It was enough to win Velma over, but it would have been a different story had she chosen to lie. Even though she was in trouble, she spoke the truth, and it set her free.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a father who realized the reason why his 8-year-old daughter was stealing from him.

This account is inspired by our reader's story but written by a professional writer. All names have been changed to protect identities and ensure privacy. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.