Poor Boy Becomes Only One Who Needs 86-Year-Old Lady after Everyone Turned Their Back on Her — Story of the Day

Margaret was in her 80s, and she didn't have anyone in her life anymore until a poor boy helped with her groceries. He became her companion, and it seemed like the kid truly needed her in many ways. But when something startling happened, Margaret realized how much she needed him.

Margaret was returning home from the market when she thought it would be nice to have someone doing the groceries for her. She was wealthy and could pay for deliveries, but she didn't like strangers knowing her address.

The older woman had been a beauty queen for many years and had won pageants all over the country for most of her youth. Her family always had money, and she lived a wealthy lifestyle, but unfortunately, everything made her distrust people.

In her mind, they turned away from her due to jealousy, but the truth is that she always pushed people away. That was why she never got married or formed a family.

Nowadays, she didn't even have friends, and her neighbors in her rich area in Connecticut didn't even want to introduce themselves. In her old age, she was feeling the effects of that loneliness, and it was grueling. Her big mansion seemed too big and too empty nowadays.

"Who are you?" he stated, standing menacingly in the entrance of a guest room.

Margaret's dark thoughts were soon interrupted by a boy who grabbed her grocery bags. "Here, ma'am. I'll help you out," the boy said, and Margaret started to protest.

"No, kid. What are you doing? Those are my things! Give them back!"

"No, I'll help. These are super heavy. Let's keep going," the boy continued. He couldn't be older than ten or eleven.

"I don't have any money for you," the older woman countered, trying to push the kid away.

"I don't care about that, ma'am. I just want to help. My mom taught me to help everyone in need, especially the elderly. Please, let me," the kid insisted, and his earnest face finally convinced her.

She sighed. "Ok, but again, I'm not going to pay you anything or give you food."

"That's cool. You can just tell me about you!"

Margaret frowned at the kid, but he kept asking questions as they walked, and the older woman eventually caved. She answered his odd queries until they finally reached her home, where he told her his name was Henry.

For the following weeks, the boy found her every time she went to the store, and eventually, Margaret started looking forward to their walks. She offered him money after a few times, but he rejected it. Instead, he sat with her and had tea and cookies while they talked. It was the strangest friendship of her life, but she found herself so grateful for it.

One day, Henry asked the oddest question. "Why aren't there any mirrors in the house? My mom has a big one in her room and gets all pretty when she goes out, even for work."

"Well, kid, I don't like mirrors anymore," Margaret started. "Once upon a time, I was the most beautiful woman in this town, but that's over. I can't look at myself now that I've become so ugly."

"You're not ugly!"

"Well, that's nice. But getting old is a curse," she continued.

"Really! I can draw a picture of you if you want! That will show you," Henry offered. He reached for his school bag and took out a blank paper and some colored pens. "Stay very still. I'm going to do my best."

"Wait a minute," the older woman stopped him and went to her room to retrieve something special. "If you're going to make a drawing of me, you have to include this necklace. It's my most precious possession."

"It's pretty!" Henry agreed and started to work.

Margaret sat as still as possible, smiling indulgently at the kid who was seriously drawing her. She didn't expect it to be any good, but she was shocked when Henry gave her the paper after a few hours. It was fantastic for a little boy!

"This is amazing, Henry. Are you taking drawing lessons?"

"No, my mom doesn't have money for that. But I practice when I can," Henry answered. "I have to go now. Have a good night."

Margaret looked at the drawing for several hours and decided to frame it a few days later. It wasn't just good, it made her look so extraordinary that Margaret no longer saw herself as ugly. If she looked that beautiful to the kid, she was definitely gorgeous. She hung the framed portrait in her living room, but before that, she added something special behind it.

The portrait brought Margaret so much joy every day that she thought of doing something special for Henry. She called Henry's mother and offered to pay for Henry's art lessons. The humble woman didn't want to accept, so Margaret changed tactics.

"How about you come work for me?" she suggested. "I'm getting old, and I need someone in the house with me. There's more than enough room for you two here, and I can offer you some more benefits aside from a great salary as my housekeeper and caretaker."

Henry's mom, Maria, couldn't say no to that great offer, and a few days later, they moved in with the older woman. Soon enough, they became as close as family. Henry often told her how much she meant to him and started calling her grandma.

"Grandma, you know how much you mean to me, right? You have to eat healthy and take care because I need you. We need you," Henry told her one day, and Maria agreed.

After such a comment, Margaret went to her room and cried for the first time in years. She was astonished at how much she trusted them and couldn't believe how many years she had spent alone. It seemed impossible now that two people valued her so much.

Around six months after Henry and Maria moved in, Margaret's health deteriorated. She had some hearing problems and became forgetful, leading to a dangerous situation when she neglected to turn on the home alarm when they went to sleep for the night.

That night, a strange man entered the house, and Henry woke up and called 911 immediately. He grabbed his baseball bat and tried to confront the thief.

"Who are you?" he asked, standing menacingly in the entrance of a guest room where the thief had been snooping.

The man raised his hands. "I'm just here because Aunt Margaret owes me something."

"Aunt Margaret?"

"Yes, she's my aunt, so put that down."

"I won't! I already called the police," Henry warned, holding his bat tighter.

"What? YOU IDIOT!" the man yelled and tried to get out, but Henry blocked the doorway. "MOVE!"

Finally, they heard the police sirens, which woke Maria, who went to wake Margaret. Henry explained everything to the officers in the presence of his mother and Margaret, but the thief started yelling at the older woman.

"Aunt Margaret! Tell them I'm not a thief!"

The police officers looked at the woman, but Margaret stared at the man in disdain. "He's a thief. Technically, he is my nephew. But he was not invited to this house."

That was all the cops needed to hear to arrest the man. Margaret, Maria, and Henry went back into the house, and the older woman thanked them so much.

"That's Liam. He's always been awful. And he's had his eye on my necklace for ages. Remember that one? The one you drew?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm glad he didn't find it," Maria commented, and Henry nodded.

"He wouldn't find it anyway. It's in a special place," the older woman revealed, pointing to Henry's drawing, which hung in the living room. She had hidden the necklace in the back of the frame where no one but them would find it.

The entire night taught Margaret how much she needed Henry and Maria. And that's when she finally made the decision to leave them everything she owned in her will, including the unique necklace, worth around one million dollars.

What can we learn from this story?

• Everyone needs a support system, even when they think they don't. Margaret pushed people away all her life, but she soon learned how important it was to have people around.
• One chance encounter can change your life. Henry only wanted to help out an older woman, but that meeting changed everything for them.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a poor boy who paid for an older woman's groceries and received something he never expected a few days later.

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