'Who Are You?' Boy Notices Same Lady Living Next Door in Every City He Moves to – Story of the Day

Chuck notices a mysterious woman is following his family from city to city and moving in next door to them. Is he prepared for the shocking revelations she'll make when they face one another?

There she was again. Out on the street with her dog. Chuck had noticed her several times, and each time she had managed to find the house next door to them as if she wanted to be close to their family.

Who are you? Why are you following us? Chuck wondered as he saw her again that day. Though he knew she'd been stalking their family, she'd never been a nuisance or caused them any trouble.

But Chuck was a teen, a clever 14-year-old boy who watched crime thrillers, and he knew this woman wouldn't have actually moved to the new city with them unless she had a purpose, a motive.

He recalled there was a movie where the woman would sit by her window and snoop into her neighbors' houses. Was she that type of woman? Chuck had no idea. He didn't even know what her name was. But he was determined to figure out who this mysterious woman was who wouldn't stop following him...

Chuck's father, Alex, was a manager for a private firm, while his mother, Mary, was a stay-at-home parent. They'd had him late, so Chuck didn't particularly share a good relationship with them. He just existed for them, and so did they for him.

Sadly, Chuck didn't even have friends as his father kept relocating to different cities due to job transfers. If only he had friends, he would've found out about the mysterious woman much sooner, as they would've helped him. But Chuck was all alone now.

One night, while they were having dinner, Chuck told his parents about the woman next door, hoping they would've noticed her too. But they just brushed it off as a creation of his overthinking mind.

There is sometimes more to things than meets the eye.

"That's why I tell you, honey, you need to make friends," Mary said, serving him salad. "You're always on some video game, Chuck. At this point, I feel we need to take you for counseling."

"For God's sake, Mom, I'm not crazy, OK?" Chuck retorted. "How have you not noticed her? She literally follows us wherever we go! And that dog of hers… he's just like her. Weirdos."

"Well, when was the last time you went out, Chuck?" his mother asked, slicing the steak. "All you do is sit in your room and watch weird movies and read strange crime fiction books!"

Chuck put down his fork and looked his mother in the eyes. "You have to believe me, Mom! She's insane. She never leaves her house, and when she does, she's just standing across the street and staring at our yard! And her dog's also there with her."

"Enough, Chuck," his father chimed in. "Maybe she's walking her dog, just like so many people do! Your mother is right. When we were your age, we'd go out and spend time with friends. But look at you; you're always stuck on some sort of screen. Young man, I wouldn't be surprised if you needed a therapist."

"Fine!" Chuck cried as he rose to his feet. "If you don't want to believe me, don't! But if someone needs a therapist, it's that woman, not me! I'm done here. I'm off to my room."

Chuck was really upset as he returned to his room. His dad and mom were 50 and 49, respectively, and they clearly didn't understand him. He knew that the woman was following them everywhere! How was he supposed to make his parents believe that?

That weekend, Chuck and his parents were busy arranging their house when Chuck chanced upon an envelope in his mother's closet. It looked pretty old and was stained dirty yellow.

Chuck would've tossed it in a corner and not bothered about it if he hadn't discovered a letter inside signed jointly by his parents.

"I'm not ready. After what I've done, I don't think I'll ever be able to have a child. I'm sorry, darling. Please forgive me for this. I love you, and I want to be with you. But we both know we're not meant to be parents. Alice would never forgive us. She'd rather hate us all her life. And somewhere, we deserve that. But I don't want us to ruin our life because of her and now… me.

—Mary."

Chuck noticed his dad's signature on the bottom of the letter with the words: "I'd never leave you."

"Chuck! Can you help me in the kitchen if you're done there?" As Mary called out to him, Chuck quickly tucked the letter into his pocket and disappeared from his parents' bedroom.

Who was Alice? What had his parents done to her, and why had they never mentioned her? Chuck's mind was racing with questions that night. But he knew he couldn't ask his parents anything because they'd never tell him the truth if they'd done something wrong to Alice. And by the words in the letter, it seemed they'd done something very wrong.

Chuck kept the letter stashed in his bedroom drawer for days, uncertain what to do with it. When bored one day, he looked out his bedroom window and noticed the woman on the street with her dog, staring at their house again! Chuck decided to confront her that day.

"Hey!" he said as he dashed up to her. "Hi, I'm Chuck!"

He noticed something pass across the woman's face, probably fear, as he said that. "He—Hello, Chuck," she stammered.

"Look, I know this will sound weird, but I know you," he said. "Do you know us? Like, maybe you know my parents?" he asked. "I—I sort of know you're following us. Who are you?"

It was then he noticed it. The nervousness in her eyes and her rubbing her sweaty palms as if some of her secrets had been revealed. "I—I have to leave," she said, tugging her dog's leash. "Come on, Toby. Let's go!"

"Hey, but..." The woman hurried up the street and disappeared without looking back at him. Chuck stood there, puzzled as to why his words had made her so nervous. Did she really know his family? He was now suspicious she did.

A few days later, Chuck was walking home from school when he saw the woman's dog on the street. He walked up to the lonely animal and looked around. The woman was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, bud," he said, stroking the dog's head. "You're alone here today? Want me to take you home?"

As he patted the dog's back, Chuck noticed the Doberman's collar around his neck. The dog's name, Toby, as well as the owner's name and contact number, were written on it.

"Alice?" Chuck stared at the collar, stunned. "It's strange. Her name's Alice too?"

Suddenly, the dog broke free from Chuck's embrace and ran up the street. Chuck stood alone and couldn't stop thinking about the letter in his room and the collar around Toby's neck. They both mentioned Alice. "Strange thing, isn't it?" he muttered to himself.

Later that evening, Mary was out grocery shopping. Chuck had just taken a break from playing video games when he remembered the letter. He took it out of the drawer and reread it. And suddenly, he wondered if it was possible that the Alice his parents were referring to in the letter was the same woman who had been watching their home.

That evening, Chuck's curiosity got the better of him as he hurried out of his house to the woman next door. He rang her doorbell several times, and just before he was going to press the bell again, she opened the door.

"Don't blame me later if the truth breaks your heart."

"Hi! We'd met the other day, remember? I'm Chuck?"

"How—What do you want?" she asked shakily, her door slightly ajar.

"Um, do you mind if I come in? I want to talk to you about a letter. I'm not sure, but I guess it's related to you."

"A letter?"

"Yeah. Look, I'm not a weirdo or anything. I—I know who you are. You're Alice, right?"

The woman's brows arched as Chuck called her name. "Hey, I didn't stalk you or anything, alright? I saw your name on your dog's collar. I met him on the street on my way back from school."

"Right," she said, feeling a little relieved. "Right. Toby sometimes leaves the house without telling me. He loves exploring new places. He ran away this morning, and I guess he met you."

"He did, yes," Chuck confirmed. "So…"

"I'm a little busy right now, Chuck," she said, stepping away from her door. "I'm sorry I can't really talk to you now..."

But Chuck wasn't going to leave. He held the door open with his palm. "This is what I'm talking about. Look at this," he added, showing her the letter.

"You should leave, Chuck," she insisted. "Please."

"Not until I figure out what's going on, Alice," he replied. "I've noticed you before. I see you everywhere my family moves. My parents think I'm crazy. And I want to tell them I'm not, OK? I… I have pictures of you staring at our house," he lied. "If you don't tell me who you are and why you keep stalking us, I'm going to the cops!"

"Please!" she cried, her eyes welling up. "Don't involve the cops. It's about your family, OK?"

"My family?" asked Chuck, bewildered.

"Yes!" she said.

"What is it?" he demanded. "What are you hiding?"

"You're so stubborn!" she sighed. "Fine! I don't think I can hide it any longer. Come on in. But don't blame me later if the truth breaks your heart."

Chuck was shocked by Alice's words as he followed her to the living room and sat on her couch.

"I'm your sister," she revealed. "Our parents had abandoned me long before you were born."

"What?" Chuck's eyes were wide open in shock. "You... what?"

"And this letter…" She took it from Chuck's hands, read it, and said, "I've never seen it before, but I can tell you the words in here… they don't mean it. They never felt bad about leaving me. You're right; I follow you everywhere you go because I'm afraid they'll abandon you, just like they abandoned me."

"I grew up in foster care, Chuck, and that's the last place I'd want you to be. I've been taking up remote jobs all this while, so I can be close to you and protect you. I want to be there for you. I…" Chuck noticed her hands quivering with anxiousness and sweat beads on her brow.

"I get awful dreams sometimes," she added. "I—I've been suffering from bad things since they left me in a random shelter, things no one deserves to go through. But I'll be there for you, Chuck. Trust me. I'm not… I'm not lying."

"What the hell is even wrong with you?" Chuck cried as he got to his feet. "Aren't you just making stuff up? Sister? My parents leaving you? Look, I know they're not the coolest and most understanding parents, but they've cared for me all these years. You're sick!"

"I'm not lying!" she said. "And I'm not making anything up! Your… I mean, our father works for a company owned by a friend of mine. That's how I found you, and I had no idea they had a second child until then. Can't you read in the letter that they said they didn't want to be parents again?"

"I'm leaving!" Chuck muttered as he yanked the letter from her grasp and walked away. He overheard Alice telling him that Alex's firm intended to fire him due to downsizing, but Chuck refused to believe anything she said. He didn't believe her friend owned Alex's firm or that she had convinced her friend not to terminate Alex.

Chuck really didn't want to trust her at all, but if her words were to be believed, the letter made sense. Part of him wished he could confront Alex and Mary and tell them everything, but Chuck didn't tell anyone about his encounter with Alice.

All he did was visit Alice one evening and warn her to stay away from their family. But a week later, Chuck's worst nightmare came true. His parents sat him down and told him they were leaving him at a shelter because Alex was fired from his job.

"After your Dad and I sort things out and get back on our feet, we'll take you back. We'll have to get out of here as quickly as possible," Mary said.

"Why leave me here?" Chuck asked. "I can come with you! Help you out!"

"No, you can't," Alex stated emphatically. "Chuck, we can't afford another plane ticket. We've bought our tickets, and your mother and I will be flying out Thursday morning. We've asked a friend who runs a shelter to make accommodations for you..."

"Oh really?" Chuck raised his brow, recalling Alice's words. She was right. They were going to leave him and never return.

In a rage, Chuck stormed into his parents' room, digging through their belongings for the plane tickets. He couldn't believe his parents had lied to him about their flying date and the city they were moving to.

"What's this?" Chuck asked angrily, holding up the tickets. "You're flying tonight?"

"Chuck, honey…"

"Well, I'll make sure you won't!"

Mary had only started speaking when Chuck dashed out of the house with the tickets. He ran to Alice's house and rang her doorbell.

"Chuck?" she asked, opening the door.

"Please come with me," he said. "I need your help."

"Is everything OK?" she asked.

"No, no, it's not," Chuck said in tears. "They're leaving me, Alice! You were right all this while! They… they don't care about me!"

When Chuck showed Alice the tickets and told her everything, her rage knew no bounds. She confronted Alex and Mary and reported them to the cops for child neglect.

As surprised as Alex and Mary were, they couldn't believe their daughter was standing right in front of them, so bold and beautiful.

"Only weak people run away from problems, just like you both did!" Alice hissed. "I had a feeling this was going to happen! You guys don't deserve to be parents! How could you do this?"

"Alice, we..."

"You can now let the cops look after you guys while I look after my brother! Goodbye, MOMMY AND DADDY!"

Years have gone by, and while Chuck has no clue where their parents are, he's happy with the life his sister gave him. He later learned Mary had written the letter after she wanted to leave Alex.

They didn't want a child, and Mary had discovered she was expecting Chuck but couldn't terminate the pregnancy due to complications. Alex asked her to stay with him and signed the letter promising never to abandon her.

Chuck burned the letter long ago because he didn't want to live in the past. He's been the happiest with his sister.

Alice is now married and has a small tribe of children of her own, but her first child will always be Chuck, whom she loved and raised like her own kid.

What can we learn from this story?

• Fate has strange ways of reuniting us with the people we're meant to be with. Chuck and his sister, Alice, reunited, albeit late. And their parents paid for what they had done.
• There is sometimes more to things than meets the eye. Never had Chuck imagined that the 'strange' woman he had thought was stalking their family would turn out to be his sister.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a lady who notices a set of lonely triplet boys on a beach and follows them, only to uncover their miserable lives.

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