Fixing Old Widow’s Roof, Men Find Stash Her Husband Left and Decide to Stay Silent about It – Story of the Day

When my coworkers and I were called to fix an elderly woman's roof, we found a stash left behind by her late husband. While my mates decided to stay silent about it, I did the right thing, which changed my life forever.

It seemed like any other gig in the beginning.

Vanessa was an older woman living alone after her husband died a couple of years ago. She never had children, so when her loving husband died, she was left on her own.

Vanessa had wanted to fix her roof for years, as she believed it would not survive heavy rain or hail. However, her husband was always against it and said the roof did not need repairs.

When her husband passed, she became increasingly afraid of losing her home to natural calamities, so she decided once and for all to hire us to fix her roof. She treated us well, cooking meals and bringing us drinks she'd make herself.

My coworkers were not exactly friendly and just wanted to get the job done. But I, the youngest of our group, genuinely treated Vanessa well. I sometimes stayed after work to help her fix some things at home, and I did it for free. Why, you ask?

My soft spot for Vanessa springs from my past. I was an orphan and never met my parents, so I appreciated how Vanessa cared for us and wanted to give back. It's also true I'd never met anyone who'd treat construction workers with so much love and respect. So naturally, I genuinely respected her and cared for her.

Her roof didn't take much time to fix, and we were able to finish the work in a few days. But something strange happened on our last day working for Vanessa.

One of my coworkers, Josh, found a hidden hatch underneath one of the roofing layers. I had no clue he'd found something like that until I heard him shout, "Hey, take a look at this."

I walked over to him and joined my other coworkers, who were now standing around the hatch in a circle.

"Well, let's open it up," one of them, Matthew, said, taking a hammer to break the lock. What we found inside surprised us. It was a box containing a lot of gold jewelry and a considerable amount of money.

"It's our lucky day!" Josh said while the rest of us stood, perplexed, unable to believe our eyes. Then, another one of my coworkers, Kevin, spoke up.

"Let's split that up once we're out of the property. Keep it in the car for now!"

"Wait, that's not right," I found myself saying, and everyone looked at me. "This could help Vanessa out. They might be important heirlooms," I told my coworkers.

Josh frowned. "Come on, Joseph. Why would she need all these? She's old and without a family. Besides, she probably doesn't know it even exists," he scoffed. The other guys took Josh's side. I tried to convince them that they weren't doing the right thing, but they wouldn't listen.

By the day's end, our work was done. But Josh wasn't. He told Vanessa the price for fixing the roof had gone up.

"You see, ma'am, we found a huge hole that we needed to work on, so the price needs to increase," he explained, lying about the whole ordeal. The hole he was referring to was the hidden hatch from where he and my other coworkers stole the box.

I was so disappointed in my coworkers. How could they trick an elderly woman who'd lost everything yet saw kindness in the world and was genuinely nice to others, to us?

I saw how Vanessa's face fell after what Josh told her. She willingly gave us the 'extra' money, but it greatly diminished her savings. After getting the cash, my coworkers prepared to leave, but I stayed behind, saying I hadn't finished fixing her closet.

My coworkers laughed at me and simply left. They thought they were in for an even bigger payday with the box inside their trunk.

When the car left, Vanessa suddenly turned to me. "Dear, I don't think I need you to fix my closet. Am I forgetting something?"

"No, you're not, ma'am," I said. Then, I took her to one of her living room cabinets, where I'd managed to hide the box.

"Did you know that there was a secret hatch on your roof?" I asked, handing it over to her.

She shook her head. "No, I didn't. What's in it?" she asked before slowly opening the box. When she did, she couldn't help but cry.

"Oh dear," she said, tears streaming down her face. "These are my husband's gold pieces of jewelry. Oh, and this precious ring, I thought we had lost it forever!" She held on to a gold ring that she explained was passed on from generation to generation in her husband's family.

"We never got to pass it on to the next generation because we never had children," Vanessa explained to me at that point, and it was then I learned how sad her life had been.

She deserved to know the truth, so I confessed that my coworkers planned to steal the box, but I'd secretly taken it out of the car. We chatted for a while, and she thanked me profusely. "It's alright, ma'am. I can see these mean a lot to you," I said. "Have a nice day. I'll get going."

But Vanessa refused to let me go.

"Please, have a meal first. Eat, and then go," she said. Considering my hunger, I accepted the invitation and left my things in the living room to sit in the dining area. Meanwhile, Vanessa prepared something for me in the kitchen.

We had a good dinner together, and when it was time to leave, Vanessa again thanked me for my kindness. "May you be blessed even more, young man," she said before waving goodbye.

When I got home, I opened my backpack and realized Vanessa had secretly put the box inside. When I opened it, I saw all the jewelry and a note that read:

"Joseph, you are a kind and honest man. I only needed two things from this box – my husband's letter and some money for my food and maintenance medicine. Everything else, I want you to have it.

My husband would have loved to have a son like you, and I would've too. I'm sure he's happy knowing I'm passing down his family's special ring to you. So please, take the ring, the other jewelry, and the rest of the money and live a good life. With love, Vanessa."

I was stunned. I never imagined owning a family heirloom, especially since I never had a family of my own.

Realizing that Vanessa was a kind old lady who treated me like family, I decided to take care of her for as long as she lived.

For the next couple of years, I would visit Vanessa every week to keep her company and to help her with household chores. I'd call her "mother," and she'd call me "son."

Years went by, and I completely forgot Vanessa was not my biological mother. She made me feel like I had a home, and her love taught me that families are built by love, not just by blood. But that's not all about how we changed each other lives.

When I finally decided to marry my girlfriend, Vanessa was with me at the altar. And when my son was born, Vanessa treated him as her grandson, and we were a very happy family.

Having a complete, happy family seemed like a dream both to Vanessa and me, given our pasts, but together, we could make it happen. We cherished every moment we spent together and ensured my wife and son felt all the love, comfort, and stability they needed. All thanks to the one decision I made – returning the box.

So please believe in doing the right, and make sure you give love to the older generations, not exploit them.

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