“Leave her here, let her die!” they muttered, dumping the old woman into the snowdrift. The fools didnt realise the boomerang would soon come back around.
Valerie Whitmore walked toward her block of flats. The elderly ladies on the bench were gossiping about the sleek car recently parked nearby.
“Who does it belong to?” Valerie asked.
“No idea, love!” one of them replied. “Must be Marys. Folks like us dont get fancy motors turning up.”
“Round here, its only ambulances that stop by!” another added.
The neighbours carried on, chatting about council troubles and the usual rumours. Then out came Mary herselfthe one with the expensive car. She marched off without so much as a glance at the women or the vehicle parked on the grass. Valerie hurried back inside.
“Valerie Whitmore?” a man called out, spotting her in the stairwell. “Remember me? We spoke a few days ago. Im your nephew.”
“Oh, Arthur!” Valerie gasped in recognition. “Why didnt you tell me you were coming? Is that your car on the lawn?”
“Yes, mine.”
“Well, go move it before someone complains! What were you thinking, parking on my flowerbed?”
Her nephew hurried to shift the car while Valerie went to put the kettle on. She needed to sell her flatshe wouldnt leave the neighbours to deal with a ruined garden.
Years ago, her uncle used to visit with his son. Later, the family lost touch. And now, here the lad wasthough something about him made Valerie uneasy. He smoked too much. Young as he was, his teeth were already yellow. Still, at least hed come. Shed rather not deal with estate agentsbetter to let her nephew handle the sale. But he refused any payment.
Valerie had lost her husband and had no children. She longed to move closer to nature. Fresh air would do her better than trudging up four flights of stairs. The countryside had a little cottage waiting. While she still had the strength, she fancied growing her own veg. By autumn, a buyer appeared for the flat.
“Winters coming. Lets wait till spring to sell,” Valerie decided, postponing the move.
“But pricesll go up by then!” Arthur argued. “Buyers check the heating better in the cold. Besides, weve got an offerwhat if they back out?”
“You havent even found me a place yet! Where will I live? Sort that first, then well sell,” Valerie sighed.
Arthur agreed.
Soon enough, her nephew lined up a few cottages. After a viewing, Valeries enthusiasm waned. Every place needed work. Still, the flats sale would cover the costsboth the new home and the repairs.
Arthur knew a thing or two about building work and promised to help.
The old woman fretted.
“Winters on our doorstep. I dont want the hassle of renovationsjust a proper home.”
“Ill help you sort it!” the young man insisted.
Valerie couldnt shake the feeling Arthur was rushing the saleas if he stood to gain. Yet she convinced herself he meant well. Hed agreed to help, after all. Once she picked a cottage, the sale was set.
The buyer and solicitor arrived on time. Arthur brewed tea for everyone. Valeries heart achedthis was her home, her whole life. But no turning back now. The deed was done.
“Right then, time to move!” Arthur declared once the papers were signed.
“Hold ontoday? Ive not even packed the china!” Valerie protested. But Arthur insistedthe buyer needed the place.
“Fine, if it must be today,” she relented. “Just let me gather my things.”
They set off in a van. Valerie yawned, drifting in and out of sleep. Snatches of road and murmured conversation flickered in her daze.
“Can you hear me, Auntie?” Arthurs voice echoed faintly. She hadnt the strength to answer.
“Leave her here,” she heard, surfacing again. Everything felt hazy, like smoke. They dumped her in the snow.
“Shell die out here,” Arthur added.
The old woman realisedshed been swindled. He mustve drugged the tea to rush the sale. Closing her eyes, she braced for the end.
Meanwhile, a young woman driving past spotted the parked van and slowed, thinking the driver needed help. Then she saw the men hauling something toward the woods. Heavy snow fell. Curious, she noted the license platejust in case. After they drove off, she hurried over and found Valerie. A pulseweak but there. She called her husband straightaway.
By the time they loaded her into their car, Valerie stirred.
“Where am I?” she mumbled.
“We found you,” the womanEmilysaid. “Do you remember how you ended up in the snow?”
“Yes My nephew the flat sale. Then tea. He mustve put something in it! They dumped me herewanted rid of me.”
“Lets get you warm,” Emily said, rubbing her hands.
“Bless you,” Valerie whispered. “Id have been gone.”
Emilys family helped her report it to the police. An investigation began. The young couple offered her a place to stayat least until she got her flat back.
Weeks later, the property was returned. Arthur and his accomplice were jailed for fraud. Come spring, just as shed planned, Valerie sold the flat and bought her cottage. No repairs neededjust a garden to tend. That summer, she invited Emily and her husband for tea. Shed never forget their kindness.
