“Leave her here, let her fend for herself!” they said, tossing the old woman into the snowdrift. The brutes didnt realise the boomerang would soon swing back.
Edith Whitby walked toward her block of flats. The ladies on the bench were gossiping about the sleek car recently parked on the lawn.
“Who does it belong to?” Edith asked.
“No idea!” one replied. “Probably Marys. Folks like us dont get fancy motors round here.”
“Only ambulances visit our lot!” another chimed in.
The neighbours prattled on about council troubles and scandal. Then out stepped Mary herself, the owner of the gleaming car, striding past without a glance at the women or the vehicle squatting on the grass. Edith hurried indoors.
“Edith Whitby?” A mans voice echoed in the stairwell. “Remember me? We spoke the other day. Im your nephew.”
“Oh, Geoffrey!” Edith gasped, recognising him. “Why didnt you say you were coming? Is that your car on my lawn?”
“It is.”
“Then shift it before someone scratches it! What were you thinking, parking on my flowerbeds?”
Geoffrey scurried to move it while Edith put the kettle on. She needed to sell the flatno point leaving the neighbours a trampled garden.
Years ago, her uncle used to visit with his son. Then the family drifted apart. And now, here he was, this nephew of hers. Something about him prickled her distrust. He smoked too muchyoung, but his teeth were already yellow. Still, at least hed come. She hadnt wanted an estate agent; better to reward kin. But he refused the money.
Edith had grown old without husband or children. She longed to move closer to nature. Fresh air beat trekking up four flights of stairs. A village cottage with a gardenwhile she still had the strength to tend it. By autumn, a buyer emerged.
“Winters coming. Lets wait till spring,” Edith decided, delaying the sale.
“But prices will rise by then!” Geoffrey argued. “Cold weathers best for checking the heating. And what if the buyer backs out later?”
“You havent found me a home yet! Where will I live? Find me a cottage first.”
Geoffrey relented.
Soon, he presented options. The chosen cottage needed work, but the flats sale would cover it. Geoffrey knew constructionhe could estimate costs, even promised to help.
Edith fretted. “Winters at the doorstep. I dont want the hassle. Just a proper home, like normal folk.”
“Ill handle it!” he insisted.
She grew uneasy. Why the rush to sell? Yet she convinced herself he stood to gain nothing. Still, she thanked him for bothering at all.
On the day of the sale, the buyer and solicitor arrived promptly. Geoffrey served tea. Ediths heart achedthis was her life packed into boxes. No turning back.
“All done! Time to move,” Geoffrey announced once the papers were signed.
“Now? My chinas still in the cupboard!”
But he insistedthe buyer needed the flat tonight.
Grudgingly, she agreed. In the van, she yawned, then dozed. Flickers of consciousness showed her the road, snatches of mens voices.
“Can you hear me?” Geoffreys voice echoed as if down a tunnel. She couldnt answer.
“Leave her here,” she heard later, the world blurred as smoke. They dumped her in the snow.
“Shell die out here,” Geoffrey added.
The truth struck herhed drugged the tea. The contract, the rushall a ruse. Eyes closed, she braced for the end.
Meanwhile, a young woman driving past noticed the parked van. Thinking the driver needed help, she pulled overthen saw men hauling something toward the woods. Heavy snow fell. Curious, she noted the licence plate. When they drove off, she investigated.
An old womanalive but unconscious. She called her husband. Together, they lifted Edith into their car.
“Where am I?” Edith mumbled, stirring.
“We found you,” the womanLouisesaid. “Do you remember how you got here?”
“I do. My nephew sold my flat. Then the tea he put something in it! They dumped me. Wanted me gone.”
“Lets get you warm,” Louise said, rubbing cream into her hands.
“Youre kinder than my own blood,” Edith whispered.
Louises family took her in while the police investigated. Geoffrey and his accomplice were arrested for fraud. By spring, Edith had her cottageno repairs needed, just a garden waiting. That summer, she invited Louise and her husband for tea. She never forgot their kindness.
