“I won’t take her in. I’m always traveling for work; I don’t have time to deal with a sick old woman,” snapped Victor. His tone was sharp, his eyes betraying a flicker of unease. “What if she sets the house on fire or floods the place? Who’s going to answer for that?”
“I can’t take her either,” added his younger brother, Mark, with a nervous glance. He made no effort to lower his voice, even though their mother was in the next room and could hear everything. “If I bring Mom home, Anna will throw me out of the house. Plus, the kids are little. They’d be terrified by her odd behavior.”
“Then let Sam and Lisa take her,” Victor declared, making it final. “And if they refuse, we’ll just put her in a nursing home.”
Lisa clenched her fists, suppressing her growing frustration. The brothers’ voices carried not a trace of compassion, only irritation, as if caring for their elderly mother was an unbearable burden.
“Why are you silent?” she prodded her husband, Sam, with her elbow. She was furious that he hadn’t stopped his brothers from speaking so callously about their mother. “Are you okay with bringing Emma to live with us?”
“What choice do we have?” he shrugged helplessly. “We can’t leave her here alone.”
Leaving Mrs. Emma alone truly wasn’t an option. She had just turned seventy-five, and her health was failing fast. She was constantly visiting doctors, and on several occasions, an ambulance had to be called in the middle of the night. Over the past months, she had started losing her memory, doing illogical things, and confusing names and dates.
The first signs of trouble had surfaced unexpectedly. Every week, her sons visited to check on her and bring groceries. One evening, Sam came home visibly shaken and told Lisa:
“Mom poured coffee into the cat’s bowl and set a plate of buttered sandwiches beside it. It’s scary… What are we going to do?”
Lisa sighed deeply, sensing the beginning of difficult times. Age spares no one, but some are luckier than others. The once kind and gentle woman Lisa had met twenty-five years ago was rapidly becoming helpless.
At first, they hoped her condition wouldn’t worsen. Mrs. Emma continued living alone and rarely complained. But one day, Victor called Sam in a fury.
“I went to Mom’s, and there are cockroaches all over the kitchen! You were there last week—why didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t see them,” Sam defended himself. “There weren’t any then.”
“Well, there are now, and they’ve multiplied! She’s leaving food all over the place,” Victor said angrily. “We need to figure out what to do with her. I’m afraid she’ll turn the apartment into a dump. Maybe it’s time for a nursing home?”
“Let’s not rush,” Sam said, alarmed. “We’ll talk to Mark first.”
The next day, the three brothers gathered at their mother’s apartment. Lisa came along to make sure everything was okay. In earlier years, she and Mrs. Emma had spent a lot of time together—gardening, going on trips, and sharing recipes. They had grown distant only in recent years, when both had less need for constant companionship.
Seeing all her children together, Mrs. Emma lit up with joy and rushed to the kitchen to make tea. Lisa followed her and caught her just in time as she was about to turn on an empty electric kettle.
“Let me help you,” Lisa said gently.
“Oh, thank you, Katie,” Mrs. Emma said warmly, mistaking Lisa for her granddaughter. “You’re such a smart girl! Getting straight A’s, I bet?”
Lisa didn’t correct her. Instead, she changed the subject, drawing attention to the view outside the window.
In the living room, Victor and Mark rummaged through cabinets and drawers.
“It’s nowhere to be found!” Victor exclaimed, frustrated. “Did she hide it or give it away?”
“What are you looking for?” Lisa asked.
“Her jewelry box,” Mark replied. “It had all her gold rings and earrings.”
“So you plan to take them for yourselves?” Lisa asked, disgusted. “Don’t you feel ashamed? Your mother is still alive.”
“Stay out of it,” Victor snapped. “If we sell the jewelry and split the money, it’ll be a decent amount. She doesn’t need those trinkets anymore.”
“She’s not taking them to the grave,” Mark chuckled. “And we need a new TV.”
Lisa’s stomach turned. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. That evening, after the family had left, Emma moved in with Sam and Lisa. They gave her their daughter’s room—Jessica had been living with her boyfriend for two years.
Emma’s presence brought back memories for Lisa. Years ago, Emma had picked Jessica up from school, helped her with homework, and spent summers with her at the family’s cottage. Those days were now gone. The Emma they once knew was fading, replaced by someone who didn’t recognize Lisa and confused her with others.
One morning, Emma wandered out of the house and didn’t return. Sam and Lisa searched the neighborhood in panic. Finally, a man called Sam, saying he had found Emma sitting in a building’s stairwell with a bag and an old notebook containing Sam’s number.
When they brought her home, Sam was visibly shaken.
“Mom, why did you leave? We do everything for you. Why isn’t that enough?”
“I want to go home,” Emma murmured, tears in her eyes.
Lisa comforted her, then noticed the bag she had carried. Inside was the missing jewelry box.
“I hid it,” Emma admitted. “I didn’t want them to take it. I want you to have it, Lisa. You’ve always cared for me.”
Lisa accepted the box, tears streaming down her face. She realized the true treasure wasn’t the jewelry—it was the memories and the bond they shared.
She vowed to honor those memories and care for Emma as best she could for the rest of her days.
