When I saw the cruel message scrawled on my recovering grandpa’s dusty car, I was livid. But uncovering the culprit’s identity was just the beginning. What I did next would teach this entitled neighbor a lesson she’d never forget.
Two months ago, I was at work when my phone rang. It was Mom.
“Meg, it’s Grandpa,” she barely managed to speak. “He’s in the hospital. He—”
“What? Hospital?” I cut her off, totally blindsided. “What happened?”
A woman talking on the phone at work | Source: Pexels
“He had a heart attack,” Mom continued in her shaky voice. “We gotta go see him.”
“Oh my God, Mom, is he okay?”
“I don’t know, Meg…”
“I’ll be there as fast as I can, Mom,” I replied as I quickly logged out of my work email.
The thing is, Grandpa Alvin is my rock, my confidant, and my favorite person in the world. It won’t be wrong to say that I love him more than Mom. Shh! It’s a secret!
An older man standing in his house | Source: Midjourney
And that phone call from Mom had turned my world upside down. I could literally feel a knot in my stomach as I rushed out of my office after informing my boss about Grandpa’s condition.
The drive home from my workplace is a blur. I don’t remember how I got there, but I quickly picked Mom up before we rushed to the hospital.
The drive from our house to the hospital was about 45 minutes long. And let me tell you, those were the longest, most painful 45 minutes of my life. Mom kept crying the entire time, while I could feel my heart pounding inside my chest.
Once we reached there, a nurse told us that Grandpa was in the operating room. After what felt like an eternity, the doctor came out.
A close-up shot of a doctor’s arms crossed on his chest | Source: Pexels
“The surgery was successful, but he needs rest and care,” he told us. “He needs to eat a heart-healthy diet, low in salt and saturated fats. Regular, gentle exercise is crucial. And absolutely no stress.”
“Alright, doc,” I nodded. “But when can we see him?”
“Is he really okay?” Mom asked impatiently.
“Don’t worry,” the doctor reassured her. “He’s resting comfortably now. The nurses will let you know when it’s a good time to visit.”
A doctor talking to a woman | Source: Midjourney
Grandpa was allowed to go home a few days later, but there was a problem. He lives in another town, and we couldn’t visit him every day to look after him.
As a result, we hired a full-time nurse.
She was a godsend, agreeing to cook for him too. For two months, Grandpa didn’t leave his apartment and focused solely on his recovery.
Last week, I realized it had been too long since I’d seen him.
A woman sitting on a chair, thinking | Source: Midjourney
“Mom,” I said over breakfast, “I’m going to visit Grandpa this weekend. Wanna come?”
Her eyes lit up.
“That’s a wonderful idea, honey,” she smiled. “I’ll come with you. He’ll be so happy to see us!”
“Perfect!” I said before I took a bite of my scrambled eggs.
On Saturday, I woke up early, bought a bouquet of Grandpa’s favorite bright yellow sunflowers, and drove all the way to his place with Mom.
I couldn’t wait to meet him and see his face light up. I was expecting a day full of Grandpa’s stories, unaware of what was waiting for us there.
As we pulled into the parking lot of his apartment complex, I spotted his old, beat-up car. It was covered with a thick layer of dust, clearly proving he hadn’t driven it since getting sick.
But as we got closer, something made my blood boil.
A woman in a car | Source: Midjourney
Someone had left a message on the rear windscreen. It seemed like they had written it using their finger. It looked fresh.
The message read, “YOU ARE A DIRTY PIG! CLEAN UP YOUR CAR OR GET OUT OF THE COMMUNITY. SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!”
I was absolutely furious. How could someone be so cruel to an old man who’s been too sick to even get out of bed, let alone clean his car?
A woman in a car, looking angry | Source: Midjourney
“Oh my God,” Mom gasped. “Who would do such a thing?”
I clenched my fists. I could feel my cheeks burn with rage.
“Some entitled jerk with nothing better to do than harass a sick old man, that’s who.”
Then, I felt Mom’s soft hand on my arm.
“Honey, calm down,” she said. “Let’s not upset your grandfather.”
I took a deep breath, trying to compose myself.
“You’re right. Let’s go see him.”
A parking lot of an apartment complex | Source: Pexels
We quickly headed up to Grandpa’s apartment. I rang the bell, waiting for him to open the door.
“My girls!” he smiled from ear to ear. “What a wonderful surprise!”
“Grandpa!” I hugged him tight. “You look so good! So handsome!”
“Well, of course I do!” he chuckled. “When have I ever not looked handsome? Even in my hospital gown, I was turning heads left and right!”
An older man in his house, smiling | Source: Midjourney
As we headed inside, I couldn’t stop thinking of the cruel message on his car. I couldn’t erase that image from my mind.
“Megan? Are you listening, sweetheart?” Grandpa’s voice snapped me back to reality.
“Sorry, Grandpa. I was just… thinking. How are you feeling?”
We chatted for a while, but my mind kept drifting to that message. I needed to do something about it.
“Hey, I need to take care of something real quick,” I said, standing up. “Mom, can you stay with Grandpa? I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
A woman talking to her mother | Source: Midjourney
“Sure, honey,” Mom said.
In no time, I headed down to the security office near the entrance, where I met a bored-looking guy sitting behind the desk.
“Excuse me,” I said. “I need to see the security camera footage from the parking lot.”
He raised an eyebrow as he straightened his back.
“Sorry, ma’am. We can’t just show that to anyone who asks.”
A security guard | Source: Midjourney
I leaned in, lowering my voice.
“Look, my grandfather lives here. He’s been very ill, and someone vandalized his car with a horrible message. I need to know who did it.”
The guard hesitated, then nodded.
“Alright, just this once.”
We reviewed the footage from the last few days when I suddenly saw an older, snooty-looking woman, heading towards Grandpa’s car. She took her sweet time to write that awful message on his car.
An older woman standing near a black car | Source: Midjourney
“Who is this?” I asked the guard.
“That’s Briana from 4C,” he said. “Always causing trouble.”
I thanked him and turned to leave, but he stopped me.
“Wait, there’s something else. I overheard some of the neighbors talking in the lobby last week. Apparently, this Briana woman has been giving your grandfather a hard time for months now.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
He scratched his chin thoughtfully.
A security guard talking to a woman | Source: Midjourney
“Well, they were saying she’s been complaining about every little thing. Like, she’d make a fuss if his newspaper was left out too long, or if his welcome mat wasn’t perfectly straight. One of the ladies even mentioned that Briana tried to get your grandpa fined for having a potted plant that was ‘an unapproved color’ or something ridiculous like that.”
“Are you serious? Why hasn’t anyone done anything about this?”
“Most folks just try to avoid her, I guess,” he shrugged.
“Your grandpa’s too nice to make a big deal out of it. But between you and me, I think everyone’s getting pretty fed up with her attitude.”
Yeah, my grandpa’s nice, but I’m not, I thought to myself before marching straight to Briana’s apartment.
The door opened soon after I knocked on it.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“I’m Alvin’s granddaughter,” I said, struggling to keep my voice steady. “I saw what you wrote on his car. You have no right to humiliate him like that!”
A young woman talking to her grandfather’s neighbor | Source: Midjourney
“I don’t care,” she shrugged. “If he can’t keep up with community standards, maybe he shouldn’t be living here.”
And with that, she slammed the door in my face.
I was livid. It was clear that talking to her wasn’t going to get anywhere, so I decided to handle it my own way. I came up with a plan to teach her a lesson. All I needed was a roll of duct tape and a paper with evidence.
A woman leaving a building | Source: Midjourney
The next day, I took a screenshot of the security camera footage, ensuring Briana’s face was clear, and got it printed. Then, in big, bold letters, I wrote: “SHAME! SHAME! SHAME! Lady from Apt 4C is abusing elderly neighbors.”
I taped that sign right in the elevator where everyone would see it. It was crystal clear who she was and what she’d done.
Within a day, the whole building was buzzing.
Single Mom of Four Buys Used Car, Owner Tells Her to Look In Trunk When She Gets Home — Story of the Day
A single mother of four young children decided to buy a used car to get to work. The car’s old owner asked her to open the trunk when she got home. What she finds in the trunk would be life-changing.Jennifer was a single mother of four young kids after her husband Adam left when he found out she was pregnant with their fourth child. “Another child to feed? No way! I’ve had enough!” he said one day, leaving their trailer and filing for divorce. Jennifer was devastated. She and Adam did not plan the pregnancy, but she thought she would have his support through such a challenging time, especially since they were already facing financial difficulties at the time.After their separation, Adam stopped giving her money for their children.He claimed he had no job and that no one would take him in because he did not graduate college. Shortly after giving birth, Jennifer had no choice but to look for a job, as she was running short on cash for food, diapers, and milk. Jennifer would walk through strips of restaurants and shops, only to be rejected by owners because she had four small children.”It’s difficult to hire mothers with young children because something always comes up. It’s either your child is sick, or you have no one to leave them with, so you have to miss work. I’m sorry, it’s too much for us to handle,” one employer outright told her. As no one in their neighborhood would take her in for a job, Jennifer started searching in a nearby city. With the bit of money she had left,she took a cab ride and asked her neighbors to look after her children for the afternoon.When she got there, she saw an opening for a housekeeping job at a local hotel. She walked in, applied, and was hired immediately. “We badly need staff around here, especially with the summer season. We will be fully booked in a couple of weeks,” the HR manager told her.Desperate for a job, Jennifer accepted it even if it meant traveling to a different city every day. She thanked the HR manager and made her way back home, where she told her kids she had finally landed a job. After spending almost $30 on cab fare, Jennifer realized she couldn’t afford to commute to work every day. It would be better for her to take her own car, but she had no money for one. She realized her best hope was to purchase a second-hand car.She found one but she wondered whether the owner would agree to sell it for a lower price. “By any chance, would you be able to give me this car for $5000? You see, I’m a single mom of four,and it’s been difficult for me to earn money. I was hoping to get a car to take a job in a nearby city,” she admitted.When the owner found out that she was raising four young children on her own, he agreed to sell the car for $5000. “If you can buy the car by tomorrow, I can give this to you for $5000,” he told her. Jennifer couldn’t be more grateful to the owner for agreeing to sell at a lower price. She took her chances and applied for a loan at the bank so she could get the car the following day. Unfortunately, because of her bad credit, the loan was rejected immediately.As she was running out of options, Jennifer thought deeply about what to do next. She could not move to a new city because her eldest child, Ethan, had just started school near the trailer park they lived in. Rent in the nearby city was also a lot more expensive, and she wouldn’t be able to take the trailer with her. She really needed a car to take her to and from work and fetch her children from school and the daycare.Then she remembered the family heirloom her late mother had left her – a gold chain necklace that had been in her family for generations. She teared up at the thought of having to sell it so she could buy a car, but she desperately needed it to provide for her children in the long run.Jennifer took the gold chain necklace from her trinket box and walked toward a nearby pawnshop. “I’m sorry, mom. I really need to do this right now,” she said aloud. When she got to the pawnshop, the necklace was valued at $5500. Jennifer was delighted. The amount was enough to buy the car and she would have some left for their daily needs. The following day, she went back to the used car dealership and handed the owner an envelope filled with $5000. “Thank you for agreeing to sell this to me, sir. You have no idea how much this will help my children and I,” she said and handed the man the envelope.The owner, who introduced himself as Jeff, smiled. “Congratulations on your car. This is an excellent purchase,” he told her. While Jennifer signed the paperwork for the purchase, Jeff discreetly placed something in the trunk of the car, and ss Jennifer prepared to drive home, he called out after her. “By the way, check the car’s trunk when you get home. I left something for your children inside,” he said, waving at Jennifer before she drove away. Since buying the car, Jennifer became busy commuting to work and taking her children to school and daycare that she completely forgot about checking the trunk, until she found a note in the car’s glove compartment.“I hope you and your children liked the gift I left inside the trunk. May it be of great help to you.” Surprised, she decided to open the trunk to search for the gift.At first, Jennifer was confused when she saw nothing but a white envelope on one side of the trunk. Then she realized it was the same white envelope she used to put her payment for the car. She opened it and saw her $5000 untouched. Jennifer couldn’t help but cry at that moment, surprised at the man’s kind gesture. She drove straight to the used car dealership after work, where she thanked Jeff for his generosity. “The world throws challenges at you, and it’s up to you to either rise from these challenges or succumb to them. I am proud of you for staying strong for your children, and I thought you could use the money more than I. Just don’t forget to pay it forward,” Jeff told her
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