A year after his father’s death, a man returns to sell his father’s home. But things take an unexpected turn when he hears a strange noise coming from the garage and discovers something startling inside.
Joseph Sutton was in a bind as he gazed around his father’s house in Nashville, Tennessee. He had traveled all the way to sell it, but something made his decision flinch as he looked around the house that held all of his boyhood memories.
When Joseph’s mother died of cancer three years before, his father was left feeling very lonely and depressed, so he brought Mr. Sutton to New York to stay with him and his wife. However, one year later, the older man passed away due to a heart attack.
Fast forward to this day, when Joseph looked about the house now that his father was gone, he felt a strange emotion. His childhood photographs were still hanging all over its tainted walls, his father’s old armchair sat empty, and the albums that portrayed a photographic memory of their good, old days were stacked in the basement, all covered in dust and spiderwebs.
He took out some of the old albums and sat on the living room couch, flipping through them, reliving the pleasant moments he’d shared with his parents and, at one point, lamenting the decision to sell the home that housed all of their memories. Suddenly, an odd noise in the backyard distracted him.
“Mrs. Miller? Is that you?” he called out, wondering if their old next-door neighbor had sneaked in again to steal mangoes from their backyard mango tree. She did it pretty frequently, and he remembered his father grumbling about her. However, there was no response.
He opened the back door and looked around for the source of the noise, but there was no one in sight. He went back to the living room, believing it was just his hunch, but then he heard a huge crash from the garage.
“Is anyone there? Why don’t you answer?” he yelled as he stormed out of the house, only to find the garage store slightly open.
He swiftly grabbed a rake nearby and made his way to the garage with light steps. “See, whoever you are, I’m warning you to leave. Trespassing on someone else’s property is a crime, so you’d better show yourself before I hurt you!”
Again, there was no response, but Joseph spotted movement inside the garage by the shadow it cast on the ground.
He grabbed the rake tightly and opened the garage door, now holding the rake in a position to strike when he noticed a man cuddling a cat in one corner of the garage.
“Please, please don’t hit me. I’m sorry!” the stranger said, his voice trembling.
“What the hell! Who are you? And what are you doing in my garage?”
“I’ve been staying here for a month because the house was empty and nobody lived there. Please don’t kick me out.”
“Look, mister! You’re trespassing, and that’s a crime! I’m calling the police now!”
A little compassion costs nothing.
“No, please! I’m homeless, and I’ve nowhere to go. Don’t do that. I beg you!” the man cried.
“How in the world are you even sleeping in this place? It’s disgusting! It’s been almost a year since it last saw a broom!”
“I – I don’t have a choice,” the man revealed. “My name is Matthew Wood. I used to work as a teacher. But after a tornado destroyed my neighborhood, I lost my house and had to live on the streets for a bit. Everyone at my school started calling me smelly and ‘homeless,’ and eventually, I was fired. They said that the school’s reputation was jeopardized because students complained that I smelled bad. I had no idea where to go or what to do until I came upon this garage. I sleep in the car, which is rather comfortable and toasty if you compare it to the streets.”
“Okay, wait,” Joseph paused. “That’s still wrong, Mathew. You can’t just walk into someone’s house, use it, and then moan about your miserable life.”
“I understand, but I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
“Yeah, whatever! And what’s the deal with the cat? It’s yours?” he asked, dialing a few digits on his phone.
“This is George. I found him on the streets two days ago, soaked and severely ill, and brought him here. Please do not call the police. Please, we don’t have anywhere to go… You can give me at least a day’s notice, right? I guarantee I’ll leave this place.”
“Woah, man, calm down. I guess you need to take the cat to the vet because it seems sick, and as far as your staying here is concerned, I need to think about it.”
“Thanks! I genuinely mean it. I mean you’re at least considering it. But the money… I don’t have enough money to pay the doctor.”
“Chill, I’ll cover for you. Also, it’s too soon to thank me. Don’t forget that you might need to pack your bags and leave my house! Alright?”
Matthew nodded, and the two guys drove the sick cat to a veterinarian. On their drive home, after much contemplation, Joseph proposed to Matthew that he may stay there as long as he wanted, but he’d have to promise him that he’d get back on his feet.
“Look, you don’t have to feel so lost just because things are a bit difficult, okay?” Joseph explained to him. “Anyway, I was debating whether or not to sell the house, and I suppose if you stay here, I’ll have more time to think about it.”
“Much thanks, Joseph. I’m still at a loss for words to express my gratitude… what you did for George and myself… Nobody does something like that for a stranger.”
“Well, you’ve got to reclaim the life you lost for yourself, and I think that’ll do it. So, relax, everything is okay.”
“Thanks, Joseph! Thank you!”
And with that, Joseph was happy that he didn’t have to sell his father’s house. At least not anytime soon.
Matthew stayed in his house for over 6 months before getting back on his feet and renting his own place.
A few years later, he met Carrie, a lovely woman who was a single mother to an 8-year-old girl named Anne. The two fell in love, and Matthew promised to be a loving father to Anne.
They got hitched soon and recently welcomed another daughter named Jane. Matthew asked Joseph if he could become little Jane’s godfather, and Joseph was more than happy to nod a yes!