For years, Maggie believed she knew everything about her quiet suburban life including the kind neighbor who baked cookies, the parents who raised her, and the ordinary routine of home.
But her world turns upside down when her dying neighbor shows her a mysterious wooden box, revealing a decades-old secret.
I remember exactly how the morning sun felt on my skin as I watered my petunias, blissfully unaware that my entire world was about to change.
Sometimes I wonder if I should have seen the signs over the years, but how could I have known? How could anyone have guessed?
Rebecca had been my neighbor for as long as I could remember. She was the sweet lady who baked cookies for all the kids in the neighborhood, the one who never forgot a birthday, and always had a kind word for everyone.
Even as I grew older, moved out for college, and eventually returned to my childhood home with my own family, Rebecca remained a constant in my life.
“Maggie, sweetie!” she’d call out whenever she saw me in the yard. “Come taste these snickerdoodles. I think I finally perfected the recipe!”
She never married or had kids, but she was like family to me. I helped her with groceries, mowed her lawn, and made sure she had company when she needed it.
Two months ago, I noticed she was getting weaker. Her usual energetic waves from the porch had become tired gestures, and her cookie-baking marathons had stopped entirely.
“Rebecca, you need to see a doctor,” I insisted one evening while helping her with dinner. “This isn’t like you.”
“Oh honey, it’s probably just age catching up with me,” she tried to brush it off, but I could see the fear in her eyes.
When she finally agreed to see a doctor, the news was devastating. She had a terminal tumor, and they gave her weeks to live.
It was heartbreaking.
English