Twenty years ago, Jacob Harper was a young man brimming with ambition and dreams. He had married his high school sweetheart, Sarah, and together they embarked on the journey of building a family. Over the course of four years, yes, FOUR years, they welcomed ten beautiful children into their lives, turning their small house upside down. At first, Jacob was happy with his big family, but that quickly changed. Jacob could no longer be the father he wanted to be, so he left. Twenty years went by, and Jacob wanted to make his wrongs right. Only to find out a lot can change in twenty years. He made a shocking discovery when he arrived at his ex-wife’s house. Something he didn’t think could happen. It made him rethink his decision to come here. Was leaving his wife and children the right thing to do all along? But why does Jacob want to look for his wife and kids? What shocking discovery will he find? And will he be able to move on? I know what you might think, ten children in four years?! How could that even be possible? Well, Jacob was thinking the same. Their first child was a beautiful girl, named Violet. Within two months after Violet’s birth, Sarah got pregnant again, but this time, with triplets. This was the beginning of the end.  Four children was a challenge, but they had always talked about having a big family. However, when Sarah got pregnant again, only months after the triplet’s birth, things started to take a turn. Jacob tried to tell himself one more wouldn’t be that bad. But then he got the news they were having triplets again. Seven children under the age of five would sound like hell to most people, but Sarah was ecstatic. She truly wanted to have a big family, and although the pregnancies were so close together, making it very hard for her body, she couldn’t help but be happy. If only Jacob felt the same. He really tried. Truly he did. He stayed with Sarah through it all, and it actually seemed like they were going to make it as a family of nine. That was until they got the news she was pregnant with triplets AGAIN. This was just too much for Jacob, and even though he loved Sarah very much, he just had to leave.  It hurt him to leave Sarah on her own with ten children, but frankly, at that moment, he was more concerned about himself. He couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that he would be raising ten children, and the only thing he wanted to do was run away. So, that’s what he did. One morning, Sarah woke up to the sound of her children crying. This was how most of their mornings started, so that wasn’t new. But when she saw Jacob wasn’t in his bed and also not with the kids, alarm bells started going off inside her head. And when she saw all his clothes were gone, she knew. By the time Sarah had woken up, Jacob was already long gone. He had taken all his most precious belongings with him in his car and just drove off. He had no idea where he was going, but he just knew he couldn’t stay. If only he had known what would happen in twenty years. After Jacob left, he didn’t hear anything from Sarah ever again. It kind of surprised him, as she didn’t even call him once, not even when she woke up in an empty bed. It had saddened him in the beginning, but it also made it clear that he wasn’t missed. Or at least, that’s what he got out of it.  Jacob moved to a whole different state and rebuilt his life. He married again and had one child with his new partner, a son named Brad. Everything was going great. He only thought about Sarah and how she and the children were doing once or twice a month, and he could live with that. But things were about to change. As Brad grew up, Jacob started to think about his other children more often too. He wondered how they were doing and what had become of them. And after twenty years, he realized his eldest daughter, Violet, was probably in college by now. Would she even remember him? After weeks of thinking about his old family, Jacob couldn’t take it anymore. But he didn’t want to make the same mistake again, so he decided to tell his wife and Brad the truth. He hoped they would understand why he had left his first family and why he wanted to find them now. But the conversation didn’t go as he had hoped. His wife couldn’t believe he would do something that heartless to the woman he once loved and even feared he would do the same again, but to her. She threw him out of the house and told him to make things right. Only then would she consider taking him back.  Jacob knew his wife was right, and he had to fix the mistakes he had made. He only hoped Sarah wouldn’t smack him in the face at first glance, but he wouldn’t blame her if she did. He wondered if he should call ahead. He knew Sarah wasn’t keen on surprises.  As he dialed her number, he felt his heart pounding in his chest. Would she even pick up? Maybe she blocked his number all those years ago? But he had no choice; he had to try! He didn’t even know if she lived on the same street as all those years ago. But sadly, the phone rang, and no one answered. She didn’t block his number, which was a good thing, but now he had no other choice but to go to their old family home and just hope for the best. It was a very long travel, one plane ride and an hour’s drive to be exact.  Jacob grabbed his duffle bag and bought the first plane ticket he could find. It was nerve-wracking, to say the least, but there was also no going back. Once he arrived across the country, he rented a car and began the drive. He was now closer to Sarah than he had been in a long time. It wasn’t only nerves he was feeling, though. He was a bit scared to admit it, but he felt excitement too. He hadn’t realized it before, but he had missed her and their kids a lot in the past twenty years. He wondered what she would look like and if she would even recognize him. He was now almost at their old family home. He recognized a few bits and pieces, but a lot had changed throughout the years. He parked his car a block away from their house, even though there was no way Sarah would recognize the vehicle, and slowly walked toward the house. It was a surreal feeling, and Jacob’s heart was pounding in his chest. His hands were sweaty, and he realized he didn’t even bring a present. Should he have? He had no idea what the right thing to do was in this kind of situation. He could hear the laughter of children playing with every step he took. He stood in front of the door for a minute or so before he finally had enough courage to ring the bell. The chaotic sounds from the other side grew louder, and he could hear children running to the door. This is it, he thought. I will finally see my kids again.  The doorknob slowly turned, but as the door opened, Jacob was shocked. These children were way too young to be his. “Can I help you?” A woman’s voice said from across the hall. She walked toward the door, and Jacob could now clearly see what was going on. That wasn’t Sarah. It was clear Jacob was confused as the woman asked the question again. “Uh, no, sorry,” Jacob eventually said, and he turned around to walk away. But before the door closed shut, he turned around again. “Actually, do you happen to know what happened to the previous owners?” The woman frowned. She wasn’t sure how to answer that question. “Uhm, no, sorry. I know there lived a big family in this house, judging by all the height markings on the doorframe. Ten children, to be exact, but I have no idea where they are now.” Jacob sighed and thanked the woman for her time.  “Oh wait!” The woman suddenly said, and she went inside again. Jacob wondered what it could be she had forgotten to tell him, and he curiously waited. He heard her walking up the stairs and coming down again after about five minutes. “Sorry for the wait; I had to go to the attic for this.” She handed Jacob a rolled-up piece of paper. “One of the people who lived here had left this after moving away. I don’t know why I kept it, maybe for one of my children one day, but you might get more use out of it now.” Jacob took the piece of paper and slowly unrolled it. “Thank you so much,” he said as he looked at a poster from Yale. This was probably from his daughter, Violet! He excitedly walked to his car and typed in Yale’s location. There was no time to spare. He had to track her down and talk to her! Maybe she would tell her more about Sarah. But Jacob wasn’t stupid. He knew very well there was a big chance Violet wouldn’t want to talk to him. He hadn’t been the best father. Well, he actually hadn’t even been a father to her at all. She was only four or five when he left; he couldn’t even remember. It would be a miracle if she didn’t send him away. But Jacob didn’t want to give up on his children for a second time. He wanted to show them he really tried to find them, and if that meant being shut down by his eldest daughter, then so be it. Without thinking any more of it, he started his car and began his journey to Yale.  The whole car ride, Jacob imagined how the meet-up would be. She would probably be suspicious at first and most likely won’t even recognize him. He could imagine Sarah never showed a picture of him to his children, because she probably held a grudge for being left to raise ten children by herself.  When he arrived at Yale, Jacob was overcome by the amount of people. How would he ever find his daughter here?! He had no idea what she was studying or if she did any extracurricular after school. Heck, he didn’t even know who her friends were… But then he heard a familiar name. “Vi! Are you coming to George’s party tonight?” a girl excitedly asked another girl just a few feet away from Jacob. He squinted his eyes and looked at the girls, trying his best to find similarities between him and Sarah. And then he saw it. One of the girls had the same mole above her eyebrow as Violet had. That had to be Violet, Jacob thought. He watched as Violet happily chatted with the other girl and then left toward the residence hall. Jacob didn’t know what to do. If he were to call her name, she would never approach him. So, he decided to follow her. She couldn’t ignore him if he knocked on her door. Violet used a special pass to open the front door, and Jacob silently rushed in a few seconds behind her, just in time before the door closed again. She took the elevator, so Jacob ran up the stairs, checking every hall to see if she got out of the elevator or not.  Completely out of breath, he reached the fifth floor and watched Violet turn around a corner at the end of the hall. He rushed after her, but couldn’t run anymore, or he would pass out. He had to pause for a second, even if that meant losing her out of sight. How difficult could it be to find his daughter on this floor? After catching his breath, he slowly walked in the same direction his daughter had walked and immediately realized it would be harder to find her than he thought. He stood in a hallway with at least twenty doors, unsure which one was Violet’s. He had no other choice but to knock on every single one of them. Jacob began knocking on the first door, but no one opened it. Then he moved on to the second, the third, and the fourth, but no one answered the door. He sighed and moved on to the fifth door, and luckily, he heard movement behind it. Not long after, a young man opened the door. Jacob asked him if he knew a girl named Violet, and the man hesitantly answered. “Uhm yeah. There’s this girl, Violet, who lives at the end of the hallway.” Jacob thanked him and began walking. He felt nervous but also excited. It was only a matter of minutes before he would finally talk to his daughter. He knocked on the door and waited anxiously until it opened. “Can I help you?” a young woman asked. Jacob was starstruck. All he could say was, “Violet…” Violet frowned. “Do I know you?” she confusedly asked. That seemed to snap Jacob right back to reality. “Well,” Jacob began. “I’m not sure how to say this, but I’m your father.” He watched as Violet’s facial expression changed. She had been kind and welcoming at first, but now she was confused and maybe even slightly angry. Then, her facial expression changed again as she looked at him a second time. Now she was definitely angry. “Violet… I..” he tried, but she slammed the door shut. Jacob had seen this coming, but it still hurt. He couldn’t blame her for being angry, but at the same time, he really wanted to talk to her. “Violet, please listen to me. I’m here because I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for leaving you, your mother, and your siblings. Please listen to me.” The door swung open again. “I don’t need your apology. I don’t even want it. How dare you just show up at my door and expect me to listen to you? Where were you when I graduated high school? Where were you when I had to learn how to ride my bike?”  “Violet, please. All I want is to apologize for my mistakes.” Violet sighed. She could see the sadness on her father’s face. She despised him for all he had done, but she knew some of her siblings really missed a father figure in their life. And who was she to keep her father away from them? “Fine,” she said. “I’ll give you mom’s address. But if you’re going to leave again, don’t even bother going.” Violet went inside and wrote an address down on a piece of paper. She returned, angrily shuffled it in Jacob’s hands, and closed the door again. Jacob looked at the paper and thought about what Violet had said. “Don’t even bother if you’re going to leave again.” Jacob knew he couldn’t stay with Sarah and his other children. He had a wife and another child at home. All he wanted was to see how they were doing and give them a helping hand if needed. He figured bringing up ten children as a single mother would be very expensive. He decided to go anyway. He wouldn’t just disappear from their lives again. He wanted to be involved, even though it would be from a distance. He wanted to be at high school graduations, ballet recitals, and all in between. He wanted them to be proud to have him as a father. Is this where they are living? Jacob drove to the address and was shocked when he arrived.he thought to himself. He checked the address again, but he had correctly typed it into google maps. He couldn’t believe this was the correct address. This was nothing as he imagined it… Determinedly, he walked to the door. He wanted to knock, but let his hand hover in front of the door for a bit. Was he really doing this? What was he going to say? Suddenly, he wasn’t so sure of his decision anymore. He turned around to walk back to his car when he suddenly heard a voice behind him. “Jacob?” a women’s voice asked. Jacob stopped in his tracks. He would recognize that voice anywhere. It was Sarah. “Jacob?” she asked again. Jacob could hear her voice break. He slowly turned around and saw Sarah standing in the doorway, a tear rolling down her cheek.  “Sarah..” Jacob quietly said. He stood there frozen, and Sarah walked toward him. He had no idea what to expect, but just let everything happen. She slapped him in the face and hugged him tightly after. She let go shortly after and looked him in the eyes. “How did you find me here?” Jacob began apologizing. He felt a wave of emotions flush over him as he looked into Sarah’s eyes after all those years. He began to cry and couldn’t stop. He fell to his knees as he let his emotions flow out. All the sorrow he had suppressed for years was finally coming out. After letting everything go, he pulled himself together again. “Sarah, I’m so, so sorry for what I’ve done to you. I’ve left you all alone with ten children and with no one to lean on.” he looked up at the house they were living in and looked back at Sarah. “What happened in all those years?” Sarah brushed her fingers over Jacob’s face. She had waited for this moment for twenty years, and it had finally happened. Jacob had returned. “You look good,” she said as she wiped a tear from his cheek. “Let’s go inside. I’ll pour you a cup of tea.” Jacob followed her inside. He still couldn’t believe her life had turned into this. “Haily, Conner, and Michael will be home within an hour. Do you still want three teaspoons of sugar in your tea?” Jacob silently nodded. Then, he just had to ask her. “Sarah, why… How.. what happened?” Sarah chuckled. “Oh, this? This is what people call hard work pays off.” Jacob blushed. Was she making fun of him? Sarah continued. “After you left, I had no other choice but to work twice as hard as I already did. I hated you at first. I couldn’t imagine why you would just leave me suddenly.” Auch“But ultimately, it has made me into the person I am today. I was able to turn my life around by writing two best-selling memoirs about what you put me through. We never had to worry about money and, frankly, never missed having you around.”, Jacob thought. Jacob smiled through the pain. Sarah had a better life now than she would’ve ever had with him. She even had a better life than he could give his wife and son back home. He could almost say it was a good thing that he left, but he knew it wasn’t. “And the children? Did they miss having me around?” Sarah sadly looked at Jacob. “Yes. The children suffered the most. Violet, not though. She’s a very strong and confident woman. But the three youngest ones really missed having a father around.” Jacob looked down. It was hard hearing his children had suffered because of him. That was never his intention. Jacob had to admit that being back brought many mixed emotions with it. He felt horrible for leaving, but he was glad to be able to see his children again. He also felt torn. Seeing Sarah again brought back a lot of feelings he hadn’t felt in a long time, and he wasn’t sure what to do with it. He still felt a lot of love for her, but he also loved his wife back home. He didn’t want to leave his children again, but he also didn’t want to leave Brad. Jacob decided to stay with Sarah for a while, to get to know his children. He kept in close contact with his wife and called her every day with new stories about them. After a while, his wife suggested something he never even dared to dream about. She suggested they’d move closer to Sarah, so Jacob would be able to be a caring father to all eleven of his children. Jacob was amazed by how loving and understanding his wife was and happily agreed. Within a year or so, Jacob lived together with his wife and Brad, only half an hour away from Sarah. His children, or whoever wanted to, could spend the weekends with him and even bond with Brad. Brad was a little younger than Jacob’s three youngest triplets, but everyone got on great. Even Violet warmed up to Jacob after a while. He was able to go to her college graduation and make up for missed time. Jacob knew he could never turn back the clock, so he vowed to spend as much time with his children as he could—never missing a birthday again. And for Sarah? She stayed happily single. She loved the life she had built for herself in Jacob’s absence and realized she was better off without him. Yet, she was happy he had returned for the sake of their children. She could really see how a father figure in their life changed them for the better— the end. This 96-year-old woman could no longer live in her cottage because she had to go to a care home and so she decided to donate her home to a homeless person, who was always nearby. He was desperate to have a roof over his head and so he moved in in good spirits. But what he found inside was stunning! Steven stood in front of the house with bated breath. He could barely believe that this house was now his. He had been here so many times but this still felt like this the first time. But he would soon find out that the house was not the only surprise for him… He made his way inside with the key the lawyer gave him. Looking around it immediately felt all so familiar again. Everything was as he remembered it. But there was one thing out of place that caught Steven’s attention right away… A large suitcase was lying on the table. His name was written on it. With his hands shaking he slowly opened the suitcase and his jaw instantly dropped. “I can’t believe she has done this…” But to better understand Steven’s situation and what he found, a bit of backstory is required… Elly Barnes was a 96-year-old woman living in rural Alaska. She’d grown up nearby and had never felt the need to leave. She loved the area almost as much as she loved Peter, her husband of 72 years. Elly preferred the peace and quiet of the open land, and one of her favorite things to do was just sit on the porch with Peter when the seasons allowed. But soon, her simple life was about to be turned upside-down… One day, Peter passed away unexpectedly after a short battle in the hospital. Elly was stunned. In spite of their age, she’d never stopped to really think about what might happen if Peter died first. He’d always been the healthier of the two of them. What was she going to do without him? Unlike Elly and Peter, their children hadn’t exactly fallen in love with Alaska. They’d chosen to move far away and head south to the continental United States. Both of Elly’s daughters offered to take her in if she wanted to move to either Boston or Dallas. But Elly couldn’t stand the thought of city life. Plus, she had roots in Alaska that no one else seemed to understand… Elly had moved to Alaska as a young child and met Peter on her first day of school. Back then, there wasn’t much for two kids to do except play in their yards or ride bicycles together. Their town just wasn’t that big. As they grew, Elly dreamed about marrying Peter and starting a magnificent life together. It didn’t exactly go according to plan. Once they were married, Elly and Peter struggled to find steady work. Instead of Elly’s dream home, all they could afford was a small rancher with a single bedroom and a tiny living area. It wasn’t glamorous, but they tried to make it work by saving for repairs as often as possible. The house refused to cooperate. By the time Peter passed away, it felt like the house had been patched and mended a million times. Elly knew that any reasonable person would have demolished it by that point, but there were too many memories to let it go. With winter coming soon, she needed help making sure that the house could survive another year of snow. But who was left to help her? Luckily, Elly was able to get help from one of her neighbors who lived a 10-minute walk away. They’d been friendly for years, and they offered to see what they could do to keep the house in order. But there was so much to be done between the leaking roof and the damaged windows. And Elly’s neighbors had troubles of their own… Elly’s neighbors were getting up in age and couldn’t do a lot of the manual labor that Elly needed to fix the house. They also had to worry about their son, Steven, who’d moved home with them a couple of years before after being homeless for years. Steven hadn’t exactly found Elly’s beloved town to be a welcoming place. Steven had been trying to find a job to no avail. There were few opportunities in such a rural area, and he could never make enough to move out on his own. He hated relying on his parents for support, but without even a car, he couldn’t drive farther away in search of work. He was beginning to lose hope when his fortunes finally changed… Steven was healthy and strong enough to do a lot of the work at Elly’s house that his parents couldn’t manage. He had free time on his hands, and he started pitching in to help Elly however he could. Elly tried to pay him, but Steven always refused. He felt that he owed her a debt. After all, the two had met under terrible circumstances. When Steven first returned to town, everyone in the small community knew that he’d been homeless. They judged him and wouldn’t give him a chance. He felt so alone. But Elly and Peter had welcomed him immediately and pulled him out of his slump by inviting him to dinner every once in a while. He wanted to repay her kindness any way he could. He had no idea that his decision to help would change his life forever… Steven kept taking care of Elly in any way he could. He went grocery shopping for her, cleaned the house, and even finished the repairs. They developed an even stronger bond. Since Steven wouldn’t accept any money, she insisted on cooking him dinner and making him a new scarf from the winter. But not everyone was pleased. Steven’s parents weren’t thrilled to see that their son was working for Elly for free. He spent so much time at her house that he didn’t have any left to apply for jobs. They’d been supporting him for years, and Steven’s lack of regular income was stretching their budget far too thin. Something would have to give… Finally, Steven’s parents told him that he had to choose between helping Elly and living at home. They couldn’t continue to support him if he wasn’t going to make an effort to support himself. While Steven understood, he was also surprised that his parents weren’t more generous with Elly when she had always been so kind to everyone. It was time to make a decision. Steven told his parents that he wasn’t willing to abandon Elly. They’d spent months together, and he considered her his only friend. Steven’s parents told him to pack his things and leave. They didn’t want him to be homeless again, but they didn’t know what else to do. Neither did Steven. Steven was at a crossroads. He knew that if he left town, he would have better opportunities in one of the bigger cities. That would mean leaving Elly behind. He could still call her and catch up, but he wouldn’t be there anymore to help her with errands. What would she do without him? Steven decided that he had to move away for his own good. His parents were thrilled and gave him enough money to get settled in a motel for a couple of weeks while he found a job. But as Steven packed, he wasn’t even worried about what the future in the city would hold. All he could think about was saying goodbye to Elly. Steven went to break the news to Elly. She was devastated by the news. They had both grown close after spending so much time together. But Steven felt like he didn’t have any other choice with his parents in such a financial pinch. He needed to make a life for himself. He only regretted that Elly wouldn’t be such a big part of it anymore. Or so he thought… Elly tried to get by without Steven, but she’d come to rely on his help. She was too old to do many things for herself. Her children kept urging her to leave the house behind and move south. But she’d raised her whole family in that house. It was Peter’s house, the last piece of him she had. Elly couldn’t bear to part with it, but she was beginning to believe that she wouldn’t have a choice. Elly was determined to at least give surviving alone a real chance. She went to the supermarket, kept the house clean and tried to do some repairs herself. She kept at this for about 3 weeks before something happened that made clear to her that this was simply no longer an option… While Elly was cleaning up in the kitchen, she tripped over a towel that she dropped on the ground. Elly fell and she fell hard, fracturing her hip in the process. While Elly tried to hide this at first, her family was quickly informed by the doctor and this was the final straw for them. They wanted Elly to move to a retirement home close to them. Elly had always strongly objected to this, but by this point the reality of the situation had set in. Elly knew that what she was attempting was foolish and dangerous and all she was doing was making her family worried. It was time to leave the home she had stayed in for 60 years of her life… With Elly knowing she would be moving, there was only one question left. What was she going to do with the house? Elly knew she could try to sell the home, but it would obviously not bring in much money. Besides, there was only one person who was really entitled to it. Steven! Elly decided to bring a lawyer in to help her make sure the transfer of the home would go smoothly. She also wanted the lawyer to inform Steven about everything, because Elly knew that she would not be able to get a word out if she was the opener calling Steven. And she needed everything to be made loud and clear to him… Elly also wasn’t even sure if Steven wanted her old house, but that didn’t really matter to her. But what she knew for sure was that he wanted what she left behind inside for him. See, the house was only a decoy to hide what Elly actually wanted to give Steven. But that had to be a surprise… When Steven got the call from the lawyer, he was extremely surprised and somewhat unsure about what to do now. He never expected Elly to leave the house she loved so much let alone give it to him. What did he actually do to deserve this? Or was something else behind this?  Elly’s gesture was almost too generous. Something in Steven told him that maybe his parents had something to do with it. Could they have wanted him to live closer to home again? The more he thought about it, the less he actually wanted to live in rural Alaska again. But the prospect of getting a house, no matter how bad of a stature it was in, was too good to reject. It was such a generous offer from Elly, even if his parents had something to do with it. And besides, He could always just sell it for some cold hard cash if he wanted to. It had not been an easy time for Steven ever since he moved back to the big city. He had been living on the street and besides some odd jobs, he had found any kind of opportunity, which was the main reason why he moved back to the big city, hard to come by. But even despite this disappointing situation, Steven felt a lot more at home in the big city and he already determined that he wanted to stay here. And with the money he could possibly get from selling the house in his pocket, he could maybe get a better start here. At least, that was his initial plan… He called the lawyer back to tell him that he accepted the offer and he wanted the house. He also asked if he would be able to help him sell it. But then the lawyer informed him that the only condition was that he would visit the house at least once. Steven was somewhat taken aback and very confused by this strange condition. He wanted an explanation but the lawyer couldn’t elaborate any further on it. Or maybe he just didn’t want to. Semi reluctantly, Steven decided to accept the offer anyway. How bad could visiting the place just once be? Steven’s next move was to call Elly. He of course wanted to thank her for giving him the house and wanted to know how she was doing. Why has she moved out of the house? But he also hoped she could give him an explanation for the strange condition… But Steven could not get a hold of Elly. No matter how often he tried. The phone just kept going to voicemail. Suddenly Steven started to worry. Could something have happened to her? Was that why he was getting the house? Could it be an inheritance? The lawyer had not given him any explanation as to why Elly had moved out of the house, only why she wanted to give it to him. At the time he didn’t think to ask and just accepted it at face value. Could him, having visited the house have something to do with this? He first thought that Elly maybe wanted to restore the bond between him and his parents and that that is why he had to show up. Still very unsure, Steven decided he would travel to the house the very next day. The lawyer had paid for his transport to the house. When Steven arrives in the town, he goes straight to Elly’s house. He doesn’t want his parents to know that he’s there, so he avoids even getting close to their house. He just hopes they aren’t waiting for him at Elly’s place. But when he arrived, nobody seemed to be there. When he enters the house with the keys he picked up from the lawyer, he is surprised by the 2 new locks on the door. At first, it seems like there is nothing else different about the place. But then he spots that there is a large suitcase placed on the dining table… Unsure if this was left here for him, he approaches the suitcase and quickly sees that his name was written on it. Steven realized that this was Elly’s doing as he recognized the handwriting. When he opened the suitcase, he quickly discovered it was full of small envelopes… Steven picked out one of the envelopes at random. It read “For getting groceries”. Then she picked out a couple others. “For fixing the gutter”, “For cleaning the kitchen”, “For taking her for a walk”. All things that Steven had done for Elly and Peter over the years. But now the best part comes. In all the envelopes was a bit of money! Bills ranging from 10 to 20 to even 50 pounds at some point! After Steven unpacked all of them and counted the money, he concluded that it came out to a total of about 15.000 dollars! Still semi in shock, Steven decided to try and give Elly a call again. To his surprise, she did pick up the phone this time! Elly explained that he had earned all this over the past 2 years but never accepted it. So this was her way of paying Steven back for all his kindness and help. Steven was absolutely brought to tears by this. This money would change his life forever. And on top of that, he was extremely relieved that Elly was still alive. With the money, Steven would end up moving to Anchorage and get an apartment there. Having a somewhat solid base now Steven was able to completely turn his life around. He fairly quickly found a job and started working himself up through the ranks. He also met his current girlfriend soon after and the two are now even living together and planning on starting a family. The relationship with his parents also improved with some time passing and he now goes to visit them almost once a month. And when he is in town, he would always go past Elly’s house to fix it up where needed. He still owns the house and rents it out to a local couple, who are starting their own family there. Steven would see Elly one more time before she passed away. He went to visit her in the retirement home about 6 months after she had given him the house and the money. He could call a million times, but he had to thank her at least once in person. Thank the person who changed his life forever.