Kevin wondered why his neighbor Ruth lived and slept in her car even though she had a home only a few feet away. As friendly as she was, Kevin never saw her go into her house.
When Kevin finally did enter her house he discovered why she never went in. He couldn’t believe his eyes. The house was entirely unlivable.
Kevin Hardly Knew His Neighbor
Despite living across the road from Ruth for several years the pair didn’t actually know each other very well at all.
The only thing Kevin really knew about Ruth was that she had retired several years ago and that she lived alone. He had no idea, however, that soon they would have a very unique friendship.
She Owned a Home— But Lived in Her Car
Every night Kevin saw Ruth going to sleep in her car. He couldn’t understand that she would choose to live like this instead of walking a few feet to her home instead.
Kevin watched Ruth and realized that he hadn’t seen her going into her house in weeks. Something wasn’t right.
What Was Wrong With Her Situation?
Whenever Kevin walked past her car he would stop and check on Ruth, making sure she was awake. They would have brief conversations and soon Kevin started to piece her story together.
Kevin felt sad by the fact that Ruth lived and slept in a car. He knew there had to be a reason for choosing to sleep in her own driveway instead of her home.
Her Whole Life Was in Her Car
Kevin could tell that her situation embarrassed Ruth whenever he passed by and looked in her car. However, he couldn’t figure out why she would be.
She owned her own home and her own car. She’d retired and everything seemed fine. She seemed to have a good life, so what was going on?
Something Was Wrong With Her House
It was easy to see something was wrong when you looked at her house. All the windows had the blinds closed and the house wasn’t in the best state of repair.
Everything had been neglected. The grass was overgrown, the windows were dirty, and even the paint had faded. Kevin wondered if she needed a hand taking care of the house.
The Window Hadn’t Been Fixed in Years
One of the biggest signs of neglect was the fact that a window at the top of the house was broken and had been for some time.
Kevin thought that animals had perhaps moved in which would scare someone out of the house. However, Kevin soon found out the real reason why the window was left broken and it broke his heart.
Her Home Was Nice, But No One Was Allowed In
Kevin was walking past her car one day when he heard Ruth crying. He immediately ran to check on her and found her desperately looking through the plastic bags on the backseat of her car.
“What’s wrong?” Kevin asked Ruth. Ruth looked at him and when she spoke, the mystery of her home was solved.
She Had No Answers For Him Today
On a normal day, Ruth would walk to the gym to use the bathroom and get cleaned up before getting something to eat from a fast food place. Then she would go back to her car to keep an eye on her things and to sleep.
Unfortunately, Ruth’s car was in equally bad shape as her house and had broken down and couldn’t run.
Something Had Been Misplaced
As Ruth looked over the belongings in her car, she took a mental count of what she had with her.
When she made the choice to leave the home she had lived in to start living out of her car, she gathered the objects that meant the most to her. But she soon discovered that she left one very important object inside.
Ruth Searched Frantically
When Burns saw Ruth searching through her belongings, he wondered if an item had gone missing. Ruth soon made this apparent.
She stopped fumbling long enough to point a finger towards her home. “In the house.” Ruth said, with tears in her eyes. “I left it in the house!”
The House Was Daunting
Ruth seemed afraid to even step foot into her home and away from the safety of her car, which wasn’t even mobile anymore. She then questioned Burns, “Maybe you can go inside and get it!”
Burns was up for the challenge, and to finally find out what he had been wanting to know for months: what was in that house that Ruth had to escape from?
The Roof Was in Need of Repair
Kevin took the task on himself and told Ruth that he would venture into the home to find Ruth’s precious belonging.
Kevin found out that she was looking for a photo of her parents that was left inside the house. As Kevin started walking towards the house, the sight of broken roof tiles on the front lawn made him look up in terror. How long had the roof had a hole in it?
A Glimpse Inside Was Scary
The closer Kevin walked towards the house, the more apparent it became why Ruth decided to turn her back on the home she lived in for so many years.
Just a glimpse into the window showed piles and piles of clothes, garbage and papers. And the closer Kevin got to the house, the stronger a displeasing smell became…
The Doorway Was Blocked
Kevin opened the front door and had to move immediately as piles of trash fell at his feet. It was as if the door was the only thing keeping all of the garbage in the house from spilling onto the front lawn.
Had he made a huge mistake agreeing to search this home?
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