One day, in a Facebook group where they post job offers, I found an ad looking for someone to clean the house of Doña Carmen, an elderly woman who lived alone in a small alley near the city center.

“At first they called me… then less and less… until one day they just disappeared.”

“I wasn’t a perfect mother, but I loved them with all my heart.”

“When I got older and sick, I became a burden to them.”

“That’s why I decided to live alone in this house.”

“I thought I was going to die forgotten.”

“But then you came.”

My eyes were already completely clouded with tears.

“You weren’t my family.”

“You were not my grandson.”

“You didn’t even know me.”

“And yet you treated me with more affection than my own children.”

“You brought me food.”

“You took me to the hospital.”

“You would sit with me and listen to old stories that you had probably heard many times before.”

“And you never claimed me for the money.”

“Never once.”

I had to stop for a few seconds.

I took a deep breath.

Tears fell on the paper.

I kept reading.

“That’s why I made a decision.”

“If you made it to the end without abandoning this useless old woman… then you deserve to know the truth.”

“Diego, this house where I live is not just any house.”

“Many years ago, when my husband was alive, we bought several pieces of land near the sea.”

“Over time, the city grew.”

“The land is now worth a lot of money.”

My heart began to pound.

“Before I died, I did the paperwork to leave everything to you.”

“The house… and the three plots of land that are registered in my name.”

“It’s all yours.”

I felt the air disappear around me.

My hands were shaking.

My legs were weak.

But the letter was not over yet.

“I didn’t do it because you owed me something.”

“I did it because you gave me back something I thought was lost forever.”

“Faith in people.”

“If you use that money, I hope you do it to live a good life.”

“Finish your studies.”

“Help your family.”

“And if you ever see someone as lonely as I was… don’t ignore it.”

“Because kindness always returns… even if late.”

“Thank you for making me feel accompanied in my last months.”

“Love,”

Doña Carmen

When I finished reading the letter, I couldn’t contain myself.

I cried like a child.

Not for the money.

Not because of the house.