My Elderly Neighbor Died — After His Funeral, I Received a Letter From Him Revealing He’d Buried a Secret in His Backyard 40 Years Ago

“If you’re reading this, I’m no longer here.”

After a second, Richie looked up, squinting.

“Honey, why would a dead man send you to his backyard?”

“I… He wants me to dig the area by his apple tree.”

My daughter’s voice drifted from inside. “Mom! Where’s the bubble-gum cereal?”

Richie looked up.

Richie gave me a worried look. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know, Rich. It’s… strange. I barely knew him.”

My husband squeezed my shoulder.

Gemma called again, louder. “Mom!”

I snapped back to the kitchen, dropping the letter onto the table.

“I barely knew him.”

“It’s in the cabinet next to the fridge, Gem. Don’t add sugar.”

“Well, it sounds like he wanted you to know something, Tan. Are you going to do it?” Richie asked.

Our youngest, Daphne, ran in, her hair wild from sleep.

“Can we go to Mr. Whitmore’s yard after school?” she asked. “I want to get more leaves to paint.”

“Are you going to do it?”

Richie and I exchanged a look.

“Maybe later,” I said. “Let’s just get through the day first.”

**

The rest of the day crawled.

I tied shoes, braided hair, wiped jam off faces, then reread the letter so many times my thumb left a smudge on the ink. Every time I folded it, my stomach turned.

Richie and I exchanged a look.

**

That evening, as the girls watched TV and Richie made spaghetti, I stood by the window, staring at the apple tree’s twisted branches.

He came up behind me, arms around my waist. “If you want, Tanya, I’ll be there. You don’t have to do anything alone.”

I leaned back into him.

“I just need to know, Rich. He was always so kind. He always left an envelope of cash during Christmas, just so that we could spoil the girls with candy.”

“Tanya, I’ll be there.”

“Then let’s find out what he left you. Together, if you want.”

My husband kissed my hair and then went back to plating the girls’ dinner.

I felt steadier.

**