This black boy had had a strenuous day at work, but when he noticed an old lady walk into the crowded bus, he quickly offered her a seat without giving it too much thought. But then she handed him a shocking note that affected his life.
As 23-year-old Jaden got to the bus stop after a day’s hard work juggling between being a machine operator and a cleaner in a production factory, he saw a bus and jumped right on it. He was lucky to spot a free seat as the buses were always crowded in the evening. He was exhausted, his whole body ached, and his toxic boss had unloaded his frustration and anger on him as usual. He had been up since 5:00 a.m. and had hardly had any time to sit down…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>
As he settled into his seat, no one looked or paid him any mind; everyone was focused on their phones or their own issues. Jaden leaned back and began to think; he knew he could not keep up with such labor for long; he would only burn out.
As he was deep in thought, the bus slowed down to pick up a passenger, and an old woman stepped on. She looked so frail, and her steps were unsteady. She moved slowly from the door into the bus, and when she saw that all the seats were occupied, she rested her body on the window pane. She clearly wasn’t comfortable, but she had no choice; no one would be kind enough to give her a seat. After all, in this city, everyone looked after no one but themselves. She just wished the bus would be faster so she could get to her destination quickly.
As the bus moved, she winced as her waist and knees started aching. Jaden looked up and noticed the old woman’s struggle. He felt compassion immediately for her and called out to her, “Hello, ma’am,” he said kindly, “you can have my seat.”
The old woman was shocked at first; she never believed there could be someone in this city who could be so kind and considerate. She smiled at him and limped slowly to his seat. Jaden helped her sit down while he stood for the rest of the journey.
Three minutes later, Jaden reached his bus stop and called to the driver to slow down as he alighted the bus. The old woman’s frail hands grabbed his jacket; he turned to her in surprise. Then he felt her fingers crawl into his pocket; she put a note into the pocket, and there was no time to inquire what the note was about as the other passengers were already pushing him. Jaden stepped off the bus, and immediately it zoomed off. It all felt surreal; why would she put a note in his pocket? Maybe it was a thank you note, he thought.
So, Jaden put his hand in his pocket and pulled out the note. What he saw scribbled on the note made his mouth hang open. Written on one side of the note was a street address, and on the other part were five numbers written like a code. Together it read: “Number 5, Queen’s Park, Code 88687.” This sure was confusing for Jaden; he tried to understand, but it didn’t make any sense. What was this?
After thinking for some time, he folded the paper up, put it in his pocket, and headed home. He really needed his rest more than anything else.
Once home, Jaden took a quick bath and tried to rest, but try as he did, he couldn’t bring himself to sleep. He was still thinking about the old woman and the note. It was clearly an address, but would the address be a trap somehow? He couldn’t sleep that night; he tossed and turned, thinking about what to do the next day.
Jaden boarded the bus with the hope of seeing the old woman and asking her about the note, but there was no sign of the old woman that morning. He hoped to see her in the evening after work, but there was still no sign of her. Jaden was disappointed, and his confusion deepened as he wondered what message she was trying to convey. He couldn’t get the note off his mind, and he spent the next two days thinking deeply about it. His curiosity reached its peak, so he made a mental note to visit the address on his day off. His Fridays were always off, and he used them to do his laundry, but that Friday, Jaden decided to visit the address and see for himself. He just hoped he wasn’t endangering his life by walking right into a trap.
He boarded the same bus where he met the old lady and headed to the address. It took 35 minutes before the bus reached the destination. As soon as Jaden got down from the bus, he couldn’t find any house around the area; well, he did, but it was a large, intimidating estate that was surrounded by gardens and trees. The entire vicinity was calm and felt so natural. Jaden looked around, studying the environment for any signs of danger. When he was satisfied that he was safe, he headed towards the large gate.
He knocked at the gate, but there was no response. It made sense because there was no gate post, and the house was too far for anyone to hear him knocking and open it up. Jaden looked at the gate, and he noticed the panel by the central lock. When he opened it, he saw a small monitor with a keypad. It needed a security code to be put in. Jaden wondered what it could possibly be, until it hit him: the security code was the five-digit number on the note.
Jaden pulled out the note and typed the code. He was immediately granted access as the gate opened. He stepped into the large compound and saw that there was a huge mansion nestled at the end of it. He walked towards it, hoping to get to the root of the mystery.
When he reached the front door, it was ajar, and he pushed it open. As he stepped into the large living room, he saw something that shocked him to his very core: there sat the very same old woman he met on the bus. She was sitting on a sofa with a bright smile on her face. From the looks of things, it was obvious that she had been expecting him. Jaden had a lot of questions to ask her.
The woman introduced herself as Jasmine. Jaden was eager to know why the woman had led him there. Firstly, Jasmine thanked Jaden for helping her on the bus. She had gone for a medical checkup that day and she couldn’t get a cab. That’s why she had opted to use the public bus. The old lady offered Jaden a drink, but he wasn’t interested; he wanted to know why the woman had led him there.
Jasmine cleared her throat while maintaining an air of suspense. Jaden, on the other hand, felt quite uneasy; he wished the woman would just open up. Jasmine finally took a deep breath and said the words: she needed a caretaker. She was sick, and at her age, she could barely do stuff around the house. Her health was worsening daily, so she needed someone to take care of her. At almost 70, it was difficult to navigate around such a big house.
To show that she was serious, she disclosed the pay. Jaden was shocked; the pay was six times that of his former job. That was a dream come true. All of a sudden, Jaden felt his worries fade away. He immediately accepted the job offer, and Jasmine was glad. In the past four years, she had employed over seven caretakers; most of them stole from her, while some grew tired of the job and left. But she knew she could trust Jaden, who had proved to be a compassionate soul.
Jaden’s only request was for a few days to take care of some personal stuff before he took up work. Jasmine agreed with that, and she bid him farewell.
Jaden stepped out of the house with mixed feelings. He thought of his new job and the challenges that would come with it. He wondered why an old woman would choose to live in such a big house alone. At the same time, Jasmine was a cheerful and kind woman, and he was sure he would enjoy the job.
Jaden showed up at the factory and submitted his resignation letter. His boss was shocked at his decision, but when he saw Jaden’s mind was made up, he offered to double his pay. For someone who had belittled him and screamed at him for the last few years, Jaden was shocked. It turned out his boss took his anger out on him because he knew Jaden needed the job and would not quit, but he also knew that Jaden was a very hard worker that would be very hard to replace. Jaden had already made his mind, though, and he politely declined.
After two days, Jaden started work at Jasmine’s house. His job wasn’t tasking; all he had to do was make Jasmine breakfast and ensure she took her medication. He also readied her bathwater, did the laundry, and cleaned around the house. After working for the day, he would grab a drink and watch his favorite show on television. By then, Jasmine would be asleep for hours. When she woke up, they would often sit down and talk. Jasmine was a storyteller, and she entertained Jaden with tales of the past. Jaden loved to listen to her because of her profound wisdom. They would speak for hours, and then he would make dinner for her. He ensured that everything was in order before he decided he was done for the day. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
Jaden grew a strong emotional attachment to Jasmine, and her home became like his second home. He began to view taking care of Jasmine not as his job but as a responsibility. Jasmine loved Scotch eggs, and he would make them every morning for her. He did everything else she needed, never complained, and was always polite and kind.
As the days passed, Jasmine became weaker. She could barely move ten paces, and her breath quickened so much that it seemed like her heart would fail. Jaden was always there by her side to help her out. He would read newspapers to her, and they watched some operas on television.
One early morning, as he stepped into the sitting room with a couple of pastries he had bought for Jasmine’s surprise, he saw something shocking. Jasmine was struggling to breathe, and it was a very scary thing to see. In deep panic, he grabbed the phone and dialed emergency services. After fifteen minutes, an ambulance arrived, and they rushed Jasmine to the hospital. She was placed on IV fluids, and the doctors recommended some drugs for her.
Jaden was glad that he had come earlier that morning; what a stroke of luck. He was fidgeting as he stood by Jasmine’s side; he held her hand and prayed for her survival. Twenty minutes later, Jasmine woke up. She looked up at Jaden and smiled; she thanked him for being there for her. Jaden just claimed that he was doing his job, but he knew it was more than that.
Jasmine was discharged that evening, and they took a cab home. When they arrived, Jaden prepared scrambled eggs and served her. When she was done with her meal, he led her to her room and watched her snuggle into her thick duvet. It was late, and Jasmine bid him good night, but Jaden didn’t make plans to leave. The morning incident still traumatized him because he knew if he had come just twenty minutes later, Jasmine would have passed on. So, he didn’t want to leave anything to chance any longer.
There were three spare bedrooms, and he planned to sleep in one of them. Jasmine thanked him again for everything, but she reminded him that it was late and he needed to go back home. But Jaden insisted that he would sleep over, so she bid him good night and headed to one of the bedrooms.
Little did he know the consequences of this choice. A few minutes after midnight, Jaden was awakened by a strange sound. He got up and checked on Jasmine, but the old lady was sleeping soundly. Feeling satisfied, Jaden headed back to his room, but to his surprise, he heard the sound again. This time, it sounded like someone was picking a keyhole, but Jaden dismissed the thought. The fence was high enough to deter intruders, and the gate was locked with a password, meaning it wasn’t easy to break in. Jaden wasn’t worried, so he laid back on the bed and dozed off.
A few minutes later, Jaden was awakened by a sharp scream. He jumped off the bed and ran into Jasmine’s room. There he saw a truly shocking scene; there was a masked man with a gun pointed at Jasmine, demanding money and jewelry. Jaden’s first thought was that Jasmine was too fragile to deal with this kind of trauma, and he quickly sprang into action.
As someone who had grown up doing monotonous, laborious jobs, his reflexes were sharp and precise. Jaden quickly disarmed the intruder, and the weapon fell to the ground. The intruder was extremely shocked at Jaden’s presence, as he knew the old woman stayed alone; he never even saw Jaden until he kicked the weapon out of his hand.
The intruder knew he needed to beat Jaden to escape. They engaged in a scuffle, and Jaden didn’t give the intruder any breathing space. Jaden was a better fighter, and he knocked the intruder to the floor, but the man wasn’t ready to give up. As Jasmine dialed 911, the intruder tried to make good on his escape. He pulled out a small knife, and before Jaden could react, he buried the blade into Jaden’s stomach and jumped out through the window.
The pen knife was a small one, but Jaden was hurt. He needed urgent medical care or the issue could escalate. When the emergency services arrived, Jaden had to be taken to the hospital.
Throughout the hospital stay, Jasmine sat by his bedside, displaying unwavering loyalty. If Jaden could take a knife for her, it meant he would do anything for her. The doctors bandaged his wounds and took care of him until he recovered. When he was discharged, Jasmine asked him to rest at his home for a few days before resuming work, but Jaden wouldn’t listen. He couldn’t afford to leave her by herself; what if something even worse happened to her?
Jaden resumed work and continued taking care of Jasmine. They had many conversations, and Jasmine learned about Jaden’s mother. Jaden’s father had passed away, and he had just a mom and a little sister who lived in another city. His mother had been diagnosed with leukemia and needed a bone marrow transplant. They had been saving money for it, but it wasn’t enough.
When Jasmine heard this, he assured him that everything would be fine. He was young, and he had a promising future.
In the following month, Jasmine’s health deteriorated to the point that she wasn’t even responding to medications anymore. Jaden called the ambulance, and Jasmine was admitted to the hospital. The doctors tried all they could, but her cells kept dying. Even when the doctors saw the case as hopeless, Jaden didn’t. He was a staunch believer in miracles; he couldn’t afford to lose Jasmine. As they had built an unbreakable bond, he begged her to fight for her life, and he kept holding her hands, urging her to stay strong.
As Jasmine lay on the hospital bed, too weak to move her body, she reflected on her life with deep gratitude. Jaden was one of the best people to exist in her life in recent years; she was glad that the universe gave her this gift.
During her last moments, as dusk approached, she again told Jaden to go home, but he refused. Jasmine wanted him to return to his own mother, but Jaden did not budge; his mom would be fine, but he needed to keep watch on her.
Jaden stayed with her all night, listening to her voice, which by now was barely above a whisper. She kept thanking Jaden for everything, until she fell silent. A few hours before dawn, at that same time, the monitor stopped beeping, and Jasmine woke up. She looked up to Jaden and she smiled; she thanked him for being there for her.
