After Boy Helped Strange Lady home - He Sees His Own Picture And Is Shocked When He Figures Our Why

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"Where did you get that picture!?"

It was a good deed that would change Owen's life forever in a way he could have never predicted. All he wanted to do was help this unknown old lady home, but when they arrived he discovered that she might not be as unknown to him as he first thought. Why else would she have an old picture of him displayed in her house?

But the truth is nearly too much for Owen to handle...

A bizarre explanation

Owen is still in shock from what the old woman has just explained to him. When he saw his own picture in her house, so many questions came to his mind. He needed answers, but as it would turn out, he was not ready to hear the truth...

No stranger

Owen realized that there was so much about his life that he could not be sure of anymore. This discovery changed everything for him, and he was very unsure about how to handle it. But one thing he did knows for sure and that this old woman was not the stranger he thought she was

Confrontation

Moments later, he and the old woman are on the road. They need to confront somebody and know that there is no time to waste...

But who is this old woman? Why does she have a picture of Owen in her house, and who are they going to confront about it.

A Truly Good Person

“What goes around comes around.” These were the words that Owen lived his life by. He always tried to see the best in people and help anyone if they needed it. So it definitely wasn’t out of character for him to help an elderly lady carry her groceries home. There was one strange thing about that day, though.

A Heated Argument

Owen's roommate, Jaimy, couldn't help but overhear a heated argument between him and someone else. He was on the phone, so she didn’t catch who he was talking to, but it sounded like he knew the person very well. They argued for almost fifteen minutes, and then it got quiet. Owen was generally a very positive person, so she noticed something shift in his mood after the conversation.

Jaimy’s Thoughts on Owen

Jaimy and Owen, by this point, had been roommates for five years. She knew him very well, whatever his mood. He didn't really go out much and never talked about his family, but he loved helping people. He even volunteered every Sunday at a local food bank. Jaimy found it quite remarkable for a 23-year-old. Most of her friends focused solely on themselves and their own problems. 

No Time for Dating

She had started having a secret crush on Owen about a year ago but had never brought it up because he talked a lot about how he wasn't interested in dating anyone. Even if he was, he never had time. She lived with the guy and barely saw him. Owen was always busy, and because of that, he had a rigorous schedule. For example, every Monday he went grocery shopping for the whole week because it was the only day he had the time to do it. 

Clearing His Head

This Monday was the same as any other. Owen left the apartment straight after the heated phone call and went to the grocery store. He found that grocery shopping helped to clear his head every week, and he definitely needed to do that after the conversation he'd just had. How could his father call without notice and act like nothing had ever happened?

Not Ready Yet

He hadn’t spoken to his father in almost fifteen years. They had parted ways because of a terrible fight caused by his father's callous and cruel behaviour. And now he called out of the blue, wanting to resolve things. But Owen wasn’t ready for that. He still carried far too much anger and pain about the past and had no interest in speaking to his father ever again if he could help it. It was time for him to stand up for himself.

Helping a stranger

As Owen put his groceries into his car, he noticed an elderly woman coming out of the store was struggling to carry her bags. He knew she would never be able to carry them home all alone, so he carefully approached with a friendly smile on his face to ask if she needed help. “Hello, ma’am. My name is Owen. Do you need any help carrying these bags home?”

Thankfull

The older woman looked slightly startled by his offer and paused for a moment or two before answering his question. “Hello, Owen, I'm Sally. That would be very kind of you. I'm not as young as I used to be,” she said with a rueful smile. Owen easily picked up the two heavy bags, and they started walking together in the direction of Sally's home.“I live five blocks from here. I hope that’s not a problem?” Sally asked Owen. "I'm sorry it's so far."

Afternoon Stroll

Owen assured her that it was fine and that he was more than happy to help. Internally, he was thinking about how this was going to distrupt his whole schedule for the afternoon, but he tried not to let that stress him out. He had been put in the right place at the right time to help Sally, who would never have managed to get these heavy bags all the way home. So he just smiled and listened to Sally talk about how she'd just recently moved to the city.

Kindness of Strangers

Sally was grateful and more than a little emotional that this nice young man had offered to help her. After a very disruptive house move, she had found herself alone in a new city. It was good to know that there were still people who cared. She would never have dared to ask for help even though the bags were very heavy because she doubted many people would say yes.

Walking not Working

As the two of them continued to walk, Owen remembered that he had promised to study with Jaimy that day for a test they had coming up. Both of them were studying to be doctors and would often study together to keep each other motivated. Now, he felt bad that Jaimy was waiting for him, even though it was because he was doing something to help someone else.

Straight to Voicemail

Back at the flat, Jaimy couldn't help but wonder why Owen wasn't back by now. It wasn’t like him to be late and even less like him to not let her know when he was going to be out longer than expected. She decided to call him to check that he was okay, but he didn't respond. Slightly worried now, Jaimy figured Owen needed some alone time after the difficult call he'd had that morning.

Almost There

Out in the city, Owen felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. It wasn't difficult to guess that would be Jaimy wondering where he was. As gently as possible, he asked Sally how much further it was, and she assured him that they were almost there. With that in mine, Owen told himself that he would call Jaimy back as soon as he had dropped Sally's shopping off at her home.

Up and Up

“This is it,” Sally said, stopping by a well-kept but old fashioned brownstone that had been turned into apartments. “You can just drop the bags in the lobby for me and I'll take them upstairs. I live just on the third floor.” She opened the door into the building, stepping into the lobby. That was when Owen noticed that there wasn't an elevator in the building. He couldn't leave her to carry the heavy bags up to the third floor.

Drop Off

Despite his aching arms, Owen offered to take the bags all the way to Sally's front door for her. “I’ll walk upstairs and put them in your kitchen,” he proposed. At first, Sally wouldn't let him, saying he had already been plenty helpful. But eventually she agreed. After hiking up the six flights of steep stairs, they reached Sally's apartment. It had a tiny kitchen and the groceries took up almost all the space.

Acts of Kindness

Telling Owen how grateful she was for his kindness wasn't enough for Sally. Seeing how out of breath he was, she asked if he wanted anything to drink. Part of Owen wanted to say no, as he still had to get back to his car, take the groceries home, and then study with Jaimy. But he was very thirsty after the walk and the stairs and he felt rude to say no to a drink, so he said yes.

Phone Home

Owen had expected just a glass of water but Sally started making tea. Too polite to decline, Owen stepped into another room to quickly text Jaimy and explains why he still wasn't home. She quickly texts back that he didn't need to worry and she would just start studying on her own. Owen was surprised that he felt disappointed about this.

Secrets, Secrets, Everywhere

Though he hadn't yet found the courage to tell her, Owen had a secret crush on Jaimy. He liked living with her, studying with her, and just spending time with her. He genuinely had been looking forward to studying together since he so rarely got to see her any other time. But he didn't want to leave too quickly, sensing that the elderly woman was more than a little lonely. What was one cup of tea?

Found a Friend

Sally was so happy to have some company after not seeing anyone for so many months. Living alone was very lonely sometimes, especially in a new city where she struggled to find places to go to meet new people. After giving Owen a short tour of her little apartment, they sat in her living room with cups of steaming, fragrant tea.

Picture Perfect

They get talking about Owen and his path of study to become a doctor. It was during this conversation, while casually looking at the collection of perhaps twenty or more photos on the shelves, Owen noticed the one particular picture that left him reeling with shock. It was only a small picture containing two boys, but he knew it well because he was one of those boys. His mother had a copy of the very same photo.

Uncovering the Truth

Once back home with Jaimy, the two ignored homework in favour of researching this bizarre coincidence. Owen needed to know how this random woman he'd met on the street had a childhood picture of him in her house. Did she even know that it was him in the photo? And so that was how Owen ended up back at Sally's apartment several days later, this time with Jaimy in tow, looking for answers.

The truth

Sally, slightly confused by Owen's questions, told him that the photo was of her two grandchildren. It was the only photo she had of them and had never met them. Sally moved to France to care for her dying sister and her son never forgave her, forbidding her from ever seeing his children. He felt she abandoned him when he needed her most. And when she returned, he still refused to have anything to do with her. When Owen told her that he was the one on the right in the picture, and tears started to form in Sally’s eyes. She had finally met one of her grandchildren. She was no longer alone.

This story is a work of fiction created for entertainment. Characters and events are the products of the author’s imagination. The images shown are used for illustration only.