A young couple faced an unexpected dilemma one Sunday afternoon. The doorbell rang, and the husband peered through to find a dishevelled, unshaven man standing therereeking of filth with no bag or belongings in sight. Before the husband could speak, the stranger blurted, “Is Emily here?” then shouted, “Emily, please, come out!”
His wife approached, studied the man, and failed to recognise him. Desperation flickered in his eyes. “Emily, Im your cousin, Ethan. Weve never met, but Im desperatedont let me die out here.”
Reluctantly, they let him in, though the stench made them recoil. Ethan leaned against the door, swaying. “A thousand miles on lorries and foot, sleeping in fields. Sold my phone, begged for scraps, nearly got arrested.” His voice cracked. “My wife threw me out, my own mother shut the door in my face. Youre all I have. Help me, Emily.”
The cramped hallway grew stifling. They couldnt just toss him out. They sent him to shower, handed him fresh jeans and a T-shirt, and stuffed his ruined clothes into a bin bagthe husband took them straight to the rubbish bin.
When Ethan emerged, his gaze darted toward the kitchen. Emily seated him at the table, but her husband pulled her aside. “Are we really taking in this mess? Hell rob us or worse. Let him gocharities exist for this. He can work for food and shelter.”
Emily refused. Not because he was family, but because he was a human being.
They returned to find Ethan gulping soup straight from the pot, dribbling down his chin. Disgust twisted Emilys stomachlunch was ruined. She slapped a bowl in front of him, sternly ordered him to use it, and watched as he struggled to eat like a civilised person.
Once full, he slumped, exhausted, but she shook him awake. “Explain yourself.”
“They threw me out like a stray dog,” he mumbled. “No money, no home. My mother wouldnt even look at me. I had nowhere else to go.”
Emily pressed, “Why? What did you do?”
He hid his face. “I cant. Its too shameful.”
They tossed him an old jacket to use as a pillow. Their one-bedroom flat had no spare room.
From the balcony, Emily called his mother. “Ethans herefilthy and broken. What happened?”
Her aunt wailed, “Hes no son of mine. Drank, gambled everything away. Sold his wifes valuables while she was away. Stole from me too. Dont let him drag you downkick him out!”
Emily bristled. “Easy for you to say. I cant just abandon him!”
Her husband stormed in. “Im done with this. Give him a few quid and send him packing.”
She refused. “If something happens to him, Ill never forgive myself.”
“Then deal with him alone,” he snapped, leaving for his mothers.
The night passed in dread. At dawn, Emily shook Ethan awake. “Your mother told me everything. You cant stay. My husbands gone. Whats your plan?”
She suggested a shelter, but he just stared, hollow-eyed.
Suddenly, he whispered, “I was a criminal, Emily. But Ive changed. Id never hurt anyone now.”
Fear prickled her skin. Was he diseased? Desperate enough to steal? She couldnt leave him alone to seek help.
A shelter had no space for two days. Two days of torture with a stranger under her roof.
Her husband called, berating her, calling her a fool.
Emily took leave from work. They rationed foodshe dared not shop, fearing theft.
Yet Ethan slowly regained his humanity, swearing hed reformed. “I wouldnt harm a fly now. Thank you, Emily.”
She secured him a place. He vanished without a word.
Five years later, he reappeared with a young woman. “I wont barge in like last time.” He introduced his new wife. “We came to thank you. Without you, Id be deadwed never have met.”
Hed found honest work in the outskirts, cut ties with his mother. Emily remained his only family.
He called occasionally, sent holiday wishes, once vowed, “Im forever in your debt.”
It unsettled her. But at least she learned one truth: her husband had never returned.
