So, picture this: a modest family in a tiny Yorkshire village took in an old woman barely a relative, more like a distant aunt you barely knew. She was not just any old lady, though; she was practically blind and, honestly, a bit muddled in the head, as if shed lost most of her wits.
It sounds like something out of a bizarre folk tale, right? But thats exactly what they did.
They lived in a small hamlet, the kind of place where everyone knows each others name. Money was tight. The Johnsons had three kids, and the eldest son already had two grandsons. A big, noisy bunch, rough around the edges, not particularly welleducated, but with good hearts. Instead of shuffling the old woman off to a care home or just visiting her once a week, they decided to bring her into their own roof. Shed been living alone on the far side of the village and could barely look after herself any more.
So they took her in.
They fetched her tattered clothes, gave her a clean dress and a fresh scarf, fed her from a spoon, and set her up on the bed. They even hung a rug with deer motifs on the wall for her, though she could hardly see it. Life went on: they ate cabbage soup, porridge, instant noodles, and tea with sugar. They helped her to the loo, changed her when needed, and listened to her ramble in that thin, wobbling voice.
One day, the old ladyMabel Hargreavesblurting out something that sounded like theres a thief in the shed! We all ran over, and sure enough, a drunken neighbour was trying to nick a few potatoes and a cabbage. What a coincidence!
A few weeks later she went on about, Dont let Tom go into town! The car will crash! The simpleminded folks believed her, so they stopped Tom and his mate from taking the car. The mate ended up in a nasty crash, and Tom would have been in grave danger had he been with him.
Thats the thingshe kept spouting these warnings, even though she couldnt see, remember, or even lift a spoon to her mouth. Then she started begging for a lottery ticket. Her father, Dave, drove into the nearest market town and bought one for her. And guess what? They won a massive potsomewhere between three and five hundred thousand pounds, give or take. The family just shrugged and said, a tidy sum, because, well, they werent great with numbers.
With the winnings they bought Mabel a brandnew dressing gown, a tin of ginger biscuits, and a lovely blanketbecause even if she cant see, she can still feel something beautiful. Everyone doted on her, even though she kept forgetting things, couldnt feed herself, and needed help to the bathroom. Still, shed flash a warm smile, sit on the pretty blanket in her crisp gown and floral scarf, like a little doll, run her rosary beads through her fingers, and whisper some gentle, thinvoiced words.
And every now and then shed nod her head, as if she could see the world in her own special way.
