But what I got was something else entirely. “Well, you’re in it now, Maya,” I said to myself, making myself a cup of tea.My closest neighbor was a woman in her 60s named Mrs. Harrington, who lived in an old house that had seen better days. The paint was peeling, the shutters hung crookedly, and the lawn was overgrown with weeds.“Maybe she’s just old and doesn’t have the energy to maintain the house?” my mother said on the phone. “Yeah, maybe,” I said. “Her house just looks a bit out of place.” But that wasn’t what caught my attention. What really intrigued me was the little shack about 20 feet away from Mrs. Harrington’s house. It was small, barely more than a shed, with a rusty tin roof and walls that looked anything but steady. “Why would anyone have that?” I muttered as I sat on my couch, looking out the window. The more I wanted to sit down and write my collection of stories, the more obsessed I got with Mrs. Harrington. Because it wasn’t the shack that was a mystery. It was the woman herself. From the moment I moved in, she had been distant, almost to the point of being rude. “I’m Maya,” I said on the first day when I was inspecting my new backyard.I expected her to at least say hello and introduce herself. But she avoided eye contact, brushed off any attempts at conversation, and made it clear that she wasn’t interested in neighborly chats. I only discovered her name because I heard one of the neighborhood kids calling her on his newspaper round. But still, the strangest thing about her was her routine.Every day, like clockwork, the old woman would head to that shack at 9 a.m. and again at 9 p.m. She always had two shopping bags in hand, and she would go into the shack for about 20 minutes before returning to her house. “What are you doing in there, Mrs. Harrington?” I asked myself in the living room. “What’s in there? Who’s in there?”Suddenly, I was a detective trying to figure out what the woman from next door was up to. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what she was doing in there. Was she storing something? Hiding something?For three days, I watched her from my window, my curiosity only growing stronger. What could possibly be so important? One afternoon, I decided to find out for myself. I waited until I saw her step outside with her bags, then casually strolled over, pretending to be out for a walk. But the moment old Mrs. Harrington saw me approaching the shack, she bolted out of the door, her eyes wide with fury.“Stay away! I’ll call the cops!” she screamed, her voice high-pitched and frantic. I stopped dead in my tracks. Despite my wild imagination, I wasn’t expecting that kind of reaction. “I’m sorry!” I stammered. “I just…” “Just what? Stay away from here! Mind your own business, girl!” she yelled. “Okay, I’m going!” I said. “I didn’t mean to intrude, ma’am.”She stood there, glaring at me until I turned around and walked back to my house. I could feel her eyes boring into my back the entire way. What was in that shack that she was so desperate to keep secret? “I’m not giving up,” I said as I let myself into my home. “I will find out what’s in there.” I tried to shake it off, telling myself that it was none of my business. But over the next few days, I couldn’t stop thinking about the shack.I tossed and turned at night, trying to figure out what could be in there. The way Mrs. Harrington screamed at me, the panic in her eyes, didn’t sit right.I needed to know what she was hiding. One night, after I saw her make her usual 9 p.m. trip to the shack, I decided that it was time to investigate again. I waited until I was sure she was back inside her house and all the lights were off before slipping out of my front door.“Why are you being so stupid, Maya?” I asked myself as I walked down the driveway. “You could have just let it go.” When I reached the shack, I noticed something I hadn’t seen before. There was a large padlock on the door. Whatever was in there, Mrs. Harrington was determined to keep it secure.But then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a small gap in the wooden door, just big enough to peek through. I hesitated for a moment, my breath catching in my throat.“Come on, Maya, it’s not too late to run away,” I muttered. But of course, I was too stubborn to do that. At first, I couldn’t quite make out what I was seeing. The interior was dark, but as my eyes adjusted, I nearly fainted at what I saw. Inside the shack were dogs, about a dozen of them. Some were lying down, others were curled up in corners, and a few were pacing restlessly.“Oh, you poor babies,” I said. They were all different breeds, shapes, and sizes, but they all looked weary and thin. “What the hell?” I exclaimed. What was going on here? Was she hoarding these animals? Were they being mistreated by her? I didn’t think. I just acted.I started pulling at the lock, trying to force it open. “Hang on, I’ll get you all out!” I said. But the lock just wouldn’t budge, so I began banging on the door with my fists, hoping to break it down.Suddenly, a light flicked on inside Mrs. Harrington’s house. I froze, realizing too late that I’d woken her up. Seconds later, I heard her front door slam open, and her footsteps hurried across the lawn.“What are you doing?” she shouted, her voice cutting through the night. “Get away!” “What am I doing? What are you doing keeping all these dogs here? And locked up like this? This is cruelty! I’m calling the police!” Mrs. Harrington reached me, her breath all over my face. But instead of the anger I expected, I saw something else in her eyes. Desperation. “No, please,” she pleaded, grabbing my arm. “You don’t understand. Calm down, and I’ll tell you.”“Calm down? You’re keeping animals locked up in there! How can I calm down?” “It’s not what you think, Maya,” she said. “Please, just listen.” “You have two minutes,” I said. “And then I’m calling the police.” “I’m not hurting them,” she said. “I’m saving them. I’m feeding them.” “What?” I asked, confused.“I take in strays,” she explained. “These dogs are here because I’ve found them abandoned or mistreated. I bring them here because I know they’ll be safe with me. It started with one, but now there’s about ten of them.” “But why keep them in there?” I demanded. “There are too many! And I’m allergic to one or two of the breeds. If I brought them inside, I’d end up in the hospital. But I couldn’t stand by and do nothing while they suffered. Here, I can make sure that they have food and water.” My anger melted away immediately.“Why didn’t you just tell me?” I asked.“Because I’ve seen what happens when people take animals away to shelters. They put them down, or they just end up on the streets again.” I was silent for a moment, taking in everything she said. I’d heard about those places too. “I can help,” I said. “Help me?” she asked.“Yes,” I said firmly. “We can’t keep them all here, but maybe I can take some to my house. And between the two of us, we can find good homes for them. My brother-in-law is a vet; he’ll know what to do.” In the end, I took most of the dogs over to my place, allowing them to roam free in the yard. We set up bowls of food and water all over, and I set up a few mats and blankets.The next day, my brother-in-law came over with his team and took most of the malnourished dogs away.“I promise, Maya,” he said. “I’ll treat these sweet little things, and I’ll find them a place to stay.” I ended up keeping two of the puppies with me because there was nothing better than having furry friends to love.What would you have done?If you enjoyed this story, here’s another one for you |