They looked at her like she was off her rocker. This old woman had made them come all the way from the police station to check out something that seemed ridiculous.
The two officers glanced at each other and cracked big grins. They were clearly making fun of her, but then one of them saw something. They asked her who her son was, but when she answered, they all gasped.
Samantha Morrison
She had lived all on her own for over two years. In all that time she didn't have one visit. Samantha Morrison had dreams of moving out, but she was just too old for that kind of hassle now.
And then again, it wasn't like she even had anyone that would be willing to help her out with things either. She had been all alone for two years and nothing would change that. But she really didn't want to stay in the old house anymore.
All Alone
Samantha had sadly lost her husband a decade ago. It was surreal when it happened like her better half had been taken away in an instant. Things had never been the same since and she knew it.
She tried to stay optimistic, but it was hard to keep up hope when something so tragic had happened. But matters only got worse when her only other lifeline, her son, was taken away as well.
A Dark Cloud
After she lost both of her family members, she was all alone, and a dark cloud hung over her. She was morning the death of her husband and the missing case of her son. She just couldn't move on from it.
She thought maybe if she moved houses it would be a fresh start for her and she could finally move on. Every corner of her house reminded her of her son growing up and her husband being by her side. But there was more to it than just that.
A Terrible Neighbor
A few months ago, a terrible neighbor decided to move in next to Samantha. When they first arrived, she welcomed the change, but in a matter of weeks, she had had enough.
The neighbor that had moved in started to throw huge parties that would go on into the late hours of the night. And to make them even more abrasive, they sometimes left beer cans and cigarette butts all over the lawn.
Loud Parties
One night Samantha's neighbor threw a particularly rowdy party. Samantha was kept up all night with the laughter and the bass of the music.
But the really offensive part was that by morning the party was still going at full volume. Samantha hadn't gotten a wink of sleep and knew she had to do something about it. She walked over to the house to confront them.
Confronting Her Neighbor
Samantha got dressed and ran what she would say in her head as she walked over to the house. She just hoped that the neighbor would understand. She walked up the step and rapped on the white wooden door.
After a few minutes, a young woman opened the door. Samantha could tell that she had been up all night partying. She frowned and asked what she wanted. Samantha didn't appreciate her neighbor being so rude.
A Simple Request
“Yes hello. You’ve been up all night partying which is fine by me, but it's really the noise that bothers me. Could you please turn the music down a little bit? I didn't get any sleep last night. oh and the garbage too, if you could remove it from the yard it would be nice.”
“Why the hell would I do that? I am the owner of this house. I can do whatever I please so long as I’m in the property,” the girl rudely slurred back. Samantha was disheartened to hear this response. What could she do?
Last Resort
“Well, I'm afraid I'll have to get the police on the phone,” she calmly said. “Good, you go right ahead and do that,” the drunk girl replied before slamming the door in Samantha's face.
After a lot of consideration, Samantha only had one option left. It really was her last resort, she didn't want to have to get the police involved, but the girl wouldn't listen. She told them about the issue, and they assured her that some officers were on their way. But she had no idea what kind of officers were about to arrive to complicate her situation.
The Police Arrived
Soon enough, Samantha heard the police car pulling up. Immediately, the neighbor turned the music down. Then, the old lady was surprised to hear the officers knocking on her door rather than her neighbor’s.
She opened the door, thinking that maybe they just wanted to ask her about the details and make sure she was alright. But that was far from the officer’s intentions. There was something Samantha didn’t know.
Connections
Samantha’s neighbor was the daughter of someone important: some big shot in the city’s government; specifically, someone with close ties to the mayor. This, in a way, made her untouchable.
The officers didn’t have any intentions of getting into trouble messing with the daughter of one of the most powerful men in the city. But that wasn’t all. They also tried to persuade Samantha not to ever bring them that issue again.
They Tried To Intimidate Her
So they decided to play along with the neighbor and pretend there wasn’t an issue. “Madam, you complained about one of your neighbors playing their music too loud. We can’t hear anything. I feel like you’re making stuff up.”
“I’m gonna have to ask you not to bother us again with this nonsense, or we’ll have to file a report against you for slander,” the officer said with a sly grin as the elderly woman listened, speechless. She felt tears of impotence coming to her eyes. How could this be happening? But suddenly, one of the officers noticed something.
Charlie’s Photograph
Hanging on Samantha’s living room wall was a photograph of her son Charlie, wearing his uniform from the Marines. The picture was taken just a few months before he passed away in service while he was stationed in Iraq.
One of the officers saw it, and he instantly turned pale. “Excuse me, Madam. Is that your son? Was he named Charlie Morrison?” Samantha confirmed that he was. Right then, the officer broke down crying.
The Truth Comes Out
As it turned out, that officer had also served in Iraq and had met Samantha’s son during one mission. As a matter of fact, he had saved his life on one occasion. He never heard from him again after that incident, but he could never forget it.
To that day, he was still tormented by the fact that he never had the chance to pay Charlie back for what he had done for him. Thinking that he had been this close to mistreating her mother just to protect the image of some politician’s daughter, he felt sick to his stomach.
They Made A Mistake
So the officer explained everything to Samantha, from his story with Charlie to the reason why they were initially reluctant to intervene against the rude neighbor.
But now, there was no doubt that honoring the marine who had saved his life back in the day was way more important than the reputation of some politician’s daughter. He assured her that they would file a report against the girl, even if that meant putting their jobs on the line.