My Elderly Neighbor Died — After His Funeral, I Received a Letter From Him Revealing He’d Buried a Secret in His Backyard 40 Years Ago

“It’s from Mr. Whitmore.”

I handed him the letter.

He read it quietly, lips moving.

“What’s up?”

“My dear girl,

If you’re reading this, I’m no longer here.

This is something I’ve been hiding for 40 years. In my yard, under the old apple tree, a secret is buried, one I’ve been protecting you from.

You have the right to know the truth, Tanya. Don’t tell anyone about this.

Mr. Whitmore.”

“If you’re reading this, I’m no longer here.”

After a second, Richie looked up, squinting.

“Honey, why would a dead man send you to his backyard?”

“I… He wants me to dig the area by his apple tree.”

My daughter’s voice drifted from inside. “Mom! Where’s the bubble-gum cereal?”

Richie gave me a worried look. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know, Rich. It’s… strange. I barely knew him.”

“Why would a dead man send you to his backyard?”

Gemma called again, louder. “Mom!”

I snapped back to the kitchen, dropping the letter onto the table.

“It’s in the cabinet next to the fridge, Gem. Don’t add sugar.”

“Well, it sounds like he wanted you to know something, Tan. Are you going to do it?” Richie asked, following me.

Meanwhile, our youngest, Daphne, ran in, her hair wild from sleep. “Can we go to Mr. Whitmore’s yard after school? I want to get more leaves to paint.”

“Are you going to do it?”

Richie and I exchanged a look.

“Maybe later,” I said. “Let’s just get through the day first.”

The rest of the day crawled.

I tied my shoes, braided my hair, wiped jam off faces, then reread the letter so many times my thumb left a smudge on the ink.

Every time I folded it, my stomach turned.