Tent City

Charlotte sat in the meeting room of her grandfather’s law office, She had been waiting for half an hour with no clue why she had been called in so early. Finally, the bustling lawyer rushed into the room, papers flying. She sat up, keen to hear what he had to say.

“Sorry to keep you waiting Charlotte, I know this is a terrible time for you so I’ll keep this short. My name is Bernard and your grandfather appointed me as the executor of his will in the event of his passing. I’ve called you in today to give you what your grandfather left you.”

Charlotte waited as the lawyer pulled out a little black notebook and slid it across the table towards her.

“Her grandfather was a wealthy man, how could that book be it!?” She thought.

Regardless, Charlotte thanked Bernard and opened up the notebook.

“Dear Charlotte. By now you obviously know that I have passed on. Please don’t be sad as I want you to celebrate my life. However, my life was not always as good as it seemed. I never told you as I wanted you to have a life of comfort but I have many regrets, one in particular that I wish I had never done.

I have left you $20,000 in a trust account that Bernard has safe.

However, there’s a catch my dear.

To receive the money, you must go to Tent City and live as one of the homeless there for a month. You must get to know them, and after the month is up, Bernard will release the funds to you.

I love you my dear, please don’t be sad. ~Grandpa

Signed

Richard James III”

Charlotte sat in silence taking in what her grandfather had written in this notebook. Sadness, anger and fear rushed through her as she thought of sleeping rough for a whole month. “One month without her bed, without Netflix, without her hair dryer! Oh god, without showering!” She recoiled at the thought.

Brushing those thoughts away, she thanked Bernard for his time and left his office to prepare for her tribulation.

Before she left, Bernard told her she would have the rest of the day to prepare for the coming month.

Charlotte woke up to the beeping of her alarm. She had a moment of peace before the horror of what she had to prepare for settled in. She slowly got ready with a sense of dread. Finally the clock ticked over to 9:00am and she heard a car horn beep outside her apartment. A wave of anxiety rushed over her. She picked up the one bag she had been allowed to pack and closed the door to her apartment. She deliberately took the stairs to prevent what was coming.

When she made it outside, she saw Bernard waiting for her with a car, waving her over.

“Bernard, please don’t make me do this! Surely you could just give me the money and we could say that I did it!” She pleaded.

“Sorry Charlotte, I gave my word to your grandfather, you know if you want this money you have to do it.” He replied, a hint of concern on his face.

Charlotte got in the car begrudgingly, and refused to look at the lawyer for the entirety of the trip. She watched as the city slipped by, the beautiful flashing lights and fast pace became slow and dull. Slowly the car pulled to a stop.

They had arrived at Tent City.

It was worse than she had thought, wincing at how many children there were.

She bid her final goodbyes to Bernard who told her he would see her in a month and wished her luck as he sped off.

“Well” she thought “no point in pouting now, I better set up this tent and get settled”

She wandered around, lost with no clue on where she could set up her tent, it seemed that every spot was taken and there was no room for her.

Finally she found a spot that seemed suitable. She wandered up to it and lay out her tent. As she was laying it out, she heard yelling.

She picked her head up and looked for the source, her eyes landing on a disheveled woman who looked to be in her 60’s. She grimaced at the sight of her, she looked as if she hadn’t showered in years!

Shaking her head, Charlotte asked what the woman had said.

“You don’t want to set up there, that spot’s too windy, come set up on the other side of my tent” the woman kindly told her “here, I’ll help you. My name’s Maeve, what’s yours?”

“Thank you so much! I’m Charlotte” the younger lady replied feeling guilty she had judged the woman so harshly as she packed up her tent and moved it to the spot Maeve had suggested.

They set up the tent in silence, working together under the heat of the midday sun blistering down on them. Once the tent had been set up, Maeve asked Charlotte if she wanted a drink which Charlotte was immensely grateful for and accepted instantly.

“What made you come here?” The older lady asked inquisitively, handing her a dirty, crumpled bottle of water which Charlotte inspected, hesitant to drink out of it.

“My grandfather recently passed and left me a sum of money but only if I came here for a month first” Charlotte replied. “Why are you here?” She asked.

“20 years ago, I was wealthy, believe it or not” the leathery woman told her with a bitter laugh

“But then I was cheated out of it by someone I thought I could trust, I let him into my life, we became friends, he gave me ‘advice’ and then he took it all, leaving me in the dust.

I had no choice but to pack the last of my belongings and move here. The great Richard James III” she ended with a scoff.

Charlotte sat in horror as she realised what she had been told and wondered how her grandfather could do that. How he could live with the knowledge that his money was made by ruining people’s lives. She wondered how many families he had done that to and felt shame at the thought.

Quickly changing the subject, Charlotte asked her new friend “what does everyone do here? Aren’t you bored?”

“Oh! I’ll introduce you to everyone, we look after our own here, I’ll let them know you’re one of us!” Maeve replied “Come on! Let’s go!”

Over the next few hours Maeve took Charlotte on a tour of Tent City, introducing her to everyone she met. She couldn’t believe how many people there were, of all ages.

She was relieved to hear that no one else had met their misfortune due to her grandfather.

Settling into bed after bidding good night to Maeve and several others, Charlotte lay down and listened to the noises around her, smiling as she thought about her day. She had particularly enjoyed dinner with everyone sat around a fire sharing the food they had. She remembered a conversation between two kids, Lilly and Seth, as they laughed about their earlier soccer game that they had won.

Charlotte rolled over in her sleeping bag, wishing she was back in her bed and shut her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

As the weeks rolled past, Charlotte forgot her life in the city, becoming used to finding food and looking after the children, her favourites were definitely Lilly and Seth but if she was asked, she would reply “I don’t have a favourite, I love all of you”

Her favourite part of her new home was dinner. She felt as if they were all family now, as she sat and watched people tell stories, laugh, joke, and bicker whilst sharing their spoils for the day.

She had a special place in her heart for the woman who had looked after her on her first day in Tent City and could easily confide in her in everything.

Everything but one thing.

The guilt of what her grandfather had done to her friend weighed on her conscience. She mentally debated if she should tell Maeve, and if so, how?

Finally, on the last night of her stay, Charlotte plucked up the courage and told Maeve she needed to talk to her after dinner.

She waited for dinner to end. Slowly, after what felt like agonising hours passing by, Maeve packed up and bid goodnight to the group, gesturing for Charlotte to follow her.

“What’s wrong, young one? I can feel your nerves from here” Maeve asked her patting a faded blue cushion.

Charlotte sat and breathed out a heavy sigh, willing herself to talk. But the words could not come to her, suddenly she was overwhelmed, bursting into tears over the coming conversation.

“Oh honey! What’s wrong? You can talk to me about anything!” Maeve comforted her, worry streaked across her kind face.

“Maeve, I’ve got something I need to tell you and I feel horrible about it and I don’t know how to say it!” Charlotte mumbled

“Spit it out love, I’m a tough old bird, I can handle what you have to say” Maeve retorted

Charlotte took a deep breath, wiping away her tears and started to tell Maeve what she had been dreading for the past 3, nearly 4 weeks

“Maeve, you know how I told you my grandfather would be leaving me money if I stayed here for a month? Well I know the reason, but it makes me feel so horrible now that I’ve met you and gotten to know who you are. You see, my grandfather is Richard James III. He’s the one who stole all of your money” Charlotte ended, trailing off.

There was a quiet stillness in the air as tension rippled through the tent. Maeve quietly replied “I think you need to get out”

Charlotte sobbed and left the tent, returning to her own to pack her items that she had gathered during her stay.

Charlotte didn’t sleep well that night, full of guilt.

She packed up her tent in silence the next morning and made her rounds to bid farewell to her friends, many hugs and well wishes were thrown around but noticeably, Maeve was not there.

Charlotte got into Bernard’s car looking back one last time, searching for the familiar face of her friend but felt heavy in her heart knowing she wasn’t there.

Charlotte tried to return to her old life but felt frustrated at how superficial it was and embarrassed at the person she had been. She missed all of her friends but she missed one more than anything. After a week, she made up her mind.

She drove back to tent city, heart leaping in her throat, that little black notebook in hand.

When she arrived, she was bombarded by the nightly dinner party, She kept her eyes peeled for her friend and once she found her, pulled her aside.

“Maeve, I’ve missed you so much, I’m so sorry for what my grandfather did. I’ve got the letter he wrote if you wanted to read it but that’s not why I’m here. I’m here to give you a proposal.

Come back to the city with me and I’ll give you the $20,000”

“Charlotte, I’ve missed you too, and that’s such a kind offer, I know you weren’t the one to hurt me so I can’t hold that against you. But my life is here now, I have my family and my home.” Maeve answered.

“Okay, I thought you would say that, so I’ve sold my apartment, my money is everyone’s money, all of you are my family” Charlotte replied.

Maeve enveloped her in a warm hug and dragged her to the fire. Lilly and Seth ran to sit by charlotte’s side and she looked around at her family content that her grandfather’s regret had been righted.