[Debbie]

Long but worth the read....

Mary was a quiet soul, who rarely ventured out of her
small house on the corner. She didn't have children;
no husband; no family came calling. And only once or
twice in the ten years that I lived across the street
did I even see Mary get a visitor.

Many of the neighborhood kids joked that Mary, with her
large brown eyes, and short kinky hair, her grand round
figure and her short stature, was a troll.. Many of the
grown folk neighbors gossiped about her saying that
she wasn't "all there" or was "touched."

Mary knew that she was talked about and acted like it
never bothered her. She's been a "big girl" all her life
And knew that people poked fun. So she cried her tears
alone, and didn't let anyone know that it broke her heart.

Season's came and went In our town, and in our
neighborhood houses were warmed and cooled as winter
left and summer came. With every season, Mary would
decorate her yard or hang a wreath on her door.

During Valentines and Easter, and even at the Fourth of
July, Mary would steal away out of her home, before any
one of her neighbors rose and leave a card in the
mailboxes of all her neighbors, or a gift of candy or
small toys for the kids, for every holiday.

Sometimes, you could see her peering out the window,
watching as the kids opened their packages of candies or
as a mother stood by her mailbox reading a card. And she
waved back, once or twice, when someone acknowledged her
from inside her sheltered world. But no one ever
approached her.

I'm ashamed to say, not even me to tell her, "Thank you,"
or invite her over for coffee or tea. And no one ever
returned a gift to her.

Many said that Mary had lived in that house on that block,
for all her life. It had been her childhood home. She
never married. She was just a part of the community.

But one Christmas, Mary did not put a wreath on her door.
And on Christmas Day, there were no goodies waiting for
the kids on their porches and no cards in the mailbox.

Most of the neighborhood supposed that Mary had finally
gotten tired of giving, and just decided to quit. No
one noticed anything else about her...until.. One day,
they noticed a man putting a For Sale sign up in front
of Mary's house.