[Debbie]

A small crowd converged across the street and watched as
one by one, boxes were carried from Mary's home and
placed in a large moving van.

Finally, one of the neighbors spoke up and said: "Excuse
me sir, but.. Where is Mary going?"

"I'm sorry ma'am." He replied. "I don't know, I just
have orders to move all of this stuff out."

"But you don't know where to?" The neighbor asked.

"No ma'am. But you can ask the guy that hired us.." he
said.. looking towards the street. "Here he comes now"
and pointed to a big black limousine that parked on the
curb.

From the car stepped a lovely woman, dressed in a nice
coat, and hat and carrying a small purse. Beside her
stood a man in a business suit.

"Excuse me.." The neighbor walked up, and said.. "But,
can you tell us where Mary is going?"

"Going?" The man asked..

"Yes, I see the van moving her things out. Where is she
going?" The neighbor asked.

The man and woman looked at each other, then the woman
bowed her head, and the man said.. "I'm sorry, Mary isn't
moving away. You see, she died on Christmas Eve. She'd
been in the hospital for a few days before, but her
heart.. well.."

"OH." The neighbor said, startled. "I didn't know." Then
he paused, then said.. "NO one did really. I mean.. it was
so quiet but we didn't know."

"Yes, I understand." The man said.

"So you're going to rent the house to someone else then?"
The neighbor asked, contemplating what a new family in the
neighborhood would be like. "I mean, aren't you.. weren't
you Mary's Landlord?"

The man smiled a small smile, the kind that says "I'm only
tolerating you.." Then answered. "No, I'm Mary's brother.
This was her house. She owned it since our parents passed
away almost 40 y ears ago."

The neighbor stood looking at the man, shocked to find that
Mary had a brother. Even more shocked to find that her
brother was obviously of means.. and never helped her or
came to visit. As he thought of Mary's gifts, and cards,
and her kindness towards the community, his heart began to
feel guilty. He SHOULD have told her thank you, should have
taken the time to get to know her.. should have.. but.. Why
didn't her brother ever come to visit?

Just as he was about to ask Mary's brother about his
nonexistent visits.. one of the moving men approached with
a box.

"What do ya want me to do with this, sir?" He asked.

Her brother looked at the man. "Put it on the van with the
rest of her junk." The brother said.

"But it says on top of it that it belongs to you." The
moving man replied.

"Oh?" The brother said, looking puzzled. He took the box
from the mans hands, and placed it on the trunk of the limo.
He tore the tape from the top of the box, and peered inside.
The neighbor, from his distance, could see the man's
shoulders shaking, and went to his side, to comfort him.

"Sir," He said. "I'm terribly sorry for your loss." He said..

The brother looked at him, a tear on his cheek. "For OUR
loss, you mean."

The neighbor looked at him, and was confused. "Well, yes..
I suppose, but she was YOUR sister.. and I.."

As he spoke, the man pulled from the box, a small musical
carousel. It was brightly colored, with lights around the
base of the big wheel. The chimes in the box played a
happy tune when the brother turned the key. Taped to the
side of the carousel, was a note.

"Do you know what this is?" The man asked the neighbor.

"No sir, I'm afraid not." The neighbor replied.

"This is the very first toy that Mary ever owned. You see,
Mary was a large and unseemly person. Her appearance was
an embarrassment to her for most of her life, I suppose.
She tried for many years to change, and was so unhappy. But
then, she just decided to accept herself, as she was. Then,
about thirty years ago, she started producing these small
hand made toys. She said she loved them because they reminded
her of happy times as a child. Times when, even though she
had few friends, she still had family that loved her, and
me.. to play with. She sent the toys to my children. A few
years later, she and I talked, and I patented the toys for
her, we opened a company and began to manufacture toys.
Mary visited her corporation only four times, and all four
occasions were very brief. Time and time again, I would ask
her to move in with us, or to get a bigger house. Maybe even
go for some of those new surgeries to help her weight and
facial deformities, but she wouldn't. She said she loved her
neighborhood here. Loved to hear the kids playing and see
the families living happy lives. Every year she would
have our factories send her a few big boxes of toys and
candies. I don't know what she ever did with them, but each
year, like clockwork, she would order. Mary could have lived
any where in the world. Our business, her business is very
successful. But she chose to remain here, as God made her.
She was happy."

The neighbor stood, shocked. He had never known, had no idea.
His mind was trying to take in all this information. The
brother, took the envelope that was taped to the side of
the carousel, and opened it.

"Here." He said, as he took the piece of paper and handed
it to the neighbor.

"What's this?" The neighbor asked.

"Just a note." The man said.

The neighbor took the note, and placed it in his pocket.
"Thank you." He said, "I'll be going back to the rest of
the neighbors now." They were very curious to know what was
going on. He said, "Please accept my sympathies."

"Certainly." The brother said.. "We'll meet again."

The neighbor turned and walked back across the street, where
his fellows stood waiting. Once there, he quickly relayed
all that had happened.

"Where's this note?" His wife asked.

He pulled the note from his pocket, and read it, and as he
read, his heart was filled with sadness, and joy, all at
once. And his eyes began to fill with tears..

"Dear Friends,

For many years, I have lived here, in this small house on
the corner of our delightful street. I have watched from my
window as fathers have gone off to work in the mornings,
and mothers hurried their children off to school. I've
celebrated each birthday, each new arrival, each wedding,
each loss.

Thank you, for letting me be a small part of your lives.
Watching you all, has given me back the family I lost. Even
my brother, won't come to see me often, as he is such a
busy man. But being here, where I can watch and listen to
the joy, the sadness, the pain and the laughter of your
lives, has made my life so full.

Because you all have given so much to me, I want to give
something back to you. When you get this letter, please
take it to Allen Hamersmyer, Attorney at Law. I have
instructed him as to what to do for you. You are to receive
the deed to my house, and all the land on the opposite side
of the corner, where the field now stands. But I have two
conditions in order for you to have this.
1. My house must never be sold, or rented for income. It
is to stay open as a place for children to come after school,
when no one is home. And to be used as a community house,
for meetings, and such. And a place to welcome NEW NEIGHBORS
to the block.
2. The land on the other side of the street is to be
turned into a park. There should be swings and slides, and
a swimming pool. Lots of things for little kids, and a
walking track for the "older kids." I've told my brother
that every year, each family with children here,
should be allowed to go to one of our stores, and purchase
toys for their family, with an 80% discount. And if any of
you should ever find yourself in need of a job, please call
on my brother, whose name I have included here. You won't
ever want for anything. Thank you, for making my life so
joyful.

Love Mary

After he read the note, the neighbor passed the paper to
all of his friends, and each one read. They all cried.
For all of them, had known about the lady in the house
across the street, but none of them knew Mary, or the
kindness that lived in Mary's heart.

Now, in that small house.. there is an office for welcoming
new neighbors to the neighborhood. And the families on that
block take turns making sure that all of their neighbors
have what they need. If someone gets sick, another neighbor
goes to help them out. If someone dies, all of the
neighborhood gets involved, and helps out the family in
morning.

The kids come their every day during the week, between the
end of school and when their parents get home, so that they
are not alone. They read, play games, and talk. Getting to
know each other.

And the park has swings, and a swimming pool, and a slide,
and in the middle of the park, stands a tall Carousel, that
the people of the neighborhood have dedicated to fun and
friendship. And they have named it.. Mary's Heart.

-- Unknown