“Have You Got the Money Ready?” asked the woman, about 45 years old, as she unlocked the door with her key.

So, my boyfriend and I have been renting a room off this elderly lady for the past eight months. We all share the same fridge, but her shelves have always sat totally bare. The only thing I ever saw in there was a pot of porridge made with waterno milk. The only soap in the house was for the laundry, and the cooking oil she used was always this cheapest, awful-smelling stuff. All her shoes in the hallway were patched up, and the flat itself just practically screamed poverty.
Our landlady never interfered in our business. Every day, rain or shine, shed be out and aboutcollecting cans and sticking flyers on notice boards. Every Sunday, shed treat herself to a feastit was really just a haul of bruised and overripe fruit from the market.
I felt so sorry for her, honestly, that it sometimes brought me close to tears. And when she did have a visitor once, I genuinely wept at how unfair it all was.
Have you got the money ready? A woman about forty-five barged in with her own key.
Yes, love. Here you go, our landlady said, handing her some cash.
Thats not enough. Ill bring my daughter around tomorrow.
Whose clothes are these? Do you have guests?
I rent out a room. I need to make a living, all my pension goes to you, the old woman tried to explain.
Ill have to check out your tenants. Heard theyre trouble, the woman muttered, shoving open our door.
Well, who do we have here?
That sort of brazen invasion of our spacespace we paid for, mindleft me totally shocked.
Excuse me, can you please close the door behind you?
And who are you to tell me what to do? Ill have you know I am lady of this house! Youll pay the rent to me now. Heres my number and my bank details, the woman said, barging into our room in her muddy shoes and slapping two scraps of paper down on the table. And dont you dare pay late again, or Ill chuck you out! When did you last pay rent?
Please, darling, leave her out of this. I paid the electricity bill or theyd have cut me off. How could I live with no lights? The old ladys voice was shaking.
Dont take any more rent from them, make sure they send it to me. Thats it, Im off. Ill bring my daughter tomorrow.
When the woman left, our landlady just sat down in the hallway and began to cry. I went over, gave her a hug, and tried to comfort her.
Dont cry, everything will be all right.
Could you make me a cup of tea, my dear?
Thing is, Id never actually seen her drink tea. Shed usually just brew up raspberry leaves or blackcurrant from bundles hanging in the kitchen.
She took her mug and started to tell me her story.
I brought my daughter up on my own, after my husband left and never came back. I put everything I had into her, every bit of myself. She grew up haughty and always looking for men. Got married at thirty-five and had my granddaughter. But her husbands stingy, tight as anything. So, I started helping them out along with my granddaughter.
And then my help stopped being voluntaryit just became expected. She takes my entire pension and threatens to stop me seeing my granddaughter if I dont give it to her. I thought renting out a room would ease things, so at least I could buy some food, but now she wants to have that too. What sort of person did I raise?
She just broke down sobbing, forgetting all about her tea. My heart ached for her.
And now she wants to move me, sell this place and stick me in a studio miles away on the edge of town. Maybe shell even leave me on the street. Shes started dropping hints. If I refuse, she threatens me with not seeing my granddaughter. Id sell everything I own, just to be able to see that little girl.
When my boyfriend got home from universityhes studying law, fourth yearI asked him what we could do to help her.
We went round to the neighbours, whod overheard the daughters rants about money. We chatted to them and gathered some witnesses for court. He helped her file for official contact rights with her granddaughter.
We had her get psychiatric reports for the court too, just in case her daughter tried anything funny.
In the end, we won the case! Now, she gets to spend time with her granddaughter legallyevery two weeks for three hours. Her pension is no longer at risk, and her daughter cant threaten her anymore. Suddenly she started buying real groceries, eating meat, and having proper fruit in the house. Were helping her freshen up the flat toonothing major, but a lick of paint and swapping out the ancient wallpaper.
And as thanks, she tries to refuse rent from us now. But we still manage to give it to her, practically sneaking it into her bag.
How can someone treat their own mother like that? Take what little shes got, without a second thought about whether shell even have enough to eat? Its just pure ingratitude.
Dont ever forget to love your parents. You literally wouldnt be here without them.