One day, my husband’s grandmother left her house to him in her will. When we opened her closets, we simply couldn’t believe our eyes.

My husband had a grandmother. He used to spend every summer at her place. She never seemed to mind. Back in those days, she ran her own small business. She managed everything herself, selling medicinal herbs to local chemists. My husband doesnt know how it was all set up, but he remembers that, for those times, she earned a considerable sum. She was a woman of an unusual character. She adored my husbandnever skimped when it came to foodbut she absolutely refused to give him any money for small amusements. Everyone believed she was saving for something. Grandmother kept large wardrobes with countless drawers at home, each cupboard locked tight.

As a child, my husband was endlessly curious about their contents, but his grandmother always said it was all for work. Then times changed. Small businesses became common, but competition soon got the better of her. After that, she became a sort of healeran eccentric figure in the village, receiving visitors with mysterious ailments. She accepted no money for her help, but her company was often the wealthiest in the region. We visited her when she was still alive. She lived in stark poverty, dressed in tatters, and ate barely anything. We would bring hampers of food, but she always turned them away, saying we mustn’t spoil her, that shed grown used to such a life.

When she passed away, she left her cottage to my husband. When we came to settle things, we discovered the larder was filled to bursting with foodeverything long past its date. It turned out that grateful villagers had brought her gifts of food, but she never touched any of it. The true shock, however, awaited behind the locked cupboard doors. They were packed with treasures from the ninetiesa museum of raritiesexpensive things, stockpiled in bewildering amounts. Why did she keep her wealth locked in things destined to lose their value? I find her utterly unfathomable, as if she were a character from a dream I cannot quite recall.