Three girls wave at garbage man daily until he realizes something’s off. Andrew watched the little girls wave at him just as they had done dozens of times before, but each time it happened, he felt something was off. One girl, in particular, didn’t seem as happy as she should be. He could tell by the look on her face that something was wrong, but he had no idea what kind of horrors he was getting into.
At first, Andrew looked forward to seeing the family by the window every week when he took the neighbor’s garbage. The three little girls’ smiles made his day. But as time went on, he started to understand more about what was going on. His colleagues even admitted that even though everything seemed nice on the outside, there was more to it. But soon, he’d understand everything.
After a few weeks, Andrew started noticing more details about the family that lived in the house. One day he saw what he could only assume was the girls’ mother standing behind them in the window. He expected to see her smiling along with her children, but it was the complete opposite; she looked upset. What was going on? While her children smiled and waved, their mother didn’t look happy at all. He couldn’t understand. Why did she disapprove of them waving? Did she think he was trouble for her daughters? He understood any protective mother, but everyone was just being friendly with no ill intentions. That was until she decided to escalate things.
One day, Andrew was on his usual route, heading by the family’s house again. He didn’t know what to expect, but he had no idea how things had escalated. When he got home, the girls were waving. He waved back with a smile, but as he did so, he saw the front door open. Standing there was their mother. She beckoned him closer. Was this a trap? Dozens of thoughts raced through his mind as the mother seemed desperate to get him closer. She had a pleading look in her eyes, but he didn’t want to get tricked. Yet, a second to spare while one of his co-workers lined up the trash cans. Andrew hesitated, but he knew he couldn’t just stand there. If the mother really had a problem and he could help, he decided to stick his nose in business that wasn’t his.
Andrew approached the woman cautiously. He saw the hope light up in her eyes as he got onto her paving and walked up to the welcome mat. She stared at him and said, « Please take this; it’s from my daughters. » And she handed him a note. Andrew stared down at the note, but as he looked back up, the door was shut. The woman had run back inside the house. Dread flooded his body. Andrew didn’t know what to think. He stared down at the note in his hand, but before he could open it, he was called back to the garbage truck by one of his colleagues. He hid the note in case it was something serious. After his shift had ended, he went home. He pulled out the note and prepared to open it, but he wasn’t ready for the scary truth.
Andrew sat on the edge of his bed as he unfolded the note carefully. He looked inside and saw squiggly handwriting. It was clear that a young girl had written it. But as he read the words on the page, his heart started racing. Tears fell onto the paper as he kept reading. This was unbelievable. The harrowing truth was far worse than he could have imagined. He knew he had to do something for the family.
Andrew Tyler was a modest man who lived in Seattle his whole life. While his classmates reached for the stars, he always found joy in the little things. He wasn’t too fussed about what he was doing; he just needed enough to get by. Straight out of high school, he decided to help out his family by getting a job. Andrew looked around the city to try and find something that suited him. Well, he loved hard work, and blue-collar jobs spoke to him above all else. That’s when he saw an opening as a municipal cleaning agent. It was just a fancy word for a garbage man, but that didn’t bother Andrew. The hours were good, the pay was modest enough, and he went for it.
For the next 10 years, he supported his mother and father as they grew old. But eventually, he had to say goodbye to them when they both peacefully passed away. He was lucky enough to inherit their house. Andrew took every small blessing he could, but he had no idea that his faith would be tested down the road. Over the next years, Andrew grew into his own man. This was due to the fact that he lived all by himself. His co-workers were like part of the family. He enjoyed going out with them each day in a different neighborhood. After work, they would always head back to the bar and have a few beers. Life was good for Andrew.
Andrew normally paid attention solely to his job. One of the pros and cons of the job was that he was practically invisible. That meant no one ever paid attention to him; they never bothered. But that also meant no one ever interacted with him. But on a day like any other, Andrew was going to see something that he never expected, but he should have ignored it. They were going about their business in a small suburb. Andrew’s colleagues collected the trash cans while he prepared to operate the lifter. But then he saw something out of the corner of his eye.
There was a window in one of the houses that faced the street. He saw movement and glanced over. He saw three young girls in the window. Most people would just stare blankly at him or immediately look away, but the girls did something he didn’t expect. They smiled at him and started waving. He was taken aback by the kindness. He stared at them and smiled back before waving and felt good about it. Finally, someone had paid attention to him.
The week went on, and Andrew quickly forgot about the interaction with the young girls. But the next time he was in the same neighborhood collecting trash, he glanced at the window. He couldn’t believe it; the girls were there again. They each looked about two years apart in age. The youngest couldn’t have been older than eight. But he hadn’t noticed something crucial. It was only ever a brief moment of kindness. But Andrew had to get back to his job. He and his co-workers appreciated the little girls’ kindness, and it was something to look forward to every week.
But eventually, it would dawn on Andrew that maybe they had a reason for doing it. Maybe it wasn’t out of the kindness of their hearts. One day, after waving back at them, one of his co-workers, Charlie, brought up a good question. « Hey, Andrew, doesn’t something about those girls seem off to you? » he said, raising an eyebrow. Andrew hadn’t even considered the fact that they weren’t just being kind. From then on, he started to look for signs.
Andrew watched the little girls wave at him just as they had done dozens of times before, but each time it happened, he felt something was off. One girl, in particular, didn’t seem as happy as she should be. He could tell by the look on her face that something was wrong, but he had no idea what kind of horrors he was getting into. At first, Andrew looked forward to seeing the family by the window every week when he took the neighborhood’s garbage. The three little girls’ smiles made his day. But as time went on, he started to understand more about what was going on. His colleagues even admitted that even though everything seemed nice on the outside, there was more to it. But soon, he’d understand everything.
After a few weeks, Andrew started noticing more details about the family that lived in the house. One day he saw what he could only assume was the girls’ mother standing behind him in the window. He expected to see her smiling along with her children, but it was the complete opposite; she looked upset. What was going on? While her children smiled and waved, their mother didn’t look happy at all. He couldn’t understand. Why did she disapprove of them waving? Did she think he was in trouble for her daughters? He understood any protective mother, but everyone was just being friendly with no ill intentions. That was until she decided to escalate things.
One day, Andrew was on his usual route, heading by the family’s house again. He didn’t know what to expect, but he had no idea how things had escalated. When he got to their home, the girls were waving. He waved back with a smile, but as he did so, he saw the front door open. Standing there was their mother. She beckoned him closer. Was it a trap? Dozens of thoughts raced through his mind as the mother seemed desperate to get him closer. She had a pleading look in her eyes, but he didn’t want to get tricked. He had a second to spare while one of his co-workers lined up the trash cans. Andrew hesitated, but he knew he couldn’t just stand there. If the mother really had a problem and he could help, he decided to stick his nose in business that wasn’t his.
Andrew approached the woman cautiously. He saw the hope light up in her eyes as he got onto her paving and walked up to the welcome mat. She stared at him and said, « Please take this; it’s from my daughters. » And she handed him a note. Andrew stared down at the note, but as he looked back up, the door was shut. The woman had run back inside the house. Dread flooded his body. Andrew didn’t know what to think. He stared down at the note in his hand, but before he could open it, he was called back to the garbage truck by one of his colleagues. He had the note in case it was something serious.
After his shift ended, he went home. He pulled out the note and prepared to open it, but he wasn’t ready for the scary truth. Andrew sat on the edge of his bed as he unfolded the note carefully. He looked inside and saw squiggly handwriting. It was clear that a young girl had written it. But as he read the words on the page, his heart started racing. Tears fell onto the paper as he kept reading. This was unbelievable. The harrowing truth was far worse than he could have imagined. He knew he had to do something for the family.
Andrew knew that his shift couldn’t wait. He called a few of his co-workers and told them what was going on. The men were happy to help him out. They made the preparations while he got ready for the final confrontation. They all agreed to head to the house together. Next thing they knew, there were five garbage men standing outside the front door with objects in their hands.
Andrew had explained to his colleagues earlier that the note was from the youngest little girl. Her name was Casey, and she said that she wanted to know his name. She had even drawn him a picture. But she then explained the heartbreaking truth; she was diagnosed with cancer. That’s why she had a mature and positive outlook on life. She just wanted to spend every moment living as much as she could. She couldn’t believe that the men had arrived at our doorstep with various presents. They had balloons, chocolates, candy, and toys. The men had pulled together $200 to spoil the little girl. The family would never forget what they did, and they’d still smile and wave every time they were on shift.
