My Late Grandfather Left Me His Farm, but Only If I Slept in the Barn on the First Night – Story of the Day

When my late grandfather left me his farm, I thought it would be a dream come true. But there was one strange condition: I had to spend my first night there in the barn, and I couldn’t leave. Little did I know, that was just the beginning of a much darker family secret.

I never thought I’d have to fight for the farm where I spent so many summers as a child, but life seemed to have other plans.

Still, let me start from the beginning. My grandfather, the kindest and best person I knew, passed away at the age of 79.

He had lived a long and good life, something he often reminded me of in his last years, always telling me not to cry at his funeral because he had no regrets.

Of course, I didn’t keep that promise. I cried when I learned he was gone, and again at his funeral, and even later, when I found out he had left me his farm.

Since childhood, I had told Grandpa I dreamt of living on a farm like his, taking care of the animals and the crops.

It seemed like he hadn’t forgotten that dream, and before he passed, he made sure it came true for me.

I remember the day my Uncle Joe, who was also our lawyer, came over to read Grandpa's will to my dad and me.

"Grandpa left you the farm, Lorelai," Uncle Joe said.

"He left the farm to me?" I asked, stunned.

"It seems so, but it’s not that simple," Uncle Joe replied.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You’ll get the farm, but only on one condition," Uncle Joe said. "If you don’t meet it, the farm will go to someone else."

"Who?" I asked.

"I can’t say yet. You’ll find out if you fail to meet the condition," Uncle Joe replied.

"And what’s the condition?" I asked.

"You have to sleep in the barn the first night and you can’t leave it during the night," he said.

"Just the first night?" I asked.

"Just the first night," Uncle Joe confirmed.

"Well, that’s a strange condition, but it doesn’t sound too bad," I said.

"Then you’ll easily get the farm," Uncle Joe said.

After Uncle Joe left, my dad and I talked about the will and the strange condition Grandpa had left me.

My dad and I had a very trusting relationship, especially after he and Mom divorced when I was 13 due to her infidelity.

Since then, she hadn’t called me even once to see how I was doing, and I hadn’t seen her at all.

Anyway, once I finished all the things I had to do in town, I packed my stuff and headed to Grandpa’s farm.

Well, now it was mine. I hadn’t been there in a while, and as soon as I arrived, a wave of nostalgia hit me.

I remembered running barefoot on the green grass near the house, feeding the cows, goats, and chickens that Grandpa had kept.

There weren’t as many animals now, since Grandpa had found it harder to take care of them, but I planned to change that once I settled in.

I took the keys from my bag and unlocked the door to the house. The will had said I needed to sleep in the barn the first night, but it didn’t mention anything about not entering the house.

Everything was just as I remembered it. Grandpa wasn’t much of a fan of change, so it wasn’t surprising.

I brought in my things and planned to get the rest the next day. With a few hours left before nightfall, I had plenty of time to unpack, look around, and even have dinner.

When it was time to sleep, I was so exhausted I knew I’d fall asleep quickly, even in the barn.

I grabbed some bedding and a flashlight and made my way to the barn where Grandpa used to store hay for the cows.

I spread the bedding on the hay and laid down. It wasn’t exactly a royal bed, but it wasn’t too bad, I must say. As I’d expected, I fell asleep quickly.

A few hours later, I woke up to strange noises outside. It sounded like someone was out there.

A chill ran through my body. It was scary, because there shouldn’t have been anyone on the farm.

Then, the neighbor’s dogs started barking loudly, which only made my anxiety worse.

I stood up, about to leave the barn, but then I remembered Uncle Joe’s words: "You have to sleep in the barn the first night and can’t leave it at night."

If I left now, I’d lose the farm, and it would go to someone else. I stood by the door, listening carefully to every sound outside.

At night, everything is clearer. For a few minutes, everything went quiet, and then I heard the front door of the house close.

Had I not closed it? Was it a draft? I glanced at the keys hanging on a small nail on the wall. No, I distinctly remembered locking the house. So what was it? Who was it?

I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to lose the farm, but I couldn’t sleep with something weird happening either.

Then, I thought that if I went out and checked, no one would ever know. It seemed impossible that I’d lose the farm over just this. So I decided to check the noises and then calmly return.

My hand froze for a moment by the door, but then I pushed it open and stepped outside.

I scanned the area, seeing nothing. I was about to go back to the barn when I remembered hearing the front door close. I decided to check the house.

I cautiously entered the house, flashlight in hand, too scared to turn on the lights.

I checked every room, but everything seemed fine. The only place left to check was the basement. I carefully opened the door and went down.

I couldn’t believe what I saw. It looked like there was another house down there, with a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom.

It looked creepy. Suddenly, I heard some noise from the basement bedroom.

I screamed the moment I stepped inside because there was a figure standing there. I fumbled for the light switch, hit it, and the room lit up.

And then I saw her. A woman I hadn’t seen in over ten years. My mother. Next to her stood a teenage girl, who stared at me with disdain. She looked a lot like someone I knew, but I couldn’t figure out who.

"What are you doing here?!" I shouted.

"I live here," my mother answered casually.

"What do you mean you live here? This house belongs to me now!" I shouted.

"Your late grandfather was kind enough to let me live here, even after I cheated on your father," my mom said, just as casually.

"But this is my house now, and I don’t want you here," I said.

"And you think you can just kick me and my daughter out?" my mom asked.

"Your daughter?" I asked, shocked.

"Yes," my mother replied.

"Well, at least you didn’t leave one of your children. But that’s not my problem. You’re on my turf now," I said.

"Well, that’s not exactly true," I heard a male voice behind me. Turning around, I saw Uncle Joe. "You broke the will’s condition, so the farm is no longer yours."

"Whose is it then?" I asked.

"Mine," the teenage girl smirked.

"Is this some kind of joke?" I asked.

"No joke. That was the condition of the will," Uncle Joe said, standing next to my mom.

I looked at him, then at the girl. "Oh my god. She’s your daughter, isn’t she? That’s why Grandpa let you live here," I said.

"Surprised you figured it out. You were never the sharpest," my mother said.

"I can’t believe you cheated on Dad with his own brother!" I screamed.

"He didn’t know who I was cheating with. He still threw me out," my mom said.

"Because he knew you were cheating, who cares with whom!" I yelled.

"Lorelai, let’s avoid the drama. You can stay tonight, but tomorrow you need to take your things and leave the farm," Uncle Joe said.

"Are you kidding me? You tricked me into leaving the barn!" I shouted.

"Well, you said it would be easy to spend one night in the barn, so we decided to test it," Uncle Joe said.

After those words, I turned and silently left. I couldn’t believe it. I knew my mom wasn’t a good person, but I never expected this from Uncle Joe. I felt like something was off, and I wasn’t going to give up the farm so easily.

The next morning, I packed my things back into the box. I couldn’t believe Grandpa had left everything to them.

I remembered how badly he spoke about my mom, and he didn’t like Uncle Joe much either, saying he had turned out to be a pretty bad man.

I couldn’t understand why Grandpa felt that way, but now I do. I understood it all perfectly.

As I was taking my things off the shelves, an envelope suddenly fell from one of them.

It was addressed to "Lorelai." I opened it and found a note and some documents inside.

First, I read the note:

To my granddaughter Lorelai, here’s a copy of the original will. I couldn’t trust Joe, and you’ve always been the only one deserving of my legacy. Love, Grandpa.

Tears welled up in my eyes. Even after death, he had found a way to take care of me.

I took out the will from the envelope and started reading. There were no conditions in it, nothing about spending a night in the barn, and certainly nothing about the farm going to Joe’s and my mom's daughter if I left the barn.

Those bastards! It looked like Uncle Joe thought that just because he was the lawyer, he could trick me. But Grandpa didn’t let him. And neither would I.

Uncle Joe came into the room. "Well? Got your things packed?" he asked.

"Yeah, but now I’m unpacking them. You should hurry up and pack your stuff and get out of here," I said.

"Why’s that?" Uncle Joe frowned.

"Because I have the original will," I said, waving it in front of him.

"You won’t be able to prove anything," Uncle Joe said.

"Really? You want me to take this to court and let them handle it? You know forging a will can land you in prison?" I said.

A few hours later, I stood on the porch, watching as my mom, Uncle Joe, and their daughter got into a car and drove away from the farm.

I waved them goodbye with a wide smile and walked back inside the house. The house that belonged to me.

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