The shutter of the post box startled Ava from her daydreaming one dreary afternoon in her tiny flat. The brown, A4 envelope taunted her from the front door as she eyed it down the hall in the kitchen. Curiosity won the battle over her hunger as she padded over to the envelope to inspect its content. Tearing it open haphazardly, half curious, half anxious at what news was awaiting her in this foreboding little packet -

"Dear Miss Ava Strickland,

I am writing to inform you of your share of the inheritance from your grandfather, Joseph John Strickland. In this letter, I will describe what you inherit during the execution of his estate.

Upon his passing, complete ownership of Willow Farm is hereby transferred to you - effective immediately.

Enclosed is the deed illustrating the transference of ownership to yourself and any subsequent documents you may need in your tenure as its Owner.

Please get in touch with any questions you may have on this matter.

Kind regards,

Mr Simmons"

Alongside Mr Simmon's letter was a thick packet of documents that she assumed were the deeds to Willow Farm. She didn't even acknowledge it at this point, as her stomach roiled with the shock. Ava immediately scrambled for the business card attached to get in touch with Mr Simmons, not really sure what her ideal outcome from such a conversation would be.

Punching in the number to her phone, the line trilled on the other side -

"Good afternoon, Peter Simmons speaking" a voice on the end of the line chirped.

"He-hello…" Ava stuttered

"Yes, hello? How may I assist you?" His voice took a slight irk towards the end of his sentence.

Ava took a breath to steady her nerves at the weight of this news, "Yes, hello. My name is Ava Strickland and I've just received some… correspondence from yourself about my grandfather's estate? I just need to verify it and… ask some questions, I suppose". She sighed away from the phone at the disappointment in her fleeting confidence in this conversation.

"Ah, yes! Good to know that the documents arrived in record time. It seems that Royal Mail is still chugging away beautifully. What is it that I can assist you with, Miss Strickland?" Ava marveled at the ease and speed with which Mr Simmons chattered away.

"I-I'm just trying to understand, um, this letter you sent me? About my grandfather's farm?" Ava tried to keep her tone light, hiding the panic swelling in her throat.

"Is this Willow Farm? Let me just pull up the records, give me one moment" sounds of buttons clicking floated over the phone line, "Brilliant, ok, here they are…"

A pause swelled over the phone line and Ava couldn't help but notice she was holding her breath as Mr Simmons familiarized himself with her case. She wondered how many estates he executed to forget the huge commitment he had bundled into a letter and sent her way.

"So, Willow Farm is effectively yours from the date of Joseph John Strickland, your grandfather's, death. This was obviously a little while ago now, and the wheels of law churn slowly, unfortunately, so apologies for keeping you waiting, ma'am"

Ava blanched at his tone and nonchalance, "Oh, well you're forgiven for that, but being totally honest, I wasn't expecting to get… a whole farm, if anything at all! What exactly does it mean, it's all mine? I haven't been there for years, nor did I have any plans to go there now that he's gone, nor do I understand why it's been given to me, nor do I ha–" Ava's tone climbed up the octaves as her worries came tumbling out of her mouth.

Mr Simmons cleared his throat loudly through the phone, interrupting her whirlpool of thoughts, "Well, your grandfather was very explicit in our conversations that all 500 acres must go to you. As a solicitor, I'm not in the business of questioning the motives behind actions, just making sure they get done once my clients leave this earthly plane. Your grandfather explained to me that the farm was categorically yours and if you've been before, you will know where it is. As to the state it's in, I can't be sure myself because I don't really step outside the City's ring road, aside from my 2 week holiday down the coast in summer, you see" A gentle chuckle floated to Ava's ear at the end of his statement.

Ava gave silence as her answer to his words.

The rustling floated down the line, "So unfortunately, I can't give much in the way of WHY your grandfather decided to give it to you, only that he did" Simmons said finally, "Is there anything else I can help with?"

Ava chewed her lip and pinched the bridge of her nose. Finally, she answered with a sigh, "No, I guess not then–"

"Brilliant!" Mr Simmons announced, "If that'll be all, I will leave you to it. I wish you condolences on the death of your grandfather - he was an assured and steadfast man, I'm sure you will miss his presence in your life. I certainly enjoyed working with him in our time together. Goodbye!"

The phone line clicked immediately after and Ava stared at the dimming screen of her phone.