A photographer found an abandoned house in the forest, opened the door and was shocked by what she saw
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Leslie David of Ontario, Canada, is someone who is always looking for excitement and have passion for adventures and surprises.
Along with her second passion for life - photography, Leslie likes to look for abandoned houses to explore and photograph them.
One day, in a day of searching for such houses, Leslie found an empty house with a broken roof and an entrance covered with weeds.
When she entered the house, she found something that changed her life forever.
This is Leslie David. In Instagram and her web site, she shares pictures of her adventures and abandoned houses she visits.
Her last discovery touched the hearts of millions of people all over the world.
She found another old, broken house that looked deserted. She went inside, as she always does, but inside she found something that shocked her.
An old man, named Laurence, actually lived in the disassembled and 'abandoned' house.
In her Instagram and website, Leslie explained that Lawrence lived alone in this house for a while.
"He has a hard time moving, so he spends most of his time at home, without a right eye and a cataract in his left eye", Leslie wrote. "Even after a stranger came into his house, he was very nice to me, he was nice enough to let me take a picture of him, a picture I'll cherish forever, he has an amazing soul and I plan to visit him a lot".
Leslie thanked Lawrence for his hospitality and promised to visit him again.
A few days later, Leslie returned to Lawrence's house with lots of food and drinks. For three hours, the two new friends sat together in the broken house. They ate a good meal, laughed and had a conversation.
Lawrence told Leslie the story of his life - the good and the bad moments.
"He's the nicest person I've ever met, melted my heart, I brought him chili, cookies and snacks for the next few days, until I can come back again this week", she wrote. "I hope to get rid of most of the garbage and fix some things by the end of the summer so that he will have some feeling of a home".
After their first meeting, Leslie continued to bring food to Lawrence on a regular basis so that there would be no hunger.
It was clear to Leslie that Lawrence was so lonely that he had given up on life. She found that he had suffered a stroke in the past, but received no medical treatment.
But his encounter with Leslie again lit his desire to live. Slowly he regained the desire for life.
Leslie was sympathetic and she cared for the lonely old man. She thought that renovating his house would bring him happiness in life.
She decided to take on the project, with the help of friends and family.
Lawrence was an old man, and years of neglecting his health and body did their part. Leslie knew Lawrence did not have much time to live and she wanted his last years to be full of happiness and love.
"He told me about his funeral arrangements and asked me to be there, I told him I had not thought otherwise, he shared something with me that will stay forever. He said that the day I showed at his home was the happiest day of his life", Leslie wrote on her website.
"It may be self-righteous for me to say this, but I understand how he felt, the happiest day of my life was the day I met him, he gave me the opportunity to do something for someone - a good deed without expecting anything in return. It's a rare opportunity and I'm glad I could accept this challenge".
When the renovations were finished, Leslie and Lawrence continued to meet and talk.
They talked about their lives in general.
Lawrence was talking about how he lost touch with his brother, the family member who was closest to him.
The months passed and Lawrence's health deteriorated. Leslie helped him find a hospice to take care of him.
Leslie still visited him - she brought him his favorite food, and sometimes she brought her dog along too.
Lawrence loves his new home and is aware that all this goodness he has won recently, is all thanks to Leslie.
Leslie wrote that she hoped her story would inspire others.
"I'm publishing this picture in the hope that it will inspire at least one person to contact someone he may have lost contact with or someone he just forgot about", she wrote. "These old souls are still full of life and I feel blessed that I met him".
Just as Leslie wrote, we really hope her amazing story will inspire others.
