Thousands of Word Files Saved? An accomplishment on 2nd day of retirement?

So after November you can't open your Word files? I have spent the last half hour selling what is left of my soul (Agree, Agree) and I may have arranged to be able to open my Word files in December. I just tried one of my files on Desktop and got the horrible demand (again) to install Home Dungeon and Office Shambles and ran away from it. Then I tried again and Word opened without the Home and Office four point installation requirement. Am I safe? Do I need to scrape up more bits of soul to sell? All I want is 12 more years of not having to worry about Microsoft destroying my Word documents the way Google Photos ate my Picasa photographs. All those Lauderdale, Alabama tombstones gone! ORNERY PEOPLE dies if my Word documents go. But the pdfs are not in danger, are they?