A poor man found a lost bag while wandering the streets in search of food. He was surprised to see the contents and immediately started looking for the owner to return it, not knowing that his life would change after that.
It is said that fortune favours the poor and the compassionate, and sometimes you don’t know how much your fortunes will change when fortune suddenly smiles on you. That’s what happened to this unfortunate 40-year-old man.
Peter was walking down the street on a hot afternoon when something under a wooden bench caught his attention. Curious, he approached it and discovered an abandoned bag. He looked around before picking it up, but was surprised when he opened it and saw that inside
After a catastrophic hurricane hit his town five years ago, Peter lost everything he owned. A terrible flood swept away his small house, destroying everything, including his livelihood. Since then, Peter has taken refuge in an old, abandoned trailer and eats scraps from the local pizzeria.
One day, on his way to a pizzeria for leftovers, he noticed a lost bag under a bench. He anxiously picked it up and was amazed to see wads of money inside.
The man did not count how much money was in the bag, but he was sure that with this money he could afford a small beautiful house.
“And I could leave some of them for food… The houses here are pretty cheap,” he thought.
Peter’s heart started beating faster as he imagined what he could do with money that didn’t belong to him. He checked the bag again to find out who it belonged to, and felt inside something that looked like a card.
“A photograph ?” – he exclaimed, pulling out a picture of a little boy. “I’ve seen him somewhere before… but where ?”.
Peter sat down on the bench, trying to remember where he had seen the child.
“I saw it, but I don’t remember when or where,” he thought again.
Peter took the bag to his van because he was afraid he would be accused of theft.
“Should I give the bag to the police?” – he thought. “But why do I have this strange feeling that I’ve seen this child somewhere before?”
After a few minutes of deep thoughts, the man finally remembered that he had seen the boy with the old lady in the park near the mall.
“I got it! I’ve seen him several times in the park with the same lady!” – he exclaimed.
Wasting no time, he grabbed the bag and hurried to the park to see if the boy was there. He tried to remain calm so as not to arouse suspicion in public.
It was getting dark and the people in the park had started to leave. Peter was determined to find the old woman and waited. After a few moments, he saw the blurred figure of a woman with a child enter the main gate.
“That’s her!” – exclaimed Peter, looking at the photograph again. “And that’s the child in that photograph.”
He approached them, and on seeing him, the woman called Barbara turned away, thinking he had come to beg.
“Hi… I want to….,” Peter stammered out. But Barbara pretended not to hear him and brushed him off and walked away with the little boy.
“Hey, can you hold on? Excuse me ma’am, does this belong to you?” asked Peter, handing her the bag.
Barbara is shocked. “My bag?! Where did you get it?” – she shouted, immediately opening the zip to see if her money was intact.
Peter calmly watched what was happening, anyone in Barbara’s shoes would have been just as suspicious.
“Oh my goodness, thank you so much! I thought I’d lost it! I’ve just withdrawn money from the bank for Tom’s treatment,” Barbara exclaimed.
For the past year, his grandmother has been teaching people cooking, sewing and embroidery to save up enough money to pay for the operation. She managed to save $35,000, and that week she withdrew the money for Tom’s operation.
“I’m sorry to hear that, but I will pray for your grandson,” Peter consoled. “I found your bag under a bench outside the mall.”
“Oh God, I can’t thank you enough for bringing it back, son,” Barbara said with tears in her eyes. “I was so afraid my grandson would never have the operation.”
The following week Tom had his operation and a few days later he went home. Barbara was delighted and happily welcomed Peter, who had come to visit her grandson to check on his health.
Touched by the stranger’s honesty and compassion, the grandmother invited him to lunch that afternoon. Peter agreed and happily returned for a hot meal later that evening, unaware that his future would change.
“I lost my home in the flood. I found an old trailer on the outskirts of town and made it my home,” Peter told them over dinner.
After listening to this kind man’s story, Barbara decided to help him. Although she has no money, she is determined to repay Peter’s kindness and promises to see him soon.
About two months later Peter heard a knock on his caravan.
“Barbara?” – he exclaimed. She was with other strangers.
