Poor Single Mother Shelters Homeless Man, Next Day He Disappears Leaving Suitcase with $100,000 — Story of the Day

A single mother down on her luck shelters a homeless man who had been wronged by his family on a stormy night. Next morning she finds a ragged suitcase with $100,000 inside left by stranger in the attic.

"Mommy, Mommy, we are hungry," Alice, 13, and her brother Jim, 7, chorused. The two kids had only eaten a good meal in the morning, and as was the practice in their poor household, they would skip lunch and wait until dinner before eating again.

That way, the food lasted longer, and the kids did not look too much like malnourished kids since they had at least two good meals in a day.

"I'm sorry kids," Carla replied to Alice and Jim. "Dinner is nearly ready."

It was all Carla could do as a single mother. Her husband Bruno passed away a decade ago, and since then, his widow and children have lived from hand to mouth.

Carla worked two jobs; one as a desk clerk and the other as a waitress in a three-star restaurant. Between the two jobs, she could barely cater to herself and the kids, and the debts they owed did not make things easier.

One evening, they were in the middle of dinner when the doorbell rang. Carla was not expecting anyone, so she was a bit wary about getting the door; however, whoever was knocking was persistent.

When she opened the door, she met a homeless stranger who identified himself as Harry and quickly raised his hands up to show that he held no weapons.

"Who are you?" Carla asked.

The man she was looking at was scruffy and dirty like he had been living on the street for a long while – he held a suitcase under his armpit in an attempt to shield it away from the rain. His long overcoat also sported many patches and stains — in fact, his whole outfit did.

Carla may have turned him away if she did not notice the rain pouring and the fact that his eyes held no guile.

"I mean you no harm madam but can I trouble you for a place to wait out the rain and perhaps pass the night?"

Carla thought twice about letting him in, she had her kids to think about, and she also happened to know that the heart of a man is desperately wicked. But she could not turn him away.

"Come in sir," she said, stepping aside as he did.

Carla knew the food she prepared for dinner would not feed all four of them, but that did not stop her from asking him to join them for dinner as soon as he changed out of his wet clothes.

Over dinner, Carla started small talk with the man, an action he rewarded by telling her all about himself and how he ended up a homeless man.

He had been a banker for ten years, which was enough time for him to get promoted to a good position there that allowed him to earn a lot of money. However, his wife and daughter were very selfish.

His wife Melanie and their daughter Trixie did not very much care about him but spent all his money. Having grown up in a happy family, he knew what he was missing, and it made him very sad and lonely.

In response, he started drinking, and a few months later, he was fired from the bank; and shortly after that, his wife and daughter kicked him out of the house.

"That's why I'm homeless. Know that abandoned building near the bridge? That's where I now live," Harry finished his story sadly.

Despite what happened, Carla could see that Harry was a very smart, handsome, and interesting man. She liked the way he seemed to know a little bit of something about everything.

He also noticed that Carla, who he thought was very kind and beautiful, seemed to be very poor. Her house was sparsely furnished, and the food was barely nourishing.

He felt sympathy for the kind woman, and the feeling was mutual. She allowed him to stay for a night, and he slept in the attic.

By the time Carla woke up in the morning, Harry was gone but on the couch was the suitcase filled with $100,000 and a note.

The note read:

"Hi Carla! Thank you for sheltering me. You are so kind and you have wonderful children. I didn't tell you but I have a very rare disease. I don't think I have more than 2 months to live. Yesterday I received an inheritance from my rich aunt and I was going to bring it to my wife and daughter. I don't need this money as I will die in a few months, so I decided to leave it for them. As soon as I came to the door they started to humiliate me and told me to go away. So I decided that they don't deserve this money. You sheltered me and yesterday I felt like I was at home, having dinner with my family. You gave me this emotion and I want to leave this money for you. To be honest, I would give anything I have to have such a beautiful family. But all I have – is my disease. Thank you and bye!"

Carla teared up as she read the letter. Some part of her could not believe what she was seeing, and she touched the money again just to be sure she was not hallucinating.

When it was clear she wasn't, joy ran through her, but it was quickly replaced by sadness as she thought about Harry. She liked him, and she decided to find him. Luckily, she knew about the abandoned building, and there she found Harry.

Carla forced him to spend all the money on a surgery that doctors couldn't promise he would survive. He didn't want to spend money on that at first, but Carla told him off.

"You can't just give up like this," she told him.

Carla forced him to use the money, and fortunately, the doctors were able to cure him and save his life. She invited him to live with them while he figured things out, and he agreed. They spent all the money on the surgery, but Harry stopped drinking and returned to his work in the bank.

Eventually, he and Carla's love blossomed, and they decided to make more permanent arrangements together. Harry had finally found a real family that loved him, and Carla also became happy again.

What did we gain from this story?

• Be kind; there's always a reward. Carla let Harry stay the night at her house because of the rain when she had good reasons not to. That help may have looked small to her, but Harry saw it as a big deal, and he decided to help her in return.
• Never give up. Harry would have lost his life just because he gave up on himself even before death truly arrived. But luckily for him, Carla stepped in and made sure that they took the one in a million chance that saved his life.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a homeless man who offered a rich woman his last $7 because she was in need.

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