A poor homeless teenager is terrified when he finds his photo in a millionaire’s lost wallet. He looks for answers and discovers a dark, tear-jerking chapter of his late father’s past. Tyler13 pants as he keeps walking, his destination still unclear and cloudy. “Should I go back to the shelter? No, this wasn’t how Dad wanted me to live,” he thinks as he loiters under a streetlight, exhausted and hungry.
After his dad’s untimely death, Taylor had nobody to take him in and was sent to a foster home not far from town. He tried his best to cope with the loss and adapt to his new living conditions but couldn’t find his spot. Tyler didn’t like living with the other children and felt caged. One night, when everybody was fast asleep, Tyler fled the foster home in search of freedom but fate led him on a different path where something else was in store for him. “Hey man, wake up.
You all right?” Tyler heard a faint voice call out to him. He rose to a silhouette of three teenage boys flocking around and blocking the sunbeam. “Here, drink some water,” one of the boys offered. “Thanks, man.
I think I passed out last night.” After learning Tyler was hungry, orphaned, and homeless, the boys collected their money and bought him breakfast. They then offered to join their gang and showed Tyler his spot in a mall’s parking lot where they usually spent the night. “This is where we sleep. You can stay with us if you want.
Tyler, who thought he had nobody to love him, found some hope and started living with the homeless teenagers. Deep inside, he craved family and missed his father. As days passed, Tyler began working on gigs for a living, like washing cars, cleaning restaurant windows, and even helping people carry their bags home. On one such day, he returned much earlier to his spot in the parking lot to rest. Tyler had a long day at work and started making his bed using old cardboard when something under the pillar drew his attention.
Curious, Tyler marched to the spot and found a wallet stashed with wads of cash, platinum cards, and checks with transactions worth millions. But what captivated and alarmed him was his photo in the wallet. Tyler nearly fainted because he couldn’t understand how the rich person who lost their wallet had his picture. “Who is this guy, and how did you get my photo?” wondered Tyler as he set out the next day looking for answers.
The following day, after his friends left, Tyler took the wallet and visited the address he’d found on a visiting card. Though he could have easily stolen the money, Tyler didn’t do it as he reflected on his late dad Jason’s words, “You’ve got mountains to climb, but do it the humble and honest way. Do not lie or steal because success without hard work never lasts.” Tyler marched to the office to find a man named Johnson, also called Mr. Miller, and returned the wallet to him.
He anticipated a reward for his honesty and wanted to find out why his photo was in the wallet but was immediately stunned by the security guard. “I want to meet Mr. Miller,” he told the guard, who quickly noticed and recognized his boss’s wallet in Tyler’s hand. “You little thief! How dare you steal my boss’s wallet?
“Hey, no, you’ve got me wrong. I found this wallet yesterday in the parking lot outside the mall.” “Don’t lie, you little creep! Give me the wallet and tell me your address, or I’ll hand you to the cops.” Fearing the worst, Tyler told the guard that he lived in a foster home.
He didn’t want his friends to get into trouble. He assumed the guy would let him go, but to his surprise, the guard immediately called a man and sent Tyler away with him to the foster home. The caretakers were relieved after seeing Tyler again. They took him in and counseled him not to run away. And although Tyler was in a safe place, he didn’t like it.
He felt captive and waited for another chance to escape. When a rich man in an expensive suit showed up two days later, it was Mr. Miller, the millionaire who lost his wallet with Tyler’s photo in it. Johnson had learned about the honest boy who returned his wallet and had visited the foster home to thank him personally, guessing little that the boy was a link to his painful past. Tyler entered the visiting room and was stunned to see a rich man waiting to meet him.
He was told a visitor was the wallet’s owner. As soon as Johnson saw Tyler, he was terrified. “Tyler, is that you?” he exclaimed and shone. “Yeah, I’m Tyler, and I returned your wallet a few days ago.
“Tyler, my boy, how are you?” Tyler was puzzled and couldn’t recognize Johnson. “He saw my photo in your wallet. I don’t know you, and how did you get my picture?” Johnson sat back, tears streaming down his face, as he confessed a truth Tyler had never known.
“Your dad, Jason, and I were best friends since childhood,” Johnson began. “We went to the same college and lived the best days of our lives. But I didn’t know Jason would fall in love with the same woman I had a crush on. I dreamed of a life with your mom, but everything was ruined when I saw her accepting his proposal on Valentine’s Day. Your dad and I fought and parted ways after he chose your mom over me.
I moved out of the city and never contacted Jason again. But many years later, I received a letter from your dad. It was Jason’s last letter. He told me he was bankrupt and had lost his wife a few years ago. He said he was sick and bedridden and asked me to take care of his only son if something happened to him.
Your dad even sent me your photo with a caption, ‘Tyler is a gem. Please take care of him after I’m gone.’ At the bank, Tyler broke down into tears. “Even on his deathbed, my dad only thought about me. I love him and miss him so much, but I never saw you at my dad’s funeral.
I don’t remember seeing you there. Why didn’t you come?” At this point, Johnson couldn’t hide the truth. He pressed his lips tight and began to speak more. “I ignored your dad in this letter because I was busy with work.
I was starting a new unit and didn’t want to waste my time and money on my friend who snatched my love from me. I threw the letter with your photo but couldn’t be peaceful with it. I put my ego and grudge aside and came to visit your dad, but it was too late. I heard he died, and you were sent to the foster home. I came looking for you, but they told me you ran away.
I’m sorry, Tyler. I didn’t mean to abandon you. I lost my best friend and felt guilty for not spending time with him during his last days.” Johnson embraced a teary-eyed and heartbroken Tyler, promising to return for him. He began the necessary paperwork and adopted Tyler three months later.
Johnson realized that family and friends are more important than money and made every effort to make up for his ignorance towards his best friend. Ultimately, Tyler moved in with his adoptive dad and started living the life of his dreams under the love and care of his new family.
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