Edith was a 50-year-old homeless woman who worked at an animal shelter to support herself. She lived under a bridge at times, on the street at others, and these days in an alley where no one disturbed her while she slept, unlike the road and the bridge.
There was a time when Edith used to be a pastry chef and had a lovely family to look after her. But after a fire engulfed her home, she lost everything: her husband, daughter, and the house.
After the tragic incident, Edith remained traumatized for a long time. She stayed at her parents’ house for a while, but when they left for their heavenly abode, she was left all alone.
Edith discovered $1 million in a trash bin | Photo: Shutterstock
Edith was still young at the time and didn’t have a job, so she scraped by on the money her parents had left for her for a few days. But after a while, she became indebted and lost her parents’ home as well.
Edith’s neighbor, thankfully, was kind enough to speak with his friend and find her a job at the animal shelter where she had been working for the past ten years.
Edith didn’t have a lot of responsibilities at the shelter, which was a good thing because as she grew old, she had multiple complaints of knee pain. The woman just had to clean the shelter every day and make sure the trash bags were disposed of on time.
One day, when she went to throw the plastic bags away, she noticed the bins were already overflowing, with some packets left outside the trash cans.
Edith was homeless and slept wherever she could find a place | Photo: Pexels
She began picking the bags one by one and stuffing them into the trash can when one of them abruptly tore from the edge, spilling a dollar on the ground. Confused, she opened the bag and discovered that it contained several bundles of dollars.
Edith couldn’t believe her eyes. For a brief moment, she imagined how different her life would be if she had all those dollars. She could get her knee treated in a good hospital, build a house, and, most importantly, live a happy life.
Edith was lost in her thoughts when she suddenly heard a car honk behind her. “Hello, old lady, please get out of the way,” the driver yelled. “You’re blocking the way!”
Returning to reality, she quickly grabbed the bag and returned to the shelter, where she handed it over to her boss, Bill.
“Oh my god, where did you find this?” Bill asked her, shocked.
“It was left near the bins. I didn’t count it, but that’s a lot of money. The owner must be worried. How will we find him?” Edith inquired.
The bag Edith found was loaded with dollars | Photo: Unsplash
“It’s a million dollars, Edith! And we don’t have to look for him. He just dropped by a few hours ago and left his business card. His housekeeper had apparently disposed of the wrong bag here and gone.”
“Well, that’s a relief then,” Edith said. “Anway, my work is done, so I’ll leave.”
“No, wait, Edith. I need a favor from you,” Adam said.
“Can you please go to his home and hand it over. He was pretty tense and said it was urgent. He even left money for the fare so that I didn’t have to pay. Anyway, he lives just two streets away. You can easily walk there, but you know these rich people. I have something important to do, so can you please do it?”
“Fine, I’ll do it,” Edith replied as she walked away with the bag.
Edith saved the fare for herself and walked to the man’s house instead. The house was enormous, with a massive and beautiful garden in front. Edith took a look around and realized she could easily get lost there. In fact, it took her some time to get to the door and ring the bell. When the door opened, an old woman greeted her.
The owner’s house was huge and beautiful | Photo: Unsplash
“Is Mr. Carter here? I’m here to return his money,” Edith said.
“Oh god, you finally found that? I’m so grateful to you. Thank you,” the woman said as she took Edith’s hands in hers.
“Who’s there, honey?” Mr. Carter said as he came out. He was wearing a suit and a pair of round glasses.
“Honey, this woman found the money! We should thank her!” Mrs. Carter said.
Edith gave Mr. Carter a warm smile. “Mr. Carter, here’s your money. I discovered it…” Edith began speaking, but Mr. Carter cut her off. “Yeah, yeah, ok. Just put it down on the stairs and leave. And why are you holding hands with her, Linda?”
Edith gave him a puzzled look.
Mr. Carter behaved rudely with Edith and kicked her out | Photo: Pexels
“What? I can’t touch it because both your hands and the bag are filthy. So, just leave it there. One of our helpers will take it.”
Edith silently left the bags and prepared to leave, but Mrs. Carter stopped her. “Why don’t you come in for tea? You came all the way to our house just to return the money.”
“So?” Mr. Carter locked his gaze on his wife. “You don’t have to be so considerate of her. Here, take this and leave.” Mr. Carter tossed $100 on the floor. “I believe that is sufficient for her. Look at her; even if you only gave her $10, that would suffice.”
Edith’s eyes welled up, but she didn’t say anything. She took the money, thanked Mrs. Carter, and walked away.
The next day, Bill offered her a full-time job at the shelter. He was quite impressed with Edith’s honesty and the way she had never turned down anything he’d requested.
Mr. Cater tossed $100 on the floor and asked Edith to pick it up | Photo: Unsplash
Soon, with the money Edith earned, she was able to rent a small apartment. Bill’s family came to see her frequently, and his children eventually became very close to Edith.
One day, when everyone gathered for dinner, Edith baked muffins for them. Bill was so impressed with the muffins that he suggested Edith start her own pastry business.
“I have known you for long, Edith. It’s been ten years since you’ve been working for me. Why don’t you start your business? You’re so good at baking!”
“Bill, I’m too old for that,” Edith said. “Plus, who will look after it?”
“I’ll assist you. Anyway, there are a few people at the shelter who are willing to assist me. So why don’t you consider it? Don’t worry, I’ll help you financially as well.”
Edith started her pastry buisness | Photo: Unsplash
After giving it a thought, Edith decided to start her own business. Astonishingly, it was a huge success, and her financial situation improved within two years. Soon, she went on to own three outlets in town and became very famous.
One day, Edith received a huge contract to prepare desserts for a businessman’s party. But when she went to the location with the order, it turned out to be Mr. Carter’s house. She halted all of her employees at the front door and went straight to Mr. Carter.
“I hope you remember me, Mr. Carter,” Edith said. “Remember your $1 million that was lost?”
He was shocked. “You? What are you doing here?”
Edith smiled at him. “Well, you placed an order with my shop for a party tonight. I just wanted to let you know that I instructed my team to return to our shop with all of the desserts we had made. They will not be served at your party.”
Edith taught Mr. Carter a lesson. | Photo: Pexels
“What? How can you cancel at the last minute? I have important investors here with me. What will they think about me?” Mr. Carter was furious.
“You can shout as much as you want, but we won’t go ahead with it,” Edith said. She then took out a $100 note and handed it over to him. “Also, I hope your arrogance and this $100 can make arrangements for tonight’s party. As far as the desserts I have made are concerned, I’m going to give them to the homeless instead of a scumbag businessman like you!”
Everyone at Mr. Carter’s party cast a pitying glance his way, and he just stood there, embarrassed.
What can we learn from this story?
- Learn to be kind and respect others. Mr. Carter disrespected Edith, and later karma reached him.
- Bad days are like dull clouds; they don’t stay forever in your life. Edith went through a lot in her life but finally managed to stand on her feet and make her name.
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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about an evil farmer who dumped a poor man into freezing water after a heated argument.
This account is inspired by our reader’s story but written by a professional writer. All names have been changed to protect identities and ensure privacy. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.
