A kind woman gives a homeless man a blanket so he can stay warm, and the man thanks her by giving her a bundle of papers that are very important to him. The man has no idea that this will change his life for good.
Sandra left the bookstore with the newest book by her favorite author in her hands. She had studied creative writing at Harvard and was now working as an editor for a small agency in New York. Sandra hadn’t worked in the writing and publishing industry in more than 3 years, but she had big dreams and wanted to have her own agency one day.
When Sandra left the bookstore that day, she couldn’t wait to start reading the book she had just bought. With snow falling all around and a cool breeze blowing through the city, the weather in New York was perfect for a day of relaxing and reading. Sandra couldn’t wait to get home, get a cup of coffee, and start reading the book right away.
Sandra liked to read books a lot.
Sandra was happy and upbeat as she crossed the first street after the bookstore, but then she saw something that made her feel terrible. At the corner of the street, she saw a homeless man shaking from the cold.
The weather was cold, and Sandra could tell from the man’s condition that he could get sick quickly in the weather. She went up to him because she knew she had to do something to help him.
She said, “Excuse me, sir.” “Are you going to spend a while here? My house is close. I can bring you a blanket and some tea to keep you warm.”
When Sandra said that, the man looked up and his eyes filled with tears. “Thanks, miss. That would be very nice of you, please. So many people passed me by, but nobody offered to help me…”
“Don’t worry, sir. I’ll be back in a minute. Please stay put, all right?” The man said yes when she asked.
The homeless man was shaking because it was cold outside.
Sandra’s house was close enough that she could walk back to the man quickly with a blanket and some tea in a thermos flask. When she gave them to him, he thanked her over and over again.
He shouted, “You are an angel!” “How will I ever be able to repay you?”
She smiled and said, “You don’t have to, sir.” “Don’t worry about anything else. By the way, my name is Sandra.”
“It doesn’t matter now, Sandra. People I cared about died… What does it all mean now?”
“My name is Roger,” the man said as he took a sip of the tea she had given him. “Sandra, you have a kind heart. Do you enjoy reading? When you first came to see me, you were carrying a book.
“Oh! “You have good taste, Roger,” she said with a laugh. “Yes, I do like to read. In fact, I’m always looking for new books and authors to read, and right now Shari Lapena is my favorite author. She’s great!”
“I see,” Roger gave a slight nod. “Then, can I tell you something?”
Roger’s cold got a lot better after drinking Sandra’s tea.
“Go ahead! I’m listening!”
“I know you might not believe me, but I used to write too,” he said. “It’s just that sometimes things don’t work out… My ability to write was taken away by a terrible accident. I lost my family in a terrible accident, couldn’t deal with it, and gave up on life in the end. You can see, I’m just counting down the days now…”
“Oh, God!” Sandra gasped. “I’m really sorry. I had no clue!”
“It’s okay. No one did anything wrong. God had this in mind for me… But I’d like to give you something…”
Roger then took a pile of papers out of his bag and gave them to Sandra. “This is something I really care about,” he told her as he gave it to her. “I wrote it with everything I had… I can’t repay you for the blanket and tea, but please accept this as a thank you. I’d like for you to read it.”
Roger gave a stack of papers to Sandra.
“Sure, Roger. So what? “Like I said, I love trying out new writers,” she said, taking the book in the hopes that it would cheer him up.
He replied in a quiet voice, “Thank you very much.”
Sandra had planned to read her favorite author that day when she got home, but she changed her mind at the last minute. She decided to give the papers Roger had sent her a chance, so she made some coffee, wrapped herself in a warm blanket, and read the papers sheet by sheet.
Sandra was crying about halfway through what she was reading. Roger’s story was written on those sheets. It was his autobiography, and she couldn’t believe how tragic and sad his life had been.
Roger didn’t come from a wealthy family, but he wanted to be a famous writer. His parents didn’t like what he was interested in, so he had to find odd jobs to pay for it. But when he finally got an offer from a big publisher, both of his parents died in a terrible car accident.
Sandra cried when she heard Roger’s story.
Roger had always been close to them, and he hoped that if he did well, they would be proud of him. But he was never able to. He couldn’t deal with their deaths, so he gave up everything, even writing, which he loved the most.
As Sandra finished reading Roger’s story, she couldn’t stop crying. Something in her heart told her that this story was important for everyone to hear. She didn’t want Roger’s hard work to be for nothing. He was smart and talented, and he deserved to be happy. So, the next morning at work, she sat down at her computer and started editing his draft.
In a few weeks, she turned it into a proper manuscript and gave it to her boss. She told her, “I’m sure this will work like magic!” “We HAVE TO print his book… I’ve been through it a few times, and I think you should give it a try. It has the potential to help our agency in a great way.”
After a meeting with the team, the agency decided to publish it, which made Sandra very happy. After work, she ran to the place where she’d met Roger and found him there.
But he didn’t seem happy when she told him his work would be published. “It doesn’t matter now, Sandra. People I cared about died… What does it all mean now?”
Sandra put her hands over his eyes and told him, “You’ll do it for yourself, Roger! You have skills, and you deserve all the praise you can get. If nothing else, do it once for me… Come with me, please!”
Roger was still nervous, but when Sandra kept pushing him, he gave in. So, when the book came out, it was a quick hit. Thanks to Sandra, reading Roger’s story gave many young people the courage to go after their dreams.
Roger was no longer homeless, and he got a lot of attention. Sandra picked him up after the event where he signed copies of his book.
Roger told him, “Thank you so much, Sandra,” as he got in the car. “Without you, I would have never known how valuable my talent was.”
Roger is a well-known writer now.
“Roger, it’s just the beginning!” she said. “You’re going to have a great life…”
Roger and Sandra became good friends. Sandra still hasn’t reached her dream, but she’s happy she helped Roger reach his. There’s no better feeling than seeing someone else reach their goals.