After his wife died in a car accident, Carlos lived by himself. Soon after, he also lost his son, so he had no family left to call.

The businessman sold his company to get away from the chaos. He did this mostly because he didn’t see any reason to keep working after his only son died. He was rich and had a big house, but he was lonely and sad.

Carlos was reading his newspaper one morning when he heard Mrs. Francis, his next-door neighbor, yelling at someone. He went to the front door and opened it to see what was going on. He saw a well-dressed boy standing in front of Mrs. Francis’ door.

The boy begged her, “Please, ma’am.” “I really need the cash. I’m not lying.”

“Who do you think you can trick? You don’t look like you have to beg for money to live. So I won’t give you any money. Do you understand?” Mrs. Francis said so.

She said, “No, no, you don’t get it.” “Can you help me?”

“I won’t believe your story, all right?” Francis told him straight out. “I know that kids these days do all sorts of bad things, and I’m sure you’re one of them. That’s why you need the money. He yelled at him, “Go away and don’t ever come back here again!”

Carlos saw the boy look sad and put his head down. He agreed with Mrs. Francis that the boy didn’t look like he was in desperate need of money because he was dressed well, but Carlos didn’t want to judge him without knowing the whole story, so he called out to him.

“Hi! Can I help you?” From the front door of his house, he asked.

The boy raised his head and smiled all of a sudden. He went over to Carlos’ house right away.

“Yes, sir! I ask for money from door to door so I can pay for my mother’s surgery. But I don’t think your neighbor believes me. She thinks I’m not going to school to get money from her. I won’t waste it, I promise! Can you assist me?” he asked.

“But she is right about school. Shouldn’t you be in class right now? “You can call me Carlos, by the way,” the old man added.

“No, sir… I mean, Carlos, we’re on vacation.”

“Are you sure?” Carlos took a short break.

“I’ve been looking for work, but everyone tells me I’m too young. My mom needs surgery soon, so I’ve started a fundraiser to help pay for it. I’m going to give her the money on her birthday, which is next week, so she can be happy and healthy soon.”

“Well, what do you think about working for me?” , he asked.

“Really? Really, you’re going to hire me? “Wow, what should I do?” He answered with a smile.

“It’s easy. All you have to do is help me around the house a little, get me some food, and be my friend for a while, because this old man is lonely. Does that sound good to you? And I’ll pay you in return? What’s your name, by the way?”

“My name is Jorge,” the boy said with a smile. “Yes, I’ll take the job, Carlos! So where should I begin?”

“Why don’t you bring me some food for the day, and we’ll figure out the rest later?”

“Okay! Carlos, thank you. “I’ll be your best worker,” he said with a smile.

From then on, Jorge helped Carlos every day by going to his house. Over time, they became very close friends. They told each other stories about their lives and had tea together in the afternoons.

At the end of the week, Carlos went to Jorge’s mother Sara’s house. He brought her a cake and gave her a check for enough money to pay for the whole thing. The woman, who was lying on a bed, couldn’t stop crying when she realized that her son had earned it by working during the summer.

She said, “Thank you so much, Carlos,” with tears in her eyes. “But I don’t think Jorge has helped you enough for you to give him so much money!”

He smiled and said, “That’s fine, Sara.” “Your son helped me a lot, so I think you should get this.” Please agree, I beg you.”

Sara said, “Thank you so much!” as tears ran down her cheeks.

Carlos spent some time at Sara’s house that day after she cut the cake. She told him she was a single mother who had just moved to the city and didn’t know anyone she could ask for help.

She also told him that Jorge’s father left them when he was only three years old, so she had to work in a factory to support them.

Unfortunately, she lost her job there after she hurt her legs in an accident. When that happened, she decided to move to a place where living costs were much lower.

“That’s awful. I hope that things go back to how they were. “And if there’s anything I can do for you, please let me know,” Carlos said.

“Carlos, you’ve done enough for us,” Sara said. “Many thanks!”

Sara went to the hospital the next day to set up the surgery. While she was getting better, Carlos and Jorge went to see her often and helped take care of her.

Sara often helped the old man after she got out of the service so he wouldn’t feel alone. For Carlos, Jorge, and Sara had become the family he had lost years before. So, when he died, he left them all of his possessions and a letter that said:

“I didn’t know you very well, but you were always there for me like you were family. For that, I will always be grateful to you. Love, Carlos.”