Lucky me! I gave a chance to a homeless kid… Today he’s a university student!
Several years ago, on an autumn evening, I was on my way home. It was quite chilly outside and I was wrapped up in my coat. The streets were empty since it was late.
Just two blocks before my street, a figure emerged from the shadow of a house and stopped in front of me.
It was a thin boy in a shirt, holding a knife and trembling—I wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or from fear. He said he wanted my wallet, and I handed it to him. Then I took off my coat and offered it to him as well.
He was taken aback and asked why I was doing this. I replied that if he’s resorting to such actions, he probably has no other choice.
The boy started to cry, and then I saw that despite his height, he wasn’t more than 15. I invited him to come with me and have a cup of tea at my place.
He looked at me with suspicion, but agreed to come.
At that time, I was living alone. My wife had left me for someone who earned much more than I did.
She never gave me the son I longed for. The boy and I entered my home, and he began to look around my living room with curiosity.
“We’re happy!” he exclaimed.
He said he had never seen so many books and asked if I had read them all, not believing when I answered “yes.”
I told him he could choose one if he wished. He replied that he hadn’t read a single book in his life. Then he shared his story—that he didn’t have a home.
He had grown up on the streets and attended school only until the fourth grade. When his mother passed away, they wanted to place him in a children’s home, but he ran away. Since then, he had been on his own. When I asked about his father, he went silent.
That evening, I invited him to stay overnight.
I felt such pity for this homeless child that by morning, I had decided to invite him to live with me and get him back into school.
I was convinced that if I gave him a chance, I could save his troubled soul. And I wasn’t wrong.
Today, Charlie is a university student.
He studies and works, paying his own tuition fees. He doesn’t want to be a burden to me.
I know that once he finishes his education, he’ll find a good job and one day start a family.
And I will always support him.
Even though I’m not his father legally, he calls me “dad.”
