Restaurant Cleaner Gives Leftovers to Homeless Boy, the Next Day She Becomes Homeless Herself — Story of the Day

Sandra's manager fired her for feeding leftovers to a poor boy then only paid half of her salary. The poor woman eventually struggled to pay her rent and became homeless. However, life had better plans for her.

Sandra was orphaned at a young age, and her grandparents had left for their heavenly abode soon after, leaving her alone.

For a while, she got by on the savings her grandparents had left for her and somehow finished high school, but when the savings ran out, she had to sell her grandparents' house and look for a job to support herself.

Life in New York was undoubtedly expensive, and finding work seemed like a Herculean task, but Sandra somehow managed to get a job at Le Bernardin as a janitor. The pay wasn't really great, but she at least had a roof on her head and could afford three meals a day.

Until now, the only acquaintances in Sandra's life had been the problems knocking on her door every day. However, just a few days after joining Le Bernardin, she met a sweet boy who frequently stopped by the luxury restaurant for leftovers, and in no time, the two formed an unbreakable bond.

"How are you, Max?" Sandra would joyfully ask the boy. "Are you here for the leftovers again?"

"Yes!" he'd reply, smiling at her. "Do you happen to have any today?"

"Yes, Max! Just give me a minute. I'll get the packets for you." Then Sandra would hand him a bag full of leftovers. The boy would thank her and walk away with a big smile on his face.

Just like Sandra, Max lost his parents at a young age. Sadly, he didn't even have his grandparents to look after him, and his relatives had kicked him and his little sister Martha out of the house. So the poor boy wandered around looking for food to feed his little sister and himself.

Sandra's manager, Mr. Arthur, had a snobbish demeanor, so she never called Max inside the restaurant. Instead, she'd ask him to meet her at the next street at 9 p.m. sharp, and after her work was done, she would go and drop off the leftovers to him.

One day, Sandra was on leave so didn't turn up at their usual spot. Max went to the restaurant to find her. The visitors were outraged when they saw the shabbily dressed boy at the restaurant and called the manager.

Sandra had no idea that something like that happened until Mr. Arthur handed her an envelope containing her termination letter and half her salary. "But Mr. Arthur!" Sandra cried. "You said you'd raise my pay by next month. How can you fire me so abruptly?"

Mr. Arthur gave her a cold stare. "Do you have any idea what happened last night, Sandra? That poor boy you've been feeding all along broke into the restaurant and scared our customers! See, I didn't say anything when I saw you eating leftovers before, but we suffered a huge loss, and you should be grateful you're getting at least half of your salary."

"Mr. Arthur, he's homeless, and he has a little sister," Sandra explained. "I promise this will never happen again! Please give me a second chance!"

"I'm sorry, Sandra," Mr. Arthur said coldly, "but I have a business to run, and we can't afford any more losses, so leave!" Poor Sandra gathered her belongings and walked away, but her problems were far from over.

Sandra had been unable to pay her rent for the past two months because she'd met with an accident and had to clear her hospital bills. At the time, she told her landlord she would settle it by the month's end.

But after being fired, the woman didn't even have one-fourth of the pending rent, and when the landlord came to collect it the next day, she was evicted from her home.

Sandra wandered on the streets for a while, then paid for a room at a cheap motel. However, whenever she tried to sleep that night, her thoughts kept returning to Max and his little sister. I can still find a job and survive. I am worried about what will happen to the kids, though. She wondered.

So the next day, Sandra revisited the place where she handed leftovers to Max with a bag of groceries for him and Martha. However, the boy was nowhere to be seen. She waited for Max again the next day, but he still didn't show up. Finally, on the third day, Max appeared and she found out Martha was sick, and Max needed money for surgery.

Sandra only had $100 left with her. She still didn't have a job and had to pay rent at the motel, but at the time, she decided that helping Max was more important and offered her savings to the poor boy without hesitation.

However, when she left the place after meeting Max, she felt as if she was being followed. It was getting dark, and there was no one visible in the immediate vicinity.

Sandra quickened her steps to get to the nearest bus stand where there'd be more people, but as she took a turn at the next street, she could feel the steps following her were getting closer.

Worried, Sandra tried to walk faster, but the man caught up with her. He was dressed entirely in black and held a tiny book in his hand. "Who are you, and what do you want?" she asked shakily.

"Oh, don't be afraid. My name is Peter, and I'm just a journalist," the man replied, showing his ID. "I'm sorry to have scared you, but do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Sandra heaved a sigh of relief.

She accompanied Peter to a nearby restaurant and learned that the man had been following her ever since she was working at Le Bernardin. He was really moved when he discovered how she'd been helping Max and his sister and wanted to cover her story.

Sandra agreed to his request, and thankfully, the article he wrote about her not only made her famous but also raised a significant amount of money and charity for Max and Martha. The little boy took her sister to one of the best hospitals in New York to be treated, and after she was discharged, they moved in with Sandra.

As far as Mr. Arthur was concerned, he faced severe backlash everywhere after Peter's article was published, and he lost his position as manager of Le Bernardin.

It was rumored that Sandra was offered a job at the restaurant after that, with better pay, but she refused to accept it and instead opted to work with her boyfriend to start an initiative about feeding the homeless.

Some rumors also suggested that Peter and Sandra were dating, and the two were planning on adopting Max and Martha.

What can we learn from this story?

• Not all heroes wear capes. Thanks to Sandra and Peter's efforts, Martha was able to get treatment at a good hospital.
• Learn to be kind and helpful. Similar to how Sandra assisted Martha and Max without expecting anything in return.

If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a man who feeds a dirty homeless woman in a luxury restaurant.

This account is inspired by our reader's story and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. 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.