Poor Man Finds Grandma's Diary in Attic and Notices Drawn Map with Red Cross in It — Story of the Day

A poverty-stricken man does a favor for a homeless man and inadvertently finds a map that led him to a chest buried in his late grandparents' hometown.

A house. That was the only difference between Simon Caldwell and other beggars on the street. He was an extremely poor man who could barely keep the roof of his house over his head. He had a lot of debt, and the collectors were threatening to take his house, which would confirm his status as a beggar.

His wife, Celine, and son John left him two years ago after he was fired. Since then, he moved back into his parents' house, and there he stayed.

In some months, the house would be confiscated, and he would have to make a living on the streets. The thought made the gentleman shudder, but he knew he had no choice.

Despite all that, Simon was a very kind and sincere man who rendered help to everyone who needed it. One night, he was at home solving a crossword puzzle when he heard a knock at the door.

Standing on his porch was a poor homeless man who looked malnourished and very cold — winter was approaching. "Can I help you?" Simon asked, genuinely concerned. Beggars did not often knock on doors asking for help, and if this one was, it meant he was pretty down bad. That could be me in a few months, Simon thought.

"I'm very cold and I was wondering if you could lend me a blanket I could use. I stay just around the corner in that alley," the man said, pointing down the street at a famous beggar's alley.

People called it that because it seemed like the go-to place for homeless people who didn't want to take their chances on the street.

"If you would just wait here a moment, I'm sure I could find an extra blanket for you," Simon told the beggar.

"What about food? I would be extremely grateful if I could have some," the man hastily added, hunger reflecting in his eyes.

Simon felt terrible because he also did not have anything and was hungry as well. "I would if I could but I hardly have enough for myself tonight," he said. "But I'll get you that blanket and some warm clothes."

After closing the door, Simon made his way to his attic, where he found some of his grandfather's coats. He had just decided on one that looked in great shape when a small old notebook dropped from its pocket. He picked it up and looked inside it, immediately recognizing his Grandma's name — Linda Crawford.

He made a mental note to go through the book after dealing with the homeless man. He dropped the book on the table before returning to the front door and handing over the coat.

After he gave the coat to the man, he sat to read the notebook, his crossword puzzle forgotten. On one of the pages, he found a drawn map with a red cross on it.

The red mark was located in the same town his grandparents had stayed in. He also noticed that the street was the same one his Grandma was born and raised.

His curiosity got the better of him, so the following day, Simon went there and traced the exact location of the red cross. It was near the forest, not far from her childhood house, so he easily found it and dug up exactly where the red cross was marked.

He unearthed a small chest in the process, and it jump-started a daydream within him — one that saw him spending the gold he would find inside the chest.

That daydream was dashed after he opened the chest only to find a small clay statue of what looked like one of the gods heathens used to worship back in the dark ages.

It disappointed him and triggered a fit of anger so complete, he nearly hurled the statue against a rock. But then he remembered how he found it and whom it probably belonged to.

"It would be disrespectful to do that," he said to himself.

Later that day, he bought some beer and spent the evening at home drinking. At some point that night, the doorbell rang, and Simon met the same homeless man who came the day before — he wanted to give the coat back.

"Thank you," the beggar said gratefully, but Simon declined.

"It's yours now," he said.

He was about to close the door when the beggar suddenly perked up, his attention on the statue Simon had placed on the mantelpiece.

"Wow, are you a collector?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Simon said.

"You must be a very rich person, if you have a Maya Statue in your collection, those things can cost a lot," the beggar stated, shocking Simon.

"Thank you, but I'm just a humble man living in a humble home," he said modestly even as his mind raced ahead.

If the statue was expensive, he could get a good price for it, and that would help him clear his debts.

The next day, he was on his way to a pawn shop, where he discovered how rare the artifact was when the shop owner tried to switch the original with a counterfeit.

He would have gotten away with it too, but Simon had a sharp eye and had been watching him the whole time. He collected the original from the crook and went looking for a museum.

"Such an establishment won't lie," he thought.

He was right. Later that week, he sold it at an auction and made enough money to pay his debts.

He also established a small business and continued helping poor and homeless people because he believed that the beggar was his catalyst to wealth.

What did we gain from this story?

• Avoid making decisions out of anger. Simon nearly smashed the artifact he found out of anger, but he came to his senses just in time and thankfully too because the statue had been a blessing in disguise, and it helped him solve his problems.
• Be kind when you can. Simon had a spare blanket but only enough food for one, so he had to refuse to give food to the beggar. It was not a selfish act but a choice he took to ensure his own survival. Still, it paid off in the end.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a bum who found a book in a dumpster and sees an old envelope with a picture in it fall out of the book.

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