‘You Gave Me a Scooter Once & It Saved My Granny’s Life, Let Me Reward You’ Boy Says to Older Man – Story of the Day

An old man gave a boy an old scooter that was the only remembrance he had of his son. One day, the lad knocked on the man's door with a surprise that brought tears to his eyes.

Stephen Jones was in his early 60s, and with nobody to look after him, he still worked very hard to make a living. He was one of the senior Uber drivers touring tourists around a small town in Denver.

Before leaving for work every morning, he would stop by an old scooter outside his house. It would seem like a dusty, old scooter to anybody seeing it, but for Stephen, several painful sentiments were attached to the two-wheeler.

One fine day, he decided to discard the scooter because he could not deal with the disturbing memories of his son. That's when he met Paul Joseph, and a rewarding journey unfolded in Stephen's life shortly...

After his dad's death several years ago, Paul's mom Emma moved out of town to live with an aunt. Because of this, Paul missed his paternal grandma, Edith. His mom was too busy to visit her old mother-in-law, but Paul always took the initiative to meet his beloved grandma.

"Please don't say no...This scooter would definitely come in handy one day...please take it."

The 15-year-old would start his day early and leave for his grandma's house first thing in the morning. Considering their financial setback, Paul walked nearly six miles daily to see his grandma.

Edith was aging peacefully. She was in her 80s, and though her distant relatives advised her to go to a nursing facility, she refused. Several memories of her late son were attached to the house she lived.

"Good morning, grandma!" Paul shouted in joy as usual. Edith often became teary-eyed and emotional, thinking of her grandson walking the extra mile for her.

"Here you go...take this $20," she said. "I loved those croissants you bought last week!"

Every day, Paul bought breakfast for Edith with the money she gave him because she couldn't cook in the mornings. She gave him a tip of $5 for his pocket expenses.

Stephen's house was next door, and whenever he saw Paul arrive at Edith's house, he would sit silently near his scooter and listen to them giggling. It often reminded him of how he yearned to see his grandchild.

Stephen once had a lovely family of a wife and an only son, Mark. He had worked very hard to raise his boy. The scooter outside his house was the first expensive gift he had given Mark when he turned 18. But when Mark fell in love and married a rich man's daughter, he moved out because he no longer wanted to live a poor life with his old parents.

After Stephen lost his wife, he lived alone, reminiscing about the good times with his family. He felt an unusual fondness for Paul whenever he saw him pass by his house. He wanted to talk to him but was nervous.

One day, on his way to his grandma's house, Paul stopped and saw Stephen struggling to move his old scooter. He rushed to help him. "Let me do this for you...careful, don't drop it on your foot," he said.

Stephen smiled and agreed. "Thank you, son!" he told Paul. "Do you live nearby? Because I see you often here."

Paul told him he lived in the neighboring town, almost three miles away from his grandma's house. Stephen was stunned when he ran the math.

"That's unbelievable! You walk 6 miles daily to visit your grandma???" he exclaimed in shock.

Paul just smiled and nodded, and Stephen felt sorry for the boy. He looked at the scooter, and an idea hit him.

He rushed inside, telling Paul to wait for him, then he came out with the keys to the scooter. "Here! I was planning to give this scooter away, but I think you would find it very useful."

Paul was hesitant to accept something expensive from a stranger. He denied the offer, but Stephen kept insisting. "Please don't say no...This scooter would definitely come in handy one day...please take it," he said.

After deep thought, Paul happily took the keys from the man and went to visit his grandmother. When he left, he waved at Stephen as he scooted past the neighborhood. The old man was happy to see his valuable scooter find use after years of standing idle.

The following day, Paul rode to his granny's house. He had bought her favorite croissants but dropped them in shock after finding her unconscious on the floor.

"Grandma? What happened to you? Grandma! Get up!" he cried. He immediately called an ambulance, and Edith was rushed to the hospital in another ten minutes.

"She's out of danger...But had you arrived 20 minutes later, you could have lost her," the doctor said.

Paul sighed relief and walked outside the hospital. He patted the scooter, exclaiming, "Thank God I had this, or else I could've lost my granny."

Edith recovered and moved back to her house. Paul kept visiting her and occasionally met Stephen, his old friend. As time passed, old age had gotten the best of Edith, and she died peacefully in her sleep four years later. Paul was crushed. Then he got a call from the lawyer after the funeral.

"Yes, that's right...Let's meet at my office on Friday for the will declaration," the attorney said.

It turned out that Edith had made Paul the legal heir of her house and a few pieces of expensive heirloom jewelry. Surprised, the grandson scooted to his grandma's house to collect the jewels from her safe.

As he neared the house, he ran into Stephen. "Hey! Mr. Jones! Wait up...." he shouted. "How are you? It's been quite a long time since I last saw you."

Time had changed the man from bad to worse. "I lost my job, and nobody is willing to hire me coz I'm advanced in age," Stephen sobbed.

The man had been struggling to make ends meet. His old car had broken down, and he could no longer drive tourists around.

Paul felt sorry for Stephen. "Fate is unpredictable!" he sighed. "See you around, Mr. Jones."

Paul took the heirloom jewels from his grandma's house and hurried away, waving at Stephen.

A week later, the older man heard loud bangs on his door. "Who is it?" he shouted from inside. But there was no response.

Then he opened the door and froze in shock. A new car stood outside his house. "What is going on?" he exclaimed.

Just then, Paul approached Stephen. He hugged the man, saying, "Your help that day saved my granny's life...And I'm sure she's happy watching us from heaven now!"

Paul handed Stephen the keys to the new car and hugged him again. It turned out that he had bought the car by selling his late granny's heirloom jewelry.

"You gave me a scooter once, and it saved my granny's life. Let me reward you," Paul told Stephen, who was teary-eyed at that point, speechless with joy.

As for Paul, he renovated his grandma's house and decided not to sell it because he wanted to honor her sentiments about the house. He often visited the place and was happy to see Stephen back on his feet again!

What can we learn from this story?

• A good deed always fetches a reward: When Stephen learned that Paul walked six miles daily to visit his grandma, he gave him his son's old scooter. Years later, Paul returned Stephen's favor by gifting him a new car to help him get back on his feet.
• Nobody is eternal. So, love everyone around you before it is too late: Paul always visited his grandma daily and helped her out. He did not expect anything in return from her other than love. Till the end, only he took the initiative to comfort his grandma while nobody else in the family did.

Click here to read about how a son who kicked out his 80-year-old mother to a nursing home regretted his mistake but never found her there years later.

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. Please share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you want to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.