Cops Buy Pizza For Homeless Girl, Later She Returns To Them in Luxury Car — Story of the Day

Police officers Michael and Peter were surprised to see a new face on the street among the homeless. They realized she was hungry and offered her pizza. Years later, they were shocked to see her step out of a luxury car in the same place.

For Officers Michael and Peter, it felt like just another day as they patrolled around the neighborhood. Lunch was around the corner, the breeze was warm, and people were either sleepy in their workplaces or sleeping at home.

And then there were those who were sleeping on the street.

Michael slowed the police car down while Peter looked on his side of the street, thoroughly combing the sidewalk with his eyes. He had been doing this job long enough. He could recognize new faces among the men and women living shelterless on that stretch for months or any signs of distress or danger.

As they passed by, the cops saw the tired-looking citizens laying out their cardboards and blankets for a nap, grabbing a bite of leftover food, or just sitting still, lost in thought.

Just when Peter thought that everything appeared usual, he spotted a new face.

A girl was sitting a few steps away from a group of homeless women, holding onto her backpack and reading a book.

"Something's off there, eh, Michael?" his partner pointed towards the girl.

Always help the needy whenever you can.

There was something odd about the girl against that backdrop. Her hair appeared to be groomed, her clothes looked rather clean and new, and she was reading her book like her life depended on it.

Michael took a look at the girl and agreed. "She could be one of those volunteers or activists. But yes, there's definitely a story there…"

As Peter and Michael were about to step out of the car and approach the girl, a message crackled on the car's radio. The two cops had to rush to a reported theft a few blocks away.

Watching the cop car leave, Minnie closed the book and heaved a tearful sigh of relief.

The next day, Michael and Peter were back like clockwork, patrolling past the homeless people to ensure nothing was out of the ordinary.

"There she is again!" This time, it was Michael who spotted her.

And unlike the previous day, Minnie was unaware of the cops' eyes on her. At that moment in the afternoon, she was engrossed with looking at one of the old poor old men on the pavement biting into a turkey sandwich.

Minnie didn't realize she was staring, but there was some solace in watching a sandwich being eaten and imagining it was her eating it.

The old man caught her staring at his food, and Minnie turned red with embarrassment. The man frowned, got up, and moved to a different spot away from the girl to enjoy the rest of his meal.

Minnie noticed all the eyes around her giving her a look. She lowered her head to her chest and started to cry.

Peter had a niece who would have been around the same age as the girl, and he couldn't bear to ignore the look on her face.

"She's hungry, man. Look at her…" Michael looked and felt the same wave of emotion as his partner. He glanced at his watch and said, "Oops! Lunchtime!"

Michael then got out of the police car, and while Peter didn't understand what his partner was doing, he followed him.

That's when Minnie spotted the cops. She was initially scared, but when she saw them walking in the opposite direction, she felt better.

Her stomach growled. Angry at her own hunger, Minnie grabbed a thin blanket out of her backpack, lay down on the dusty concrete, and forced herself to sleep.

A few minutes later, an unfamiliar man's voice startled her.

"Hello? Hello, miss!" Minnie opened her eyes and saw the two policemen standing before her.

She sat up in shock and froze.

"How long have they been standing here? Are they here to arrest me? Did they go through my things?" Minnie was unable to think clearly.

"There's no need to be afraid, okay? We noticed you were hungry, so we got you something to eat. Here, have this," Minnie watched as one of the cops offered her a pizza box.

She was still shocked, and her body refused to move an inch or even make eye contact with the men.

"That's okay. We'll just leave it here for you. Go ahead and eat up," Michael said, nudging his partner to return to the car.

"She'll feel more ready to talk tomorrow," the experienced policeman said.

Without expecting the slightest acknowledgment of gratitude from the girl, the two men drove away with a warm feeling in their hearts.

When the duo stopped by the same stretch of the road the next day, she was nowhere to be seen. Peter asked a few people who lived there, and all he got was that the girl walked to the bus stop, got on a bus, and took off.

Years rolled by, and Michael and Peter progressed in their careers, but they still did the afternoon patrol with as much dedication as when they first started.

One such sleepy afternoon, the duo drove by the area when they saw a sleek black luxury car pull up.

"Looks like someone is about to make the day for these homeless folks," Michael said, knowing that it was usual for rich people to bring food and clothes to the poor right around spring cleaning.

But it wasn't the homeless people who were in for a heartwarming surprise. It was Michael and Peter.

They watched in awe as a familiar face got out of the car. She had well-groomed hair, neatly ironed clothes, and an innocent face that neither of the men had forgotten.

"Wait…aren't you the…homeless girl who was here all those years ago?" Peter asked the girl and turned to Michael, "Don't you remember, Michael?"

Michael thought he knew her face and only remembered once the woman explained.

"When you saw me on the pavement, scared and hungry, I was living the worst week of my life. I had just arrived in the city that morning, dreamy-eyed and two days away from my first day at university."

"But the moment I got off the bus, my luggage and phone got stolen. I had nowhere to go. I come from a tiny town, and I knew nobody."

Michael and Peter walked with her as she continued revealing what she had gone through back then.

"I struggled even to convince someone to lend me their phone for a minute so that I could call my worried parents."

"Everybody stared at me because I was overdressed for a homeless person. A couple of photographers who were passing by even took a picture of me sitting with the others - as if I was some sort of painting."

The cops and Minnie looked around, and there were still people passing by the homeless, seeing them but not acknowledging their presence at the same time.

"I kept thinking of everything my parents went through to make my dream of becoming a doctor come true. They had sold the family home and were living in a tiny one-roomed house on the outskirts of the town."

"And when I saw a cop car stopping by," Minnie recounted, "all the scary police stories I'd heard since childhood came rushing to my mind."

"I would literally have gone hungry rather than approached you for help - that's how scared I was."

Michael and Peter shared a knowing look and shook their heads in disappointment. They were familiar with many of those stories about police harassment and brutality. They knew what it felt like to be seen as a danger all too well.

"But then," Minnie said with a change in her tone, "you officers walked up with a pizza and changed everything. I finally got something to eat, got some clarity, and figured out a way out of the mess."

"We had no idea you were going through all that. Had we known, we could have helped you more–"

"You already did more than anyone was ready to. And all through my years at university, I kept reliving that moment you handed me the pizza and walked away, pinching myself for not even thanking you back."

"That's all rright. We're just happy to see that we helped!" Peter was genuinely pleased that the girl remembered their small gesture of kindness.

"Now that I'm finally a doctor and can afford it, I wanted to return your kindness. I had a hunch I'd find you here at this time, so I drove up to give you this," Minnie reached into the car and brought out a neatly wrapped dish with an apple pie in it.

"A pizza for a pie, huh? I would have bought you two if I had known," Michael joked.

"Look under the pie," Minnie said mysteriously.

Michael and Peter were surprised to find a travel brochure tucked underneath.

"This is my lucky map - the one I bought when I dreamed of becoming a doctor and traveling the world."

"I want you to point out any place on it, and I will sponsor an all-expenses-paid trip for you and your families to visit there."

The cops were moved by Minnie's kind gesture. For them, it was more than enough that someone appreciated their small act of kindness to come back years later and make them feel valued.

What can we learn from this story?

• Always help the needy whenever you can. Michael and Peter could've ignored the young girl and moved on with their day. Still, they decided to offer her pizza without expecting anything.
• Count your blessings and try to give back. Minnie could've forgotten about the kindness the cops showed her. However, she remembered it and returned later to repay them when she could afford it.

Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.

If you enjoyed this story, you might like the heartwarming story of a cop who promises to adopt his deceased colleague's daughter. But he must first convince his unwilling wife.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers 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'd like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.