Hobo Wants to Rob Older Lady near ATM, Is Stumped to See His Mom’s Old Pendant around Her Neck — Story of the Day

An older woman was almost robbed at the ATM by a man in a hoodie, but she was feistier than he imagined. Also, he stopped cold when he saw her necklace, and they were both shocked when the truth about it was revealed.

"Give me all your money, and nothing will happen to you," Kirk told the elderly woman withdrawing money at the ATM. She expected her to cry, tremble, and comply easily with his request, mainly because he was pretending to be armed.

However, she turned to look him straight in the eye, raising one sardonic eyebrow. "What if I don't?" she asked defiantly.

"Ugh…" he fumbled for a second but squared his shoulders. "I'm not afraid to hurt anyone, even an old woman, so you better do it quickly!"

"Wait… why do you care?"

"No," she continued arrogantly.

"I'm serious!" he said, starting to sweat and looking around. "I'll hurt you!"

"Try."

"What?" Kirk asked, shocked by her attitude, and that's when her hand raised and grabbed his arm.

"Now, what do you say, boy?" the older woman asked, not letting go.

"Let go. Please, let go," he begged, getting scared at the look on her face but something caught his eye. "What is that?"

The older woman frowned. "What?" she wondered, looking down and finally letting go.

Kirk frowned for a few seconds, but he pointed to the woman's necklace instead of running away as he wanted. He had to know why she had that around her neck.

"My necklace? You're not going to steal it. It means the world to me," the older woman said, covering it with her hand.

"I think we already established that I can't steal anything from you," Kirk said sarcastically. "I just want to know because I recognize that necklace. It's too unique."

"Well, I got it from a homeless man a few years ago," the older woman started, frowning at him as she recollected the story. "He offered it to me in exchange for money and shelter."

Kirk froze and stared at the woman but didn't interrupt her.

"Instead of giving him shelter, I took the pendant and gave him some money," the older woman revealed and sighed deeply. "That night… there was a terrible snowstorm… and I heard he died from the cold. It's my biggest regret in the world."

Kirk closed his eyes at the painful memory. Not the woman's recollection, but his own. That night had also been a nightmare for him, but he had no idea someone else had suffered too. "So you kept the necklace?"

"Yeah, I did remind myself never to act like that again. I've been helping the local soup kitchen and homeless shelters with donations since then," she nodded. "Wait… why do you care?"

Kirk sighed and looked away for a second. He saw the snow-covered streets where he had lived for many years as a homeless person. It was a cruel life. But it had been more hostile for his… brother.

"That necklace belonged to my mother. The man you met was my brother," Kirk revealed, removing the hoodie from his head and showing his full face for the first time. The woman's eyes widened in recognition. Everyone always said Kirk and his brother, Tony, looked alike.

"We didn't have the best childhood after our mother died and ended up on the streets," he continued. "We also fought because my brother…well, he was the nice one. He didn't steal. He was honest. He tried to do things right. I'm not like him, so he kept our mom's necklace."

"Oh, dear God," the older woman breathed, covering her mouth.

"When the police found me to identify him, I thought someone had stolen the necklace. I was so enraged by his senseless death in that bitter cold of this place that I didn't think he might have exchanged it. I thought he would never do that. He must have been desperate," Kirk said, speaking more to himself than to the older lady.

"Hey, listen. This is going to sound weird, but do you want some coffee and a muffin?" the older asked and pointed across the street to a café that always smelled fantastic. Kirk had obviously never been inside, but he was curious.

"I'm not allowed inside," he said, looking down in shame.

"There are tables outside. Come on, let's go," the woman insisted, and he followed her. He sat outside while she went in and got them muffins, croissants, and coffee.

Kirk started eating and drinking and felt a sense of wonder. He had not sat down at a local shop to eat ever. It was like he was always apart from the rest of society. It was a demeaning and disheartening thought. But it was true. That was his life as a homeless person who stole money from time to time.

However, now he was sitting with an older woman, and somehow no one was staring at him strangely. It felt…cautiously nice.

The older woman introduced herself as Leonora and apologized for her part in his brother's passing.

"It was not your fault. He was not cut out for his life," Kirk replied, shaking his head.

"Still, I want to help you. You don't have to live this way for the rest of your life. Things can change. I swear they can. You need to have faith in yourself and a little support," Leonora said, smiling gently at him.

Kirk nodded carefully, wanting so badly not to live this way anymore.

To his shock, the older woman offered him shelter and helped him secure a job as a janitor and a lovely little studio apartment that was not too expensive. She also invited him over for dinner often, and he attended because he had never tasted something as amazing as homemade food. At some point, Leonora wanted to give him the pendant back, but Kirk refused. It was hers now.

A few weeks later, he withdrew part of his first salary and asked Leonora to accompany him to the local soup kitchen. He was going to donate what he could in hopes that more people would have a great Thanksgiving meal, as he had so much to be thankful for that year.

What can we learn from this story?

• Try to amend your wrongs or atone for your regrets. After what happened to Tony, Leonora was regretful, but she did the right thing by helping his brother start his new life.
• If someone offers you an opportunity to change and improve, take it. Kirk took Leonora's help without much thought, not realizing how desperate he had been for someone to offer him a hand.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a grumpy older woman who got stuck in an elevator with three gang boys she had scolded.

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 would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.