Would you consider yourself one who believes in fate? This is quite a controversial question that covers a concept filled with many avenues to explore. That being said, you either live by the marvels of coincidence, or you wonder what the universe has in store for you. Our story today, inspired by the readers of AmoMama, starts with a little boy whose family experienced a hard hit to their comfortable reality.
Peter Robinson had the best childhood, one that so many kids would dream of having. He grew up on a farm with both of his parents, Simon and Kate. The farm had been in their family for generations, and his father was born there. He felt deeply connected to the land as if this was his life purpose, and nothing could change that. As blissful as this all seems, their life was not without hardship, it was a farm after all. But, through it all, their land was abundant, and they were rich in love. They could not have asked for more. As Peter grew older, they started experiencing more and more financial strain. The prices of food were going up, but the rates their corn was bought at had not increased. And so the spiral began.
They Lost the Farm
After a few years of financial struggle, the worst thing that could happen happened. A drought wreaked havoc on the land, and they had to sell the farm. Peter came home from school one day, and he saw a car parked out front. He knew instantly who was visiting, and he ran inside the house as fast as he could. He rushed into the sitting room and there he found his parents on the couch and his father was shaking the hands with none other than the local developer, Frank Bartman. This man was disliked immensely by the farming community, having his beady little eyes set on many of the plots, with the desire to destroy the land for motels and malls. He had been after his family’s farm for years now, and it looked like he finally got what he wanted.
Peter stormed up to his room and slammed the door, he did not want to hear it. His mother came up and sat next to him on his bed, trying to soothe him. She explained that they had no choice but to sell the farm and move into the city where she had grown up and find work there. She sounded like she was going to cry, so Peter turned to face her and took her hand. He promised that they would work together as a family, and assured her that it would be alright.
Two Years Later
Fast forward two years and the family had settled in a small apartment in the city. Peter dreamed every night of the farm, and how the ground smelled just after the rain. He would wake up to the sound of sirens and people in the streets and the disappointment would sink in for the day. Peter still missed the farm and the countryside in general. He hated how cramped the city was, and how grumpy all the people were. To help his parents out a little bit, and so thy didn’t feel the stress alone, he found himself a cashier’s job at his nearest grocery store. HE would o work there after school on most days. It was a pretty quiet store that did not get many customers so he managed to do his homework while he worked.
One day he was busy reading a history textbook for a test that was coming up and the bell rang, signaling that a customer had walked in. Peter closed the book and looked up. In walked a young girl, about the same age as he was, with her arm linked to a much older man who look like he was about 99 years old to Peter. His frailty was obvious, ad he had an off expression on his face as if he were listening intently. He greeted the young girl, who nodded her head and smiled. A Peter watched them curiously, he realized that the man was blind, and this girl was guiding him through the store, getting the groceries they needed.
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Honestly is the Best Policy
When they were finished browsing, they came towards the till. The girl unpacked the items from the basket onto the counter, and Peter ran everything up. He told her that it all cost $25 in total. She asked the old man if he had heard Peter, who nodded and reached for his wallet. The girl started moving towards the door, explaining that she just wanted to call a cab for the two of them. Peter smiled and turned back to the man who was now opening his wallet. What happened next was most perplexing.
The old man had his wallet out and was looking puzzled. He admitted to Peter that the young girl was his guide, and without her, he would not know how to tell the difference between each note. He opened the wallet wide, turning it towards Peter while asking if he could take the $25 out for him. Peter stood in absolute shock, there must have been about $2000 worth of cash inside. He looked up at the man who was waiting patiently. He could so easily just take $1000 of the cash in there and the man would never know a thing.
Peter had been raised better than to be dishonest with anyone, so he took out the $30 and gave him the change he needed from the till. The girl came back inside and lead the man out to their taxi. A strange feeling settled over Peter, how could people be so rich and he has so little? Not long after they left the store, the girl came back inside with the blind man. The man told him how happy he was to have found someone who had a pure heart, with genuine honesty.
The Rewards of Being Kind
The man started to explain how he had been searching for quite some time for someone like Peter, who would not cheat someone out of something, no matter how easily they might be able to get away with it. His children had been greedy and selfish. He had a large fortune that had accumulated throughout his lifetime, but he refused to give it to his children for fear of how they will use it for no good. Turn out, he had targeted this store as a means to find the right person. He had asked four of his colleagues and each of them had just taken the money, whereas Peter had remained honest.
The little girl then put a key on the countertop, along with a note. The man told him to follow the instructions, which ended up leading Peter to an old gym up the road. The key opened the lock in the locker room, and inside there he found a backpack. Something made him nervous to open it inside the gym, so he waited till he got home. Inside the bag he found stacks of money and jewels, another note was right on top. It told him that he was honest and kind, and he deserved this fortune. He was instructed to use it to make something of himself, and then to pass on the blessing to another stranger.
The first thing Peter did was inquire about his farm. To his delight, he found that the developer had failed to get his plans for building approved because the land was full of wildlife. He was able to buy the farm that had been in his family for so many generations back. They were able to continue their lives better than before, without the financial struggle they endured previously.
This story was inspired by an original piece of fiction that first appeared on AmoMama. Any similarities between this story and actual people is purely coincidental
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