Kyle was not used to riding the school bus, but he had no choice but to take it one day when his mom and dad were busy with work. So, his teacher guided him on what he needed to do before boarding.
“Alright sweetheart, so the bus driver is going to call out the name of the bus stops. You have to be alert and wait for him to call your stop. Okay?” Mrs. Patterson told him before he boarded the bus. Kyle was confident he could make it, as he always saw himself as an independent child.
“Thank you, Mrs. Patterson. I’ll be alert and wait for him to call out Pflugerville,” Kyle said, giving his teacher a hug before boarding the bus.
“Good boy,” his teacher said, waving to him before the bus driver closed the door.
Kyle knew that his house was a bit further than the rest of the kids, so he read a book while waiting. While he knew the name of his neighborhood, he didn’t exactly know how the bus stop looked as he’s never ridden the school bus before.
After a couple of stops, the bus driver suddenly called out “Pflugerville.” Looking around, Kyle realized he was the only one getting off that stop. He thanked the bus driver, exited the bus, and found himself alone at the bus stop.
“Dad? Mom?” he called out. He didn’t have a cellphone so he decided to sit, thinking his parents were just late. After thirty minutes, his father still did not arrive.
It was getting dark out, and it was cold. Kyle started feeling scared and walked around the neighborhood hoping to find his house. He ended up lost.
While walking around, a dark figure suddenly appeared in front of him. He started crying even more, afraid that he was about to be taken somewhere scary.
Meanwhile, his parents were waiting at the bus stop in the next town. The bus driver realized his mistake and admitted to the concerned parents that their son got dropped off in a different town as he accidentally called out the wrong location.
The parents were angered at the bus driver’s admission. They vowed to file a complaint at the school the next day, but at that moment, they were in a quick hurry to get to the next town to find their son.
Unfortunately, when they got there, Kyle was no longer at the bus stop. They drove around the neighborhood hoping to find him, but they couldn’t. Kyle’s mom, Marissa, was in tears, afraid that someone could have abducted their son.
Suddenly, she received a call from an unknown number. “Mom?” Kyle said.
“Sweetheart, where are you? Dad and I have been looking for you,” Marissa said, breathing a sigh of relief after hearing from her son.
“I’m with Frank. I’m in a dark, dirty room, but…” Then the connection was cut off. Thinking someone indeed abducted her son, she decided to call the police. They traced the signal and went to the address where the call was made from.
The parents found Kyle at the shelter of a homeless man. When they arrived, they started threatening the man named Frank. But as Tristan motioned to raise a hand at Frank, Kyle stood up.
“Dad, mom, why are you getting mad at him? You should be thanking him! If it weren’t for Frank, I’d be outside freezing in the cold, or worse, someone could have taken me,” he said.
Realizing they were quick to assume, Marissa and Tristan apologized. Frank brushed off their worries and told them it was fine.
Meanwhile, Kyle was not done praising the kind Samaritan who saved him. “Using the money he had left, he bought me a sandwich instead of buying something for himself. He even gave me his blanket. When he found out I knew your number, he borrowed a phone from a passerby, but after talking to you for a bit, it got cut because the phone’s battery died.”
Suddenly, Marissa found herself in tears for misjudging Frank because of his appearance. She just felt so guilty losing her son earlier that she was also looking for someone to blame. She vowed to do something good for Frank, and that’s exactly what she did.
That night, they treated Frank to a delicious meal at a local Chinese restaurant. Frank was overjoyed. “Thank you for this delicious meal. You really didn’t have to do anything for me, I was glad to help Kyle,” he smiled.
“Something could have happened to our son if you were not there to save him, Frank. This is the least we can do,” Tristan said while pouring Frank another cup of tea.
Marissa and Tristan were so grateful for what Frank had done that they didn’t want to stop at just treating him to dinner. They wanted to make sure that although Frank was currently unemployed, he’d live comfortably.
As Tristan worked for a large pharmaceutical company, he tried to get him a job at one of their pharmacy branches. They also made sure he had warm clothes and food while he adjusted to life as an employee.
Ultimately, Frank’s life changed for the better and he was able to move out of the shelter and rent a small apartment that was good enough for him to comfortably live in. He also excelled at his job as a security guard, and he enjoyed being able to work and interact with different people.
Frank never thought that a simple act of kindness would change his life for the better. He had a stable job, a comfortable home, and gained a good set of friends all because he decided to help Kyle that day.