The poor boy decided to give his umbrella to an old woman after seeing her in the rain. He then went with her to her house. A few days later, he and his mother were surprised to see what fell from the umbrella when they opened it again.
Tom was a 15-year-old boy raised by a single mother named Marissa. They didn’t have much in life, and they lived every day to have enough for three meals and to pay the bills.
Tom’s mother worked every day as a janitor at a nearby park. She never took public transportation, preferring to walk to work and back home to save money.
One day Tom noticed that Marissa came home all wet. “Mom! You’re going to be sick. Why were you walking in the rain?” – he worried.
“I’m all right, dear. My umbrella broke because of the strong wind, and I wanted to be home in time for dinner with you,” she replied. “I’ll just take a shower and make you dinner, okay?”
Tom knew when his mother wasn’t feeling well, and he knew right away that she was about to get sick. He wanted his mother to be comfortable every day, so he wanted to give her a useful gift for her next birthday.
Without Marissa’s knowledge, Tom had been saving his money for months to buy her a gift. He had raised $25, which he hoped would be enough for a nice gift for his mother.
The next day Marissa woke up with a high fever. “Mom, don’t get out of bed,” Tom told her. “I’ll take care of you today. Here’s your medicine. Please take them,” he said, holding out a glass of water to her.
After Marissa took her medicine, Tom told her he would be right back as he needed to buy some things. “Get some sleep, Mom. I’ll be here when you wake up,” he said, kissing her cheek.
Tom went to the nearest department store to buy ingredients to make hot chowder for his mother. Then, realising that his mother’s birthday was only a few days away, he contemplated going to the umbrella section.
When he arrived at the shop, Tom prioritised buying a gift for his mother before buying food. He approached the clerk in the umbrella section and decided to ask him a question.
“What is your strongest umbrella, sir?” – he asked. “The one that doesn’t break in the wind and lasts for years.”
“Oh, we have new arrivals. They are quite expensive, but they are designed to last longer and are made of thicker material and sturdier metal,” the man explained. He showed Tom some umbrellas in different colours and Tom was particularly impressed.
“They look very durable,” he said, taking a lavender-coloured umbrella from the display case. “It’s my mum’s favourite colour. I’m sure she’ll love it.” Tom flipped over the tag and checked the price. It was $22, which left him about three dollars to buy food.
He walked through the supermarket with a lavender umbrella in his hand and made his way to the fast food section. He found a can of chicken noodle soup for just a dollar and was relieved that he could still buy food for his mother.
Walking out of the shop, Tom couldn’t help but smile after he was able to use his $25 to buy everything he needed for his mother. He even had two dollars left!
As Tom was walking home from the shop, it suddenly started to rain. He ran to the nearest bus stop, where he decided to take shelter. From there he noticed an elderly woman walking slowly while everyone around her ran for cover.
Tom realised that the woman had no intention of stopping, even though she was soaking wet from the rain. “Why isn’t she stopping?” – he asked himself. Without thinking, he took out an umbrella from his paper bag and decided to go after the woman.
“You shouldn’t walk in the rain, ma’am. You might get sick. My name is Tom, let me walk you home,” he offered. The elderly woman was surprised to feel that the rain had suddenly stopped. She looked up and realised that the umbrella was protecting her from the rain.
“Thank you, young man. I am grateful for your help. My name is Elizabeth,” she said, putting her hand on Tom’s arm as he led her towards the house. “You are a lucky man. You managed to buy an umbrella before the rain started,” she commented.
Tom shook his head. “It was supposed to be a present for my mother. Her umbrella broke, she got soaked in the rain yesterday and now she has a fever. I wanted to give her a gift that she could use for years to come.”
“I’m sorry, dear,” Elizabeth apologized. “You only used the gift because of me? You shouldn’t have,” she said, slowly starting to stop.
“It’s all right, ma’am. At least I was able to test it. The seller was right, it is much stronger than the usual umbrellas you see these days,” Tom smiled at her, trying to cheer her up.
“That’s wonderful. Your mom is lucky to have such a good, caring boy like you,” Elizabeth praised.
“I was lucky to have such a hard-working mother. She raised me on her own. The least I could do was give her a present, which I did. I’ve been saving up for months,” Tom explained.
A few minutes later they approached Elizabeth’s house. She insisted that Tom stay for a while until the pouring rain stopped.
While they were inside, Elizabeth handed Tom some hot tea. “It’s very good. Thank you, madam,” smiled Tom, and they chatted until the rain stopped.
“Let me help you wrap a present for your mother,” said Elizabeth as she took the umbrella out of the paper bag. She went to her room and wiped the umbrella and then wrapped it in beautiful floral paper.
“Here you go, dear. I hope your mother likes her present,” she said as she handed it to Tom. Tom couldn’t help but smile when he saw the wrapped gift.
Three days later Tom woke with excitement to give his mother her present. “Happy birthday, Mum!” – he said, hastily handing it to her. “I hope you like it!”
“Thank you, sweetheart. You didn’t have to buy me anything,” said Marissa, touched by her son’s gesture. She opened the present and was surprised to see an umbrella and an envelope inside.
“What’s in it?” – she asked curiously. Tom’s eyes widened as he realised that Elizabeth had put it there without his knowledge. When they opened it, it contained $3,000 in cash and a note:
“Happy birthday! I hope you celebrate with your son. Thank you for raising such a nice and wonderful boy.”
Tom told Marissa that the other day he met an elderly woman on his way home from the shop. He shared an umbrella with her and she offered to wrap it up while they waited for the rain to stop.
Before celebrating Marissa’s birthday, she and Tom decided to stop by the woman’s house and invite her over for a visit. They spent the day together and became good friends, constantly visiting each other and spending time together.
