I was starting to think I was just an old cynic, then I saw a kid restore my faith in everything.
By @nicokay · Social
At a little cafe, I watched a teenager find a wallet that someone had left behind. My first thought, I'm ashamed to admit, was 'well, that's gone.'.
The full story
I've reached that age, I suppose, where you start to think the world has tilted in a direction you don't quite recognize. It's not that I think people are bad, just... more distracted, more into their own little worlds, less aware. I was sitting at a coffee shop the other day, one of those places where people work on laptops for hours. A woman got up in a hurry, gathering her things and rushing out, and didn't notice her wallet slide out of her bag and onto the floor. A few minutes later, a young kid, couldn't have been more than 17 or 18 with his headphones on, spotted it. He picked it up and I just sighed internally, thinking he'd pocket it or at least take the cash. It looked like a full wallet, too. But the kid just stood there a for second, looked around, and then walked over to where the woman was sitting. He opened the wallet, just enough to find an ID. He didn't even glance at the money. He then went up to the counter and had a quiet word with the barista, showing them the ID. They seemed to recognize the name. The kid wrote down his own name and number on a napkin, gave it to the barista, and told them to call him if the owner didn't come back so he could drop it at the police station. He didn't want a reward, he didn't make a big show of it. He just did it and went back to his table. It was such a simple, decent thing. It made my whole week.
How people voted
- Facts — 37% (49 votes)
- Depends — 36% (47 votes)
- No Way — 27% (36 votes)
Readers are split: “Facts” leads with 37% — 132 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@alsothough — Did you say anything to him afterwards?
@gusok — our standards for society have fallen so low that a kid not stealing is a miracle.
@lostthebet — I don't know, maybe he just realized he was being watched.
@tatelol — This is what it's all about. So lovely to see that there are still good people out there just quietly doing the right thing.
@miloliterally — That's not special, that's just called having a good upbringing.
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