The black suitcase.

It is a short story about coincidence, luck and God's help. You can never be sure about your life and the way it will look like. One day you are rich and the next day you have got nothing or you are a beggar and than you become a millionaire. This is a story of Ken Smith.

It was a sunny but very cold day. I can't say if it was January of February but I am sure that it has been one of the coldest winters since 20 years. Although the day was cold the sun was inviting you to go outside and to breath the fresh air. It was a perfect weather for skiing or skating. It is perfect weather for rich people who can afford warm clothes, goretex and special boots. But it is not a good weather for those who can't afford all those mentioned things and for those who cannot afford even one hot meal a day. It was not a good day for Ken.

Ken was a man, a homeless. He was about 34 years old. He didn't know his parents. As far back as he could remember there was only his orphanage in his mind. He never had anybody to look after him. He never had anybody to love him. Although he never had many prospects for good and wealth future he tried to do as much as possible to live better. He was homeless and that was a fact but he never was a beggar. He couldn't afford his own place and in my opinion he didn't want to afford it. He got used to the free life, without any responsibilities. He earned his money for food by selling tins and by collecting a waste - paper. Sometimes he helped somebody with the garden works for a hot meal. I think that he was happy in his own way.

During such frosty and cold days Ken was usually sitting somewhere in the bottom of the rubbish chute. It was not only quite warm there but it was also soft. You could always find great things to eat and very often some other useful things like a half - broken toster, blanket, some clothes, etc. It was getting late. The sun was setting and the temperature was falling. Ken was reading a book. He found it in one of the trash bag tonight. It was some kind of adventure book. He liked it very much. He started to fall asleep when suddenly something big bumped his head. That was the worst part of sleeping in the rubbish chute. When the trash were going down they were always hitting your head. But usually they were just bags filled with papers, wrappings or plastic bottles. This bag was different. Actually it was not a bag, it was a black suitcase. It looked like a suitcase from the movie, with a cipher to open it. Ken took it and was just to open it when he heard a police sirens. He thought that it was not good to meet the policemen as they didn't like homeless, so he went out from the rubbich chute. He took his stuff and the suitcase and left. Police was looking for somebody because there was a lot of them and they started to surround the building where he had found the suitcase. When he was walking along the sidewalk the police officer came closer and asked him if he had seen three people walking to the builing? But Ken said that he was sleeping and he didn't see anything. Police told him to leave the surroundings because they are looking for the very dangerous criminals. So, Ken kept on walking but somehow he had a feeling that this suitcase was reason of those troubles. Ken was homeless and was poor but he had never stolen anything and he was not going to. When he finally got to the safe place he decided to open his suitcase. He was right. Inside there were thousands of dollars. All in 100 $ bills. He knew that this could mean only troubles. First of all he decided to go sleep as it was quite late.

Ken opened his eyes at haplf past seven and first thing he thought was the black suitcase. He checked if it was still there or it was just a dream. But it was standing next to his head. He opened it one more time and looked at the money. He had never seen anything like this. In one minute he became a millionaire. But he didn't fill better. After few hours of thinking he decided to take it back to the police station. He knew that you cannot built your happiness on someone's misfortune. It wasn't his money and he didn't need it.

However, the decision was not easy he took all the money and he went to give it back. He knew that he will be asked a lot of questions and that maybe he would be arrested but it was better than stealing. When he enterd the police station all eyes directed at him. Slowly, he walked to the counter and said that last night he had found the suitcase full of money and that probably it was connected with those three men the police was looking for. He gave the name of the street. The police officer was rather shocked but he asked all the questines and took Ken's personal details. He took the suitcase and let him out.

Ken was breathing deeply. He was very happy that he didn't take those money. He was a free man. He was walking through the streets of the city and he was smiling to himself. Suddenly, the police officer came closer and asked for his name and Ken was taken to the car. He didn't understand anything. He gave back the money, told everything and now he was beeing taken to the police station in a police car like a criminal. He was dissapointed.

After half an hour the car stopped. But to his amazement he found that he was not at the police station but in front of a big mansion. He was overwhelmed. He saw a beautiful old lady at the door. She came to introduce herself. He was invited to the house.

Finally, it turned out that she was an owner of the money which was stolen from her. She was very grateful for giving it back and she offered that she will help Ken. She wanted to give him money as prize. But Ken refused.

Now, he is her gardener. He takes care of all flowers and trees and he doesn't need money…