Homeless man turned millionaire

Hi! My name’s Jude and I’m the luckiest man on the Earth. This is the story of when I was the most miserable litter picker, until I found something special that changed my life…

I walked into the pub, smothered in rain and mud. This was where I got paid. My boss, sitting at the counter, signalled for me to come. “Pay day,” he said in a gruff voice, handing me an envelope. I felt around in it – ten pound coins. I sighed as he walked out, “Great. Pay day…” I was a lousy litter picker in London and that was my weekly pay. I looked at the television above the counter.

“Recently, there has been an enormous robbery on the largest English bank: Lloyds. According to the bank manager, over five hundred-million pounds has been stolen, putting England in a state of panic. This is because all members of Lloyds bank will no longer be able to get paid, due to half their money being stolen. The perpetrator disappeared soon after the crime, carrying the money on a hacking USB. Not even the security cameras have spotted him. We speak to the thief’s 14 year old daughter to find out more information…” I bought a drink with a fifth of my money and when I returned to the to the TV she had some information on her dad, “ “Dad keeps a diary.  He’s probably chucked it by now, but if someone finds it then it could show where he’s gone.” She broke into tears. “Daddy please come back! I’m scared!” Whoever finds this diary will be hugely rewarded. This is BBC news.”

I walked out into the street opposite the pub, close to tears. I could relate to her. I thought about how my parents left me with nothing except our dog, Sam, who has always wanted and deserved a kennel. I was only 14 and I’ve been homeless ever since. I looked at my scrawny dog lying there, whimpering. He was really skinny, for neither him nor me had eaten for days, though I loved him more than anything. My dream was to live in a hot country and his was to have kennel. I hoped that one day those dreams could come true. I lay down in my unfurnished tent and went to sleep.

I woke up from a dream of me being the one who stole the money and then living life in luxury – like that would happen to me. I got up with no clothes to change into, just the ones from yesterday. It was around six o’clock so I went out into the London park to start another day of my sad life of litter picking. But what I didn’t know was that I would find something quite amazing…

I had done three hours of litter picking when I found something that would change my life forever. I picked it up instead of putting it straight in the bin, then held it to my face. The front cover read: Diary. Immediately, my mind knew whose it was…but it couldn’t be, could it? I looked through the pages, seeing plans of criminal acts and offences. Then I saw the location of where ‘the man who stole five hundred-million’ was hiding.

I ran up to the police station and told them what I’d found. They immediately brought me to the Head of the Police Force who asked me, after checking it was authentic, which it was, what I wanted my reward to be. My brain was buzzing with luxury options until I finally decided. “I’d like three million pounds and a mansion in Spain. I’d also like a life’s supply of dog food and an expensive kennel for my dog.” They agreed on the terms and, because the Head of the Police Force loved dogs, he insisted on seeing mine. I showed Sam to them, happy that we would share my new-found wealth. Surprisingly, they said that I couldn’t keep my dog anymore, for the Prime Minister of Spain would not allow a fellow millionaire to have a dog as scrawny and bad quality as my one. I was quite offended and I’m sure Sam was too. So I changed my destination to Italy, where they were fine with Sam.

Two months later, I got bored of doing nothing all day, so I started a charity called ‘Kennels for homeless dogs’. And that was the story of me. Once a homeless man, now a millionaire.

Total:750, total to date: 5494

22.2.16

This is dedicated to Yvette who gave the idea: “Someone who has to pick up litter for a living and finds something surprising.”

 

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