Aaron shouted, “You’re a stinker! Stay away from me, loser!” clutching a handful of snack packets.

A wealthy woman finds herself troubled after hearing her son mocking a helpless beggar. When she sees his face, she realizes it’s the man who mysteriously vanished from her life eight years ago.

Lacey discovered her calling to become a lawyer at the tender age of ten. Sadly, in her early childhood, both her parents, who were also lawyers, tragically died in a car accident, leaving her an orphan.

Her grandmother took her in, and Lacey vowed to become a good lawyer, promising to make her parents proud.

Years later, Lacey graduated summa cum laude from a prestigious university and opened her own law firm. However, she struggled to teach her son, Aaron, the values of respect and compassion toward those in need.

One day, Lacey and Aaron traveled to a nearby town for a case she was working on. Her husband was away on a business trip, and Aaron was too young to stay home alone, so she brought him along.

“If you bother me while I’m working, we’ll return immediately, and you’ll be grounded for a week!” Lacey had warned him, and Aaron had promised to behave.

For most of the journey, Aaron was quiet, but he began to grow bored, and his boredom turned into childish questions that Lacey had little patience for.

“Are we going to catch a criminal? Will it be like a James Bond movie? Are we handling a serious case?” Aaron asked as Lacey drove.

“Well,” Lacey replied. “I can’t discuss details with a little boy like you. Why don’t you let me drive in peace and watch something on your iPad?”

“But mom!” Aaron protested. “Tell me something! At least tell me if we’re going to arrest bad guys!”

Lacey chuckled. “Not all cases involve bad guys and arrests, Aaron! Luckily, this one isn’t very taxing. The client is an elderly lady who can’t come to see me.”

Sometimes, it only takes a moment for life to change.

“Boring!” Aaron sighed. “Then it’s no fun! I should have stayed home! And I’m hungry, mom.”

“But you just had a tuna sandwich half an hour ago!” she reminded him.

“It wasn’t enough! Mom! Stop!” he yelled. “There’s a store there! Can I please get some snacks? I promise I won’t bug you if you get me shrimp chips!”

Lacey pulled over in front of the store and unbuckled her seatbelt. “You’re a smart boy,” she said. “Do you want anything else? I’ll go in and get them. Until then, don’t leave the car, okay?”

Just then, Lacey received a phone call from the client, and distracted by the call, she handed Aaron her credit card and told him to be careful crossing the street to get his snacks.

Unfortunately, the call dragged on, and the client canceled the meeting. “Mrs. Roberts, I’ve come from far away and it’s challenging to find time for you later. I understand, but…”

“Alright, we’ll meet at my office then. Yes, Friday is fine. Thank you.”

Lacey hung up the phone and sighed. What a waste of time! Why don’t people appreciate others’ time? she thought. Then she entered the store and was shocked to see her son mocking a poor man who had his back turned to her.

“You’re a stinker! Stay away from me, loser!” Aaron shouted, holding several packets.

“Dear child,” the man begged, “I need… I need a dollar to pay my bill! I haven’t eaten in days. Could you help me?”

“Get out of here!” Aaron replied disdainfully. “I don’t talk to strangers! Go beg somewhere else!”

Customers around watched the poor man disappear into one of the aisles. Aaron saw Lacey and ran toward her. “Mom!” he exclaimed. “I got the snacks! Let’s go!”

“We’re not leaving until you apologize, Aaron!” she told him. “I saw what you did to that poor man. You could have helped him.”

“But mom, he smelled bad! And he looked weird!”

“So what? All he wanted was your help. You could’ve politely said no. That’s not how we treat others, dear. So we need to apologize. Come with me.”

Lacey and Aaron decided to apologize and found the man in the dairy aisle. He was sitting on the floor, hugging his knees and crying.

“Sir,” Lacey spoke gently. “I’m sorry for my son’s behavior. He shouldn’t have been so rude.”

The man looked up at the sound of Lacey’s voice, and she noticed he appeared old, frail, and weary. His face was etched with wrinkles, and beneath them, Lacey recognized the man to whom she owed her success. He had vanished eight years ago, and she never imagined she would find him like this—in a foreign town and in such dire straits.

“Mr. Rutledge? Oh my God! It’s you!” she declared, covering her mouth with her hand. “Oh, I’ve found you!”

But he seemed not to recognize her. “I don’t know… I’m just a poor man and I’m hungry.”

“Don’t you remember me? I’m Lacey. I was your student!”

“I don’t know…” he sobbed. “I don’t know anything. Please, leave me alone!”

Lacey couldn’t understand what was wrong with him, but she managed to console him and took him home. The man bathed at her house, wore her husband’s clothes, and burst into tears when he tasted home-cooked food. He retreated to the guest room, and the only thing he shared was that he had been living as a homeless man, begging to survive.

The next day, Lacey took him to a doctor and found out he had lost his memory due to a severe accident. The doctor suggested that treatment might help, but they weren’t very optimistic.

Nevertheless, Lacey chose to care for Mr. Rutledge like a daughter. Years ago, in law school, Mr. Rutledge had been her professor. He had to recommend a student for an international internship, and he chose her.

This internship launched her legal career, and Lacey worked for that firm for ten years before opening her own firm. When Mr. Rutledge had suddenly disappeared, and his family needed support, Lacey stepped in to help them.

Sadly, during their encounter in the store, he didn’t even remember having a family, but she was willing to provide him with any help he needed to recover. Gradually, Mr. Rutledge began remembering small pieces of who he once was.

It turned out he had been attacked by three men during a trip, who had taken all his belongings, including his identification. He managed to get treated at a hospital, but not knowing where to go, he ended up begging to survive.

It would take years for him to regain his full memory and return to his family, but Lacey never gave up until then. She stayed by her former professor’s side, helping him, in a way, to reclaim his lost life.

What can we learn from this story?

Sometimes, it only takes a moment for life to change. The moment Lacey decided to apologize to the poor man Aaron had insulted forever changed Mr. Rutledge’s life.

We should respect everyone, no matter where they are from or who they are. Lacey’s decision to be kind to someone in need reunited her with the professor she owed her success to.

Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.