Chapter 2: The Secret Visitor
Chapter 2: The Secret Visitor
Emily's father stared in disbelief.
"I was there every day."
The boy nodded.
"I know."
"You've never been there."
"I only came at night."
He reached into the pocket of his worn shirt and unfolded a small stack of crumpled papers.
Every page contained colorful drawings.
Castles.
Butterflies.
Mountains.
And a little girl standing beneath a bright yellow sun.
Emily gasped.
"My drawings..."
"I kept every one."
She looked at her father.
"I told you someone left me stories every night."
Her father remembered.
Every morning Emily had spoken about mysterious handwritten letters that appeared beside her hospital bed.
Stories about brave children who never gave up.
Stories signed only with one word.
A Friend.
He had assumed the nurses were trying to encourage her.
The head nurse stepped forward, tears filling her eyes.
"It wasn't us."
The boy lowered his eyes.
"I cleaned the hospital after school."
"I wasn't supposed to visit patients."
"But she always looked so lonely."
"So I left stories instead."
Emily smiled.
"They made me believe I could still dream."
The guests looked at the boy differently now.
The dust on his clothes no longer seemed important.
Neither did his bare feet.
The billionaire father slowly asked,
"Why didn't you ever tell anyone?"
The boy shrugged.
"Because kindness isn't supposed to ask for attention."
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For the first time that evening, the father saw not a poor child...
But a heart richer than everyone in the ballroom combined.
