A school teacher was on her way home when she saw a poor old man selling books on the road. She borrowed a novel from him, and after reading the author’s biography on it later, she rushed to the man’s house the next day.
Helen Williams loved teaching and being around children. She believed that education was necessary for the younger generation to learn about new cultures and stay absorbed in information.
Helen’s students loved her class, mainly because she had interesting tactics to make her lessons fun and entertaining. Whether it was Shakespeare’s classic plays or short stories with morals, she knew how to make them catchy.
Daily after school, she often stayed back and prepared presentations with pictures and videos for the next class. One day, Helen realized she’d stayed back very late. She missed the last bus and had to walk home…
Helen loved teaching & she believed education shaped the younger generation’s future. | Source: Pexels
“Thank goodness it didn’t rain today,” Helen muttered. The entire week’s weather had been terrible, but that particular day was warm and pleasant.
Helen carried her bag and was still drowned in deep thoughts about the class. She wanted to experiment with several fun ways to teach literature so that her students never took the subject for granted.
Helen was moved by Rowan’s simplicity and asked him how he knew the author. After a brief pause, the old man revealed the unthinkable.
Helen enjoyed walking on the breezy, sunlit evening when she slowed down after noticing an old man across the street. She saw some carton boxes near him, and he was busy collecting papers fluttering around.
Helen was surprised and confused at the same time. She watched the man put paperweight to keep the loose papers in place on the concrete pavement. The man kept looking around for people, and Helen wondered if he was selling something. She was curious and crossed the road to find out…
An old man was selling something across the street. | Source: Pexels
“Hello there….” Helen anxiously called out to the old man. “What are these papers and books for?”
Helen picked up a fluttering paper and began reading. The words on the paper moved her. She was curious to know who wrote them.
“May I know from where you got these?” she humbly asked the old man. “Are all these children’s stories? Why are there no extra copies of them?”
The old man introduced himself as Sam Rowan and said he had worked in a famous publishing house in the city in the late ’80s.
“With the advent of mobile phones and computers, people lost interest in reading,” Rowan revealed. “My publisher shut down the business, and I was fired…Many employees lost their jobs but found alternate work.”
Rowan wrote children’s books for several years and tried selling them because he couldn’t think of anything else other than literature and writing. Helen was fascinated by the man’s dedication to writing and decided to help him.
Rowan worked in a publishing house decades ago before it was shut down. | Source: Pixabay
“I want to help you, but I don’t have any money to buy a book from you,” Helen told Rowan. “But I’d be pleased if you lend me a copy, and I promise to come back tomorrow and pay you.”
Rowan was delighted because not many people were interested in even stopping by at his little bookstall. He gave Helen a book along with his address.
“I take two days off every week to write a new story,” he excitedly informed Helen.
That evening, Helen was carried away by Rowan’s story. As she finished reading, she checked for the author’s biography and was speechless after seeing it was written by a familiar writer whose stories she read in childhood.
“OWEN CARLSON??? Is he the famous children’s writer whose stories I read growing up?” Helen jumped in surprise. She couldn’t wait to meet the old man the next day because she wanted more books. She was also confused about how Rowan ended up getting Carlson’s novels.
Helen hurried to Rowan’s address after school and welcomed herself to a bit of surprise at an abandoned corner of town.
“He lives here???” Helen muttered because she couldn’t believe her eyes after seeing the area.
Helen was stunned when she came across the author’s biography in the novel she borrowed from Rowan. | Source: Unsplash
Rowan lived in an old shack nestled away from an old factory shut down decades ago. As Helen entered the house, she noticed it wasn’t furnished except for an old, ragged bed and plenty of carton boxes with papers and books ready for binding. She looked around for the old man and found him in front of an old typewriter.
“Hey there! Welcome to my little nest,” Rowan greeted on seeing Helen.
The two chatted for a long time. Helen was moved by Rowan’s simplicity and asked him how he knew Owen Carlson. After a brief pause, the old man revealed the unthinkable.
“I AM OWEN CARLSON… IT’S MY PEN NAME!” he replied.
Helen was shocked. She couldn’t believe that she was with a famous writer whose stories had consumed her fantasies during her childhood. She learned that Rowan had no family, and the only house he lived in was torn down years ago after a corporate company bought the land. Helen felt sorry for him and realized that he deserved his lost recognition.
She recalled an old friend from college who currently worked for a publishing house in the city. She took several stories Rowan had written, promising to return with a life-changing piece of news. Rowan had no idea what she was talking about but trusted her and waited…
The famous book writer lived in a semi-abandoned house nestled near a deserted factory. | Source: Unsplash
A week later, Helen dropped by Rowan’s bookstall again. But she didn’t find him there and knew he would be in his house.
“So, my friend liked your stories, and he….” Helen told Rowan, who was clueless. “He showed it to his chief editor, and they loved your work.”
Rowan smiled heartily on hearing this. He thanked Helen for retrieving a bit of his lost fame. But Helen interrupted the old man and revealed the bigger surprise that brought tears to his eyes.
“They would like to hire you as an editor-cum-writer for their children’s stories column,” Helen happily divulged. “You just have to learn to type on a computer… I’ll teach you how to do that.”
Rowan was overly delighted by this news. It felt like he’d traveled through a dark tunnel for years to leap into the light. On the other hand, Helen was pleased to have found the forgotten writer. She knew that he deserved better for all the knowledge he’d fostered in the younger generations of the past.
Helen and Rowan were thick friends from then onward. Every time he released a book under the pen name Owen Carlson, Helen would be the first one to read it and give him her feedback.
“Uncle Rowan! I don’t believe you wrote a book about me!” Helen exclaimed in joy after reading Rowan’s latest book. It was titled The Angel Who Visited Me and narrated the story of Helen’s good deed and their friendship!
Helen helped the forgotten children’s book author earn his recognition. | Source: Pexels
What can we learn from this story?
- Don’t think twice about helping someone who needs it. When Helen saw Rowan selling books on the road, she decided to help him. But after learning that he was a famous writer who was forgotten due to the advent of technology, she introduced him to an acquaintance in the literary field and got him hired for a writer’s position.
- Educating the younger generation today builds a stronger future tomorrow. Helen loved teaching her students because she believed that the younger generation needs to flourish with knowledge.
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This account is inspired by our reader’s story and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Please share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you want to share your story, please send it to [email protected].
