The Man Who Returned a Missing Wallet

It was a hot afternoon, the kind that makes everything feel slow and tiring. People moved lazily along the roadside and focused on their own problems, but no one noticed when a brown leather wallet slipped quietly from a man’s back pocket as he boarded a bus except one pedestrian.

He was a middle-aged man named Akpan. He dressed in a faded shirt and worn-out sandals, physically looking like a beggar. He picked up the money and looked around, checking if he could see the man whose wallet had dropped, but the bus had already left in a cloud of dust.

Mr. Akpan opened the wallet, and inside it was money, quite a lot of money, more than he probably had seen in weeks. There were also cards, a driver’s license, and a small photograph of the smiling family of the man who dropped the wallet. For a moment Mr. Akpan stood still and thought of using the money to solve his life problems, and there was a lot of battle in his mind at that moment. Life hadn’t been kind to him, so he needed money so desperately. Anyone could understand if he kept it; after all, who would know? Since no one was watching, instead, he sighed and closed the wallet. Instead of following his greedy mind and intentions, he decided to look for the owner of the wallet. Fortunately, the man's address on his ID card wasn’t too far. So under the burning sun, he began to walk towards the destination of the unknown man.

When he finally got there, he knocked on the gate. The man whose wallet was missing rushed out almost immediately, as if he had been expecting bad news. “Sir,” said Mr. Akpan gently as he stretched out his hand towards the man, “I think this belongs to you.”

The owner froze and quickly grabbed the wallet from Mr Akpan checking inside it thoroughly as if he hid something in it. When he realized that everything was intact his face brightened and he was very happy.

His face changed from panic to shock and then to deep relief and the man said to Mr Akpan "I'm so glad you found my wallet and everything is here. Thank you so much, and God bless you!” he exclaimed.

He tried to offer Mr. Akpan a reward, but the man shook his head with a small smile. And said, "No need, but just be more careful next time.”

And just like that, he turned and walked away from the man.

I know the act Mr. Akpan portrayed might sound foolish, but this is actually the right and honorable thing to do for others around us. Just a simple act of honesty in the world can make the world a better place and bring trust in humanity.