Чужой кошелёк

It was a cold evening in November, and the train was full. Tom found a seat in the corner and closed his eyes. When he opened them, the woman next to him had gone. On her seat there was a brown wallet.

Tom picked it up. Inside there were a few cards, some cash and an old photo of a little girl with a dog. There was no phone number, only an address in a village two stops away.

Tom looked at his watch. He was tired and hungry, and he wanted to go home. But he kept thinking about the photo. If he lost something like that, he would be very upset.

So he got off at the village and walked through the rain to the address. An old woman opened the door. “Yes?” she said. She looked a little afraid.

“I think this is yours,” Tom said and gave her the wallet. The woman looked at it for a long time. Then she started to cry.

“It's not the money,” she said at last. “It's the photo. That's my daughter. She lives on the other side of the world now, and I haven't seen her for six years. It's the only photo of her as a child that I have.”

She asked him to come in and made him a cup of tea. They talked for an hour. Tom missed the last train, so her neighbour drove him home.

Two weeks later Tom got a letter. Inside there was a new photo: a smiling woman with a little girl and a dog. On the back someone had written: “Thank you for bringing my mother's smile back. Anna.”