Old Man Chases Away Poor Boy Who Steals Flowers from His Garden, Sees Them on Son’s Grave Later – Touching Story

George noticed a little boy stealing flowers from his garden, so he chased him away because they were the only memory of his son. But while visiting the cemetery, he discovered the same flowers wilting on his grave. Then he saw the poor boy, who revealed something shocking.

George lived alone in his house, and he didn’t have any family left. His only son, Elliot, died in a car accident a few years ago, and he wasn’t the most pleasant person in the world. The truth is that the death of his child had made him more of a loner, and he stayed separated from society.

But at the very least, he maintained his house in perfect shape because that’s where Elliot grew up, and one of his favorite spots was their front garden. They had perfected it together while Elliot was a teenager, and he had even gone on to become a garden designer and landscaper in their town in Destin, Florida.

George had to keep it up on his own after Elliot died, but it always felt like Elliot was around when George was out there. It was his only solace. He liked to enjoy the view from his kitchen window whenever he finished eating and cleaned the dishes.

The little boy looked up and his eyes widened in shock. “Oh!” he muttered and almost turned to run away again, but George had caught his sleeve with one hand.

However, today was different. “STOP RIGHT THERE!” he yelled, almost dropping the plate in his hand when he saw a little scoundrel picking at the flowers in his garden. The boy looked up, eyes wide and thoroughly spooked.

George raced outside, screaming at him, “HOW DARE YOU DAMAGE MY GARDEN? YOU SCOUNDREL!”

But the boy didn’t listen. He raced out of there with the few flowers he picked, and George couldn’t catch him. “DON’T COME BACK HERE, OR I’LL CALL THE POLICE!”

When he recovered from that infuriating episode, George surveyed the damage, and it wasn’t that bad. The boy only took a few flowers and didn’t ruin anything. He was relieved.

That same day, he decided to visit Elliot’s grave. Going there also brought him a small semblance of peace, and luckily, it wasn’t that far away.

When he arrived there, he told Elliot all about his encounter with the little thief back at his house

“Can you believe it, son? He was stealing from our garden! Although… well, he kinda reminded me of you,” George narrated, getting wistful as he spoke. “You also loved gardening and all kinds of flowers. Maybe you could’ve been a botanist or something like that, but you decided that making people’s homes beautiful was even better. I miss you so much, kid.” George choked up as he always did while talking to his late son.

Elliot died well into his 30s. He was so focused on his career that marriage was never on the horizon. In hindsight, George wished he could’ve pushed his son to start a family, to leave a legacy behind. Now it’s just him and his ex-wife, whom he never spoke to, who would carry on Elliot’s memory.

Something distracted George from his sad musings. He spotted a little boy coming directly to his son’s grave. He was the same boy who stole flowers from his garden that morning and he placed the same flowers on Elliot’s grave. He didn’t even pay attention to George until the older man spoke up.

“Hey! You!”

The little boy looked up, and his eyes widened in shock. “Oh!” he muttered and almost turned to run away again, but George had caught his sleeve with one hand.

“You’re not going anywhere this time, kid,” George said smugly. “First of all, why did you steal flowers from my garden? And secondly, why did you put them here? And no lying or I will call the police on you.”

The older man realized that the police wouldn’t do anything about a little boy stealing flowers, but hopefully, the threat was enough to spook him into talking.

It worked. At first, the little boy pursed his lips, but he was afraid of George. “This is my dad, sir.”

George was silent for a second too long at that revelation. “That’s impossible, kid. This is my son, and he didn’t have children.”

My mom told me he’s my father, and he didn’t know about me. But she said that he is watching out for me in heaven,” the boy continued, and George frowned. The child looked so sure of what he was saying.

He asked him where he lived, and the boy gestured for him to follow. George followed because he wanted to have a word with his mother.

***

After a few minutes of walking, they reached a rather different neighborhood that George had never visited. Clearly, there were lower-income homes there. When they got to the boy’s home a woman answered the door.

“Hello?” the woman said, and the little boy wrapped himself around her leg. “Eli, where were you?”

Hello, ma’am,” George said, tipping his fedora at her. “My name is George Henderson. I actually live nearby, and I met your son at the cemetery. I live on the other side. May I have a word with you?”

“I’m Fiona. It’s nice to meet you. Would you like to come in?” she said pleasantly. As George entered the house, Fiona told him that her son would often sneak out to go to the cemetery. Eli had run off to his room by this time.

George sat down on her humble couch, and she offered him coffee. “Do you know why your son sneaks out? I actually caught him stealing flowers from my garden, and then I met him at my son’s grave. My son was Elliot Henderson.”

Fiona stopped stirring the sugar into her coffee and finally looked up at George. “Wow… I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry he was stealing your flowers, though.”

“So, you know why your son goes there?”

“Yes, and it’s a somewhat long story,” Fiona began and explained her short-lived relationship with Elliot. They were together for some time, but they had a massive fight before she discovered she was pregnant. But she didn’t want to call or tell him about it.

So, I just moved on. But Eli started asking questions about his father, and I realized he needed to know a little bit about him. That’s when I found out online that Elliot had died. My sincerest condolences.”

“Thank you, but you didn’t think to look up his family and introduce your son?” George said, his voice rough at discovering that he had a grandson and how Elliot never met his son.

No, sir. I’m so sorry, but I’ve been a single mother for so long, and I know we don’t have much, but we get by,” Fiona replied, taking a deep breath afterward. “I should have.”

“Yes, you should have,” George agreed, not knowing what else to say.

Before he left, George told Fiona to call him if they needed anything, especially because he wasn’t that far away. He also wanted his grandson to have more, to have everything.

It was tricky at first because George was so used to being alone. But eventually, he grew to adore Eli and gained tons of affection for Fiona. If Elliot had known she was pregnant, he would’ve stepped up for sure, so George did that as best he could for his newfound family.