A policeman’s son befriends a homeless man and his dog and brings them food every day. Then the dog appears unexpectedly and alerts him to an injustice.At twelve, Brian Devlin was small for his age, and not very athletic. His father, Gary, didn’t really understand his shy, bookish son. His son was nothing like him…
He had been a tall, strapping, boisterous boy, always up to his ears in mischief. Gary tried to build his son’s self-confidence, but the harder he tried, the more Brian seemed to pull away.
Brian was smart, that Gary couldn’t deny, and he had a scholarship at a prestigious private college on the other side of town. The boy was scared of taking a bus, but since the school was close to his work, Gary picked him up every afternoon.
Gary was a desk Sargeant at the local precinct, and by the time his work ended at 5:00 p.m., the school day was long over. In the winter, Brian waited in the library and did his homework. But in the summer, he sat on the school steps and waited for his dad, soaking up the sunshine.
One afternoon, when Gary arrived, Brian wasn’t on the steps. He was outside the school gates petting a dog. Brian looked up at his dad with a happy grin.
Don’t make assumptions about people before you know who they are.
“Look, Dad,” he cried, then he said to the dog, “Dance!”
The dog hopped up onto its back legs and did a little jig, front paws up in the air and its tongue lolling out happily.
“Isn’t that so cool?” the boy asked.
“Yes,” Gary said, surprised by the enthusiasm Brian was showing. “Whose dog is that?”
“It’s Carl’s,” Brain said, and pointed at a man sitting on the pavement and leaning back against the school fence. The man was in his forties and he was clearly homeless.
A ragged bundle of blankets lay on the ground next to him, and he was unshaven. The dog, however, was well cared for. It was a Golden Retriever, and its fur was groomed and gleaming.
The man shrank back when Gary looked at him, so he said to his son, “Come on, now, it’s time to go.”
On the way home, Gary said, “Listen, Brian, I want you to stay away from that man and his dog, OK?”
“Carl’s OK and I love Goblin!” Brian protested.
“Goblin?” Gary asked. “Is that the dog’s name? Well, I’m sure Goblins’ a good dog, but I don’t want you befriending vagrants, Brian. Do you understand?”
“But dad…” Brian protested.
“Not another word,” Gary snapped.
The next day, when Gary came to fetch Brian, the boy was studiously sitting on the steps reading a book, but that night, his wife co
mplained that half a roast chicken was missing.
“I don’t understand!” she cried. “I set it aside to make sandwiches for Brian’s lunch and now it’s gone!”
Gary looked over at Brian and the boy looked so innocent that he was immediately suspicious. Was Brian taking food to school for that vagrant and his dog?
Gary started keeping an eye on the pantry and noticed that tins of sausages kept vanishing. He now knew that his son was stealing so he could feed the dog and the homeless man every day. Gary felt a pang.
His son, who had such difficulty making human friends, had bonded with the dog. It was a pity it belonged to a vagrant, a man who might be dangerous.
Two days later, Gary got off work early and when he arrived at the school, he caught Brian outside the gates. He had a bag in his hand and he was saying: “Hey guys, I have your favorite spaghetti, Carl. And for you boy, your favorite sausages!”
“BRIAN!” he thundered. “What are you doing?”
The boy looked up at him, and for the first time, Gary saw fear in his son’s eyes. Immediately he felt a surge of anger
It was this derelict’s fault that his son was afraid of him! He stepped forward and clenched his fists. “Get away from that man,” Gary shouted. “Get into the car!”
That night, Gary and his wife sat down and talked to Brian about the dangers of befriending strange men. Brian shrugged it off. “Dad, I know about stranger danger and bad touching. Carl is NOT like that, he’s nice. You can tell he’s a good person because Goblin loves him so much, and Goblin’s the BEST, smartest dog.”
“Brian,” Gary said quietly. “I’m sure Goblin’s a great dog, but you know what? Hitler had a great dog and he loved him, and I’m sure the dog loved him back. A good dog does NOT make this vagrant a good person. Please stay away from him, Brian!”
“NO!” shouted Brian, and he pushed back his chair. “Carl is my friend and I love Goblin! Why do you always have to spoil everything? I HATE YOU!”
That night, Gary made a decision. He was going to solve this problem his own way…
That Saturday, Brian woke up early to the sound of anxious barking. He thought sleepily, “That sounds just like Goblin!”
Brain jumped out of bed and looked out of his window. It WAS Goblin, and he was standing on the porch barking anxiously and looking very unhappy.
“Goblin!” Brian cried as he opened the door, and immediately the dog ran to him. Goblin put his head in Brian’s lap and started whining. “What’s wrong, boy? Where’s Carl?”
But the dog just whined and shivered so Brian decided to do something he’d always been afraid to do before — go to his dad’s work and ask for his help.
Gary was stunned when he saw Brian at the precinct with the dog by his side. “Brian!” he gasped. “What are you doing here? How did you get here?”
“Dad!” he cried. “I think something bad happened to Carl. Goblin came looking for me and he’s very scared…” But Goblin wasn’t looking scared, he was looking up at Brian’s dad and growling.
Brian had never heard Goblin growl before. “Dad!” he asked. “What have you done?”
Gary flushed. “Carl was loitering near a school and he was warned off twice, so we arrested him!”
“But dad!” Brain cried. “He did nothing wrong! He’s not well, he needs help…You don’t know anything about him! He’s a veteran and he was in the bomb squad and he worked with sniffer dogs to find explosives. That’s why Goblin’s so well trained. He’s a good man and you arrested him because he’s sick!”
“He’s not SICK!” Gary cried angrily. “He’s a bum!”
Brian had tears in his eyes. “No, dad,” he said softly. “He doesn’t drink or anything, and most of the time he talks to people who aren’t there. He needs help.”
Gary was ashamed of himself, mostly because he couldn’t admit that there was a part of him that was jealous of Carl and his easy friendship with his son.
He did some investigating and discovered that Carl had a sister in a neighboring state who had been looking for him for years. He contacted Carl’s sister and she was overjoyed.
She took Carl home and enrolled him in an outpatient mental health clinic immediately. Goblin went too, of course. Brian missed Carl, but mostly he missed Goblin.
Then one day his dad came home with a big grin on his face and a strange lump under his jacket. He lifted out a wriggling puppy and presented it to Brian. “There you go,” he said. “You have to name him!”
Brian started crying, he was so happy. “Goblin,” he gasped. “His name is Goblin Two!”
What can we learn from this story?
Don’t make assumptions about people before you know who they are. Gary assumed Carl was a drunk and a danger before he knew anything about him.
Kindness and compassion are the greatest of virtues. Brian’s empathy led him to befriend Carl, and he helped him find his way back home.
Things in My House Started Moving Around — I Installed a Security Camera and Was Shocked When I Saw the Footage
I had started acclimating to living alone when something strange began occurring in my house. I partly wondered if it was a ghost, maybe my late husband playing a sick game, but I didn’t believe in all that. When I finally found the truth, my jaw dropped, and my head couldn’t stop spinning from the shock!
At 62, I’ve been living alone since my husband passed away 15 years ago. Our son left us two decades back and now lives full-time in another country. However, I’ve noticed strange things happening in my house for the past month. At first, I brushed it off, thinking I might have just forgotten where I put them until one day.
A distressed woman | Source: Midjourney
For weeks, my furniture, photos, and little things like vases and picture frames started moving around by themselves in my house. I chalked it down to old age, but it became impossible to ignore as the days passed.
One day, I found a chair from the dining room pushed up against the living room wall! Then, I noticed a family portrait I hadn’t touched in years lying on the kitchen counter! I thought I was LOSING my mind!
A dining room chair in the living room | Source: Midjourney
To avoid jumping to conclusions and to reassure myself, a few days later, I started taking photos of each room before going to bed. I then compared them to the following morning’s view.
To my shock and dismay, the furniture HAD INDEED moved! And not just by an inch or two; sometimes, entire items were in different rooms! This wasn’t just me misremembering or being forgetful!
A woman comparing a photo | Source: Midjourney
I couldn’t sleep due to the paranoia. I stayed awake, listening for any sounds that would give me a clue of what was happening. But the nights were silent.
I realized I needed solid proof, so I decided to set up a security camera system around the house. I installed two cameras in the living room, one in the kitchen, another in the hallway leading to the bedrooms, and one in my bedroom.
They were simple devices, but I was desperate to get to the bottom of this. That became the best choice but also a bad one because the truth turned out to be much darker than expected.
A camera system | Source: Pexels
For the first few days, nothing unusual showed up on the footage. No movement, no shadows; just the same empty rooms and the stray cat who sometimes wandered around. But on the fifth day, I found something I hadn’t expected.
I played back the recording from my living room camera and froze when I saw it: a figure dressed entirely in black!
Whoever it was, they were careful not to expose any part of their body. Even their face was hidden beneath a mask! I nearly lost it when I saw what was actually happening!
An intruder in a house | Source: Midjourney
I watched in horror as they moved slowly, almost cautiously, as if they knew exactly where the cameras were. It sent shivers down my spine!
The figure rearranged the items in my house, shifting furniture, placing objects in new positions, and even standing eerily still at times, just looking around. The footage showed them sneaking around the house at odd hours, mainly when I was out running errands or during the early morning when I’d just stepped out to get groceries.
The burglar moved so silently and systematically that I wondered how LONG this had been going on!
An intruder placing a living room item into the kitchen | Source: Midjourney
Panicking, I called the police and told them about the intruder. I played the footage back to the officer who came by, and he, too, was visibly disturbed.
“We’ll increase patrols in the area, ma’am,” he said, glancing uneasily at the paused image of the figure on my screen. “But until we catch this person, you need to be extra careful. Lock your doors and windows; all of them.”
I nodded, but couldn’t shake the feeling that more had to be done.
An upset woman talking to a cop | Source: Midjourney
I realized I couldn’t live like this; constantly on edge, feeling unsafe in my own home. So, I asked the officer to help set up a plan. He suggested I leave the house during the day but stay nearby and watch the footage live. That way, if the intruder returned, the police would be ready.
The next day, I packed a small bag and left the house as if going for my usual errands. But instead of running to the store, I went to a small café across the street from my house. I could see my front door clearly from the window seat.
A woman looking at a laptop in a café | Source: Midjourney
My laptop was set up in front of me, and I anxiously watched the live feed from my cameras. For hours, nothing happened. My heart pounded as the minutes ticked by. I sipped coffee, pretending to read a book, but I couldn’t focus on ANYTHING except the screen!
Then, just when I thought maybe today would be another false alarm, the front door creaked open.
My breath caught in my throat!
An intruder at the door | Source: Midjourney
There, standing in my hallway, was the intruder; dressed the same as before! I grabbed my phone with trembling hands and called the same police officer I’d dealt with the other day.
“He’s here,” I whispered as if the intruder could hear me while I tried to keep my voice steady. “He’s in my house right NOW.”
The officer assured me they were already on their way. They had a team positioned just a few blocks down. I watched, my stomach twisting in knots, as the intruder moved through my house again. But this time, something was different.
A worried woman on a phone call | Source: Midjourney
He wasn’t just moving things around; he was going through my belongings. He opened drawers, pulled out old photo albums, and sifted through my personal documents!
I watched, helpless, as he walked into my bedroom and opened the closet. He picked up one of my late husband’s old sweaters, holding it up to his chest for a moment. Then, he dropped it carelessly to the floor. It was like he was taunting me, trying to show me he had control over my life!
An intruder holds a sweater | Source: Midjourney
Just as he was about to leave the room, a loud banging sound echoed through the house, the police had arrived! I saw the figure freeze for a split second before he bolted toward the back door. The officers burst in, guns drawn, shouting commands!
The figure tried to flee, but it was no use. They tackled him to the ground in my backyard!
I could see everything unfolding from my laptop like it was a movie. Relief washed over me, but it was quickly replaced by a sickening dread as they pulled off his mask.
Officers apprehending an intruder | Source: Midjourney
It was my son.
The same son I hadn’t seen or spoken to in 20 years! He looked up at the officers with wild eyes, struggling against their grip.
“Let me go!” he shouted. “This is MY house! I have a right to be here!”
The officers exchanged confused glances and turned to look at each other as I rushed out of the café, stumbling across the street. I felt like I was moving in slow motion! When I finally reached the backyard, I stared at him, disbelief and heartbreak swirling inside me!
An intruder apprehended by a cop | Source: Midjourney
“Why, Trevor?” I managed to say, my voice barely a whisper. “Why would you DO this?”
I was taken aback when he laughed… a bitter, almost unrecognizable sound!
“Why do YOU think? You cut me off all those years ago! You left me with nothing!” He struggled against the officers holding him down. “I needed money, and you were just sitting on all of it, living in this big house by yourself!”
I felt my legs go weak. I had to clutch the side of the patio table to keep from collapsing!
A shocked woman | Source: Midjourney
“So, what?” I asked, my voice shaking. “You wanted to drive me insane? Make me think I was losing my mind?”
“YES!” he spat, glaring up at me with a look of pure hatred.
“If I could get you declared mentally unstable, I’d become your guardian. I could sell the house, get access to your accounts…”
I couldn’t listen anymore. I turned away, tears blurring my vision. I’d spent years missing him, wondering if I’d done something wrong as a mother, and now this? My son, the little boy I’d held in my arm, had come back to torment me for money?
A shocked woman crying | Source: Midjourney
After the police took him away, I sat down in the living room, the room that had once been my sanctuary. Now, it felt like a stranger’s house. Everything was where it should be, but it didn’t feel right anymore.
Days later, I got a call from the station. My son had confessed, on the record, to everything. His debts were enormous, and he was desperate.
I agreed to pay off his debts, not for him, but for the sake of ending this nightmare… he was still my child, after all.
I even dropped the charges against him but got a restraining order.
An upset woman on a call | Source: Freepik
But I made one thing clear: “I never want to see or hear from you again, Trevor. And if I do, you’re going straight to jail! Your father would be so disappointed in who you’ve become. You’re no longer my son.”
I hung up the phone feeling emptier than I ever had in my entire life. I thought losing my husband was hard, but this… this was a pain I couldn’t even begin to describe.
A distressed woman sitting and thinking | Source: Freepik
In the following story, Lily was by her mother’s side when she started deteriorating from cancer. After her mother died, her greedy aunts and brother attended the will reading where they got millions! Lily got nothing and was distressed until the lawyer handed her something that would help her mourn her mother peacefully.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
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