Lost and Found - a short flash fiction story about lost property, poverty, honesty and the good life by Rob Hopcott

The wallet spiralled to the ground and, with a flash of thigh, the immaculately dressed blonde woman in a tailored red suit eased herself out of the sports saloon she'd just parked near to where Smiley Johnson sat on the pavement.

Then, with rapidly clicking high heels and the scent of Chanel, she was gone, hardly giving Smiley a chance to focus his rheumy old eyes on her elegant and fast departing figure or on the wallet she'd left behind.

To Smiley, the London pavements were always hard and cold to sit on, even at the peak of an English summer when the skyline almost shimmered with the heat. Today was one of the sunniest mornings he'd known for years yet the newspapers he'd carefully placed beneath him still couldn't protect his old bones from the chill.

Smiley peered lugubriously at the well-stuffed wallet that the woman had dropped and then again down the busy High Street in the direction she'd disappeared.

He shuffled uncomfortably on the pavement and absentmindedly moved the hat he had placed to receive coins donated by passers-by closer to the wallet.

Although the street wasn't busy, the patterned brick parking places were popular with local office workers and, as they passed Smiley in the morning, they would sometimes be generous to an old man down and out on his luck.

Unfortunately, working this spot meant Smiley had to leave the hostel where he lived early and miss breakfast but, once he had a few coins in his pocket, he could always catch up with his eating later and, with a bit of luck, might even be able to afford a bottle of cider to wash it down.

Sadly for Smiley, this morning his old hat was almost empty, except for the two old washers he had put there to encourage the idea of giving and it was almost time to move on. He had missed breakfast and probably now would miss his cider too.

Nevertheless, as Smiley left the spot where he begged for coppers each day, he almost had a skip in his gait and his heart was as light as the white clouds that floated high above the London traffic on that hot sunny day. A lorry passed, showering him with dust and fumes but he still smiled. Sometimes it was just good to be alive.

Later, in an office block high above the street through which Smiley had trudged, the blonde woman with the tightly tailored red suit was in a meeting with her secretary when her wallet was returned by an apologetic doorman. He explained it had been handed in by an old man who hadn't left his name and who had only given them the vaguest description of its owner which meant it had taken them some time to track her down.

Smiley trudged on contentedly through the streets. The money in the wallet could have changed his life, at least for a time, but the knowledge that he had known the office block in which the well-to-do attractive lady worked and had returned the wallet untouched would give him a warm feeling for much longer.

Bye for now

Rob
(Rob Hopcott - free online author)

Is honesty the best policy or are the ruthless always those that reap the rewards?

What do you think? Leave your opinions - but not your wallets - in the comments section below.

I'd love to know what you think :-)

Enjoyed this? You may also enjoy 'One more step' - a flash fiction very short story about an old stone seat, lost love, romance, death and reunion by Rob Hopcott

This short flash fiction very short story about lost property, poverty, honesty and the good life is copyright Rob Hopcott 2008, all rights reserved. All characters and places in this flash short fiction morality story and other free on-line humor, short stories, flash fictions, science fictions, micro-fictions, sudden fictions, post card fictions or very short stories on this site, are fictitious and no reference is intended to any person or organization, living or otherwise.