A kind but poor teacher fed a starving orphan only for the boy to disappear from the village, leaving behind silence and sorrow. This is how it all began. Alice had just been transferred to Mapota Community Primary School. Today was her first day. She walked happily on the road, excited to see her new school.

As she got closer to the school gate, she saw a boy standing by the side. He looked very sad. His school uniform was dirty, torn, and hanging loosely on his small body. Alice walked up to him and asked gently, “Why are you standing here? Why haven’t you gone inside the school?” The boy looked down and said, “My clothes are torn.

 My classmates will laugh at me again, and I am very hungry.” She asked softly, “When last did you eat?” The boy replied, “I was not given food at home since the day before yesterday.” Alice was surprised. Why didn’t they give you food? She asked. The boy sighed and said, it’s a punishment for my father. Alice was confused.

 What kind of father would do that? Why would anyone starve their child? But Alice didn’t know the full truth. Junior didn’t have a real father. His parents were gone. Alice felt sorry for him. She gently held his hand and led him to a small food place near the school. She used her money to buy him a plate of rice and stew.

 Junior looked at her with tears in his eyes. He grabbed the spoon and began to eat fast like someone who was scared the food would disappear. After Junior finished eating, Alice smiled and said, “Come, let’s go back to school now.” “But Junior” shook his head. “I can’t,” he said quietly. “If I don’t get new school uniform, my classmates will laugh at me again.

 I won’t be able to bear it.” Alice thought for a while, then said kindly, “Okay, wait for me here. I’ll go quickly and come back. Then I’ll take you to the market and buy you a new uniform.” Junior nodded. “I will wait,” he said. But the moment Alice turned her back, something in Junior snapped. He looked left, then right, like a bird searching for a way out of cage.

 Then, without a word, he turned and walked away. Not to the school, not to his house, but into the unknown. Into the wide, wide world where no one was waiting and no one would call him back. Junior was tired. Tired of the schoolmates who mocked him. Tired of his uncle who beat him. Tired of a village where no one truly cared.

He had made up his mind. He would leave and never return. So he walked and walked. Later that day, when school closed, Alice came back to the food place. But Junior was not there. She waited a bit then thought maybe he went home. So she went to her own house. But Junior did not go home. His uncle and the uncle’s wife were already waiting for him at the house.

 The uncle stood with a hard face and said, “No matter how late comes, I must punish him. He dares to disobey me again.” They waited. Night came, but Junior never returned. The next morning, the uncle asked around. Someone told him that Junior was seen the day before with a new girl at school, a teacher who just transferred.

The man rushed to school and found Alice. He shouted, “Where is my son?” Alice was surprised and confused. “I don’t understand,” she said. “Who are you talking about?” The man barked. “Junior, you were the last person seen with him in this village. Where is he?” Alice took a step back. I only helped him. He was hungry and sad.

 “I gave him food. That was all,” she said softly. The uncle stormed out of the school compound, boiling with anger. He went straight to the police station. “Meanwhile,” the headmaster called Alice into his office. “What happened between you and Junior?” he asked. Alice explained everything. “He looked hungry and tired.

 I gave him food and asked him to wait for me so I could take him to the market and buy a new uniform. But when I came back, he was gone. The headmaster rubbed his head, confused. Uh, you only helped the pupil and now he has disappeared. This is serious and strange. As they were still talking, the uncle returned with a police officer beside him.

 He pointed at Alice and shouted, “That is her. She is not a teacher. She is a ritualist pretending to be a teacher. She has taken my son and hidden him somewhere.” Alice stood up, shocked. Her voice shook. I only helped the boy. I gave him food. That’s all. I didn’t do anything wrong. Tears filled her eyes. But the officer didn’t listen.

 He arrested her and took her to the police station. And there the questions began. Where is Junior? What did you do to him? Are you working alone? Alice could only cry and repeat. I don’t know. I just helped him. But far away from all the noise, the truth was different. After Alice left Junior at the restaurant, he wiped his mouth, stood up, and walked to the big yam market on the edge of the village.

There he saw Lori being loaded with yams. Quietly, without anyone seeing him, he crept into back of the lurorry and hid between the sacks of yam. No one noticed, not the driver, not the market women, not even the loaders. Junior had vanished, but not by magic. He had chosen to disappear. That morning, before Alice met him, Junior’s uncle had given him a hard choice.

 “You must choose school or farm,” the uncle said. “If you choose school, then you must leave his house forever.” The uncle no longer wanted Junior to go to school. He only wanted him to work on the farm. But Junior’s heart was in school. He wanted to learn, to read, to become someone better.

 And even life on the farm was full of pain. No matter how hard Junior worked, it was never enough. His uncle always complained. And when he was angry, he would cut fresh canes from the trees and fogg Junior badly. So badly that his back burned with pain. So that morning, Junior made his decision. It was better to run away and enter the world than to live a life of beatings and sorrow.

 That’s why after Alice left him at the restaurant, Junior walked to the yam market and hid inside a lorry full of yams. The next day, the lororry reached his destination. A big busy city. People moved up and down. Cars honked. Sellers shouted. Before the driver could even step down, Junior quietly jumped down from the lurorry. He looked around.

 Tall buildings, strange faces, no one he knew, no one to call his name. Junior was completely lost. He didn’t know where to start. But one thing was sure, he was never going back to that village. Never. Meanwhile, at the police station, Alice was going through hell. The officers were harsh. Their voices were loud.

 Their faces were full of anger and suspicion. One of them slammed the table and shouted, “Do you even know what you’re up against? If you don’t bring out that boy, you could spend the rest of your life in prison.” Another officer leaned in, eyes burning with doubt. She thinks she can steal a child and then come here and tell us stories.

 How can you say you just bought food for a boy and he disappeared? I’ve worked in this village for more than 5 years. No child has ever gone missing. But no matter how much they shouted, threatened, or tried to break her, Alice stood by the truth. Her voice was low, but firm. I only helped him. He was hungry and weak. That’s all I did. I swear it. She was locked up overnight.

The cold walls, the silence, the weight of fear pressed on her, but she held on her innocence like a shield. The next day, her husband and their young daughter arrived from their village. Her husband entered the station with tired eyes, but strong steps. “Don’t worry,” he said softly.

 “I’ve put our house up for sale. I’ll sell it and use the money to get you the best lawyers. We’ll fight this. I won’t let them destroy you.” Alice’s eyes widened. “Please don’t do it,” she begged through tears. “Don’t sell our home. Don’t do this because of me.” But the husband shook his head slowly.

 “I won’t stand and watch while you spend the rest of your life in prison. You did nothing wrong and I will prove it. She tried to make him change his mind, but he refused. When it was time for them to leave, their daughter suddenly burst into tears. She clung to her mother’s dress and shouted, “I won’t go. I want to stay with mommy.

 I want to sleep here with her.” Alice tried to stay strong, but her heart broke into pieces. At first, she held back her tears. But the moment she hugged her daughter close, she couldn’t hold it anymore. The tears came pouring out, but not everyone showed Alice kindness. One afternoon, a friend came to visit her at the station.

 She folded her arms and shook her head. “I warned you,” she said sharply. “You’re too good to people. Every time you see someone in need, you want to help now look at where has gotten you.” Alice sighed, her eyes tired, but calm. “God will vindicate me,” she said quietly. The friend scoffed. Where is that God now that you’re behind bars? Look, if you had just looked away like everyone else, you’d be at home now. You held a boy.

Now you might spend your life in prison if they don’t find him. The word stabbed into Alice’s heart like a knife, but she didn’t reply. She just looked down and kept quiet. Deep inside, she was still hoping, hoping that somehow God would come through for her. What people didn’t know was that Alice was one of the rarest kinds of people in the world.

 She could not see someone suffering and walk away. Even when she had nothing, she would look for a way to help. Yes, her kindness had gotten her into trouble before, but never like this. And even now, sitting in a cell with a weight of false accusation on her shoulders, she still believed she did the right thing.

That evening, when the noise and station died down and all was quiet, Alice fell on her knees and cried out to God. Why me, Lord? She wept. I didn’t do anything bad. I only helped a hungry child. Now my case is in court. Please, God, help me. If I remain here, who would look after my daughter and husband? Tears rolled down her cheeks as she poured her heart out. She didn’t stop there.

 She also prayed for Junior. Wherever he is, Lord, please protect him. Keep him safe. Let no harm come to him. Let him find kindness. Just like I try to show him. While Alice stayed locked inside the police cell, Junior was living all alone behind a house in Legos. He roamed the streets during the day and slept behind the house at night.

 But this night, something strange happened. Junior was too scared to sleep out in the open. So he crawled behind some flowers in front of the big tall house and tried to rest there in the middle of the night. As he was half asleep, he suddenly heard footsteps coming closer, his heartbeat fast, but he stayed very still, hiding deep inside the flowers.

 Then a man appeared at the gate. The man wore a long black robe and had bare feet that barely made a sound on the ground. He started saying strange words, incantations, and poured some red powder carefully in front of the gate. The man kept calling out a name again and again. Madame Charity must die. Madame Charity must not live past this week.

 The demons I serve come and take the soul of Madame Charity. He said it many times, then disappeared into the darkness. Junior heard every word, but he was frozen with fear. He dared not move or shout. The next morning, Junior stayed near the house. He wanted to go inside and warn the people, but his eyes fell on the red powder sprinkled on the gate.

 He was too afraid to cross it. At about 7:00 in the morning, the big gate creaked open slowly. A shiny car rolled out of the house. Junior suddenly ran forward and stood right in front of the car. “Stop! Stop!” he shouted. The driver slammed on the brakes and got out, frowning angrily. “Move out of the way,” he shouted.

 But the woman inside the car stepped out too. She said softly, “Let him be.” She took a step forward to meet Junior, but Junior raised his hand and said firmly, “Please don’t cross the gate.” The woman stopped, looked confused, and said, “What? This is my own house. Why shouldn’t I cross my own gate?” Junior’s voice shook, but he repeated, “Please, ma’am, don’t cross the gate.

” She looked at him closely, now worried, “What is the matter?” Junior told her everything he had heard that terrible night. I heard a man come and pour something on the gate. He said, “Madam, Charity must die. She must not live past this week.” The woman’s eyes grew wide. Then she shouted, “Oh Lord, save me.

That’s my name.” At that moment, she knew Junior was telling the truth. Her hands trembling. She pulled out her phone and called her pastor. She told him every word Junior had said. “Thank you, my dear,” Madame Charity said softly. She stayed inside the house and told everyone. “No one is to cross the gate.

” After about half an hour, the pastor arrived with two church members. They prayed deeply and loudly for almost three hours. The pastor laid hands on the gate and spread olive oil on the ground. Then he declared, “You may cross the gate now. No evil will harm you.” Madame Charity canled all her appointments and stayed at home the whole day, fear still lingering in her spirit.

 She called Junior inside and thanked him warmly. “Young boy, what were you doing by my house that made you see that evil man?” she asked, curiosity in her voice. Junior looked down and said quietly, “I don’t have anywhere else to go.” “That’s where I sleep.” Madame Charity leaned closer, wanting to understand more.

 “Who are you? Where do you come from?” Junior took a deep breath and told her a story. “I am an orphan. I live with my uncle in the village.” I wanted to go to school, but he told me to stop schooling and follow him to farm everyday or leave his house. And even when I worked on a farm, he beat me all the time. Then Junior slowly pulled off his torn shirt and turned his back toward Madame Charity.

 Her eyes grew wide in shock. “Oh my God!” she gasped as she saw the terrible marks and scars all over his skin. “Who would do such a terrible thing to a child? An orphan, no less.” Madame Charity gave Junior breakfast, and after he finished eating, he went down on his knees. Please, he begged. Allow me to live in your house. Let me be your house boy.

She smiled kindly and shook her head. House boy? No. You are more than a house boy to me. You can live here as long as you want. I will take care of you like my own son. Madame Charity was a successful businesswoman. After many years of marriage without having children, her husband had left her for another woman.

 Since then, she had tried to raise other children, but none worked out. Sometimes raising relatives kids caused fights with her siblings. But when Junior came into her life, she felt it was God’s plan. She made up her mind that she would care for him as her own child. The very next Monday, Madame Charity enrolled Junior in an expensive private school.

 Meanwhile, Alice was still fighting her case in court. After many months of hearings, the judge finally released her, saying there was no strong evidence that she kidnapped Junior or had anything to do with his disappearance. But even though she was free, her problems did not end there. The state ministry of education suspended her indefinitely without pay.

She returned to her husband and daughter. And since they had sold their house, all three of them squeezed into a single small room. Life became very hard. Her husband barely earned enough. And with no work for Alice, she started frying yam to sell in front of their home. People who knew her story shook their heads in pity.

 Many called her unwise for helping Junior. But none of that stopped Alice. She still gave yams to children in the neighborhood who couldn’t afford food, especially orphans. Years went by, but things did not get better. Poverty still weighed heavily on the family. The Ministry of Education refused to lift her suspension.

 Her daughter Joyce graduated from the college of education but could not find a job. So she came home and joined her mother frying yam. Meanwhile, Junior had graduated from university and was now running Madame Charity’s business. She had officially adopted him as her son and named him in her will to inherit her properties.

 Junior managed three of her companies, all of which were doing very well. One day, Junior told himself it was time to visit his village. On that fateful day, he traveled back and received a warm welcome. Everyone was surprised to see him. Many had thought he was dead. His uncle and wife were not only shocked, but also afraid because of what they had done to him.

 At the same time, they want to get close to him, hoping to benefit from his wealth. They asked for his forgiveness, and Junior forgave them. They sat down and talked about how he left and all that followed. They even mentioned how Alice was accused of stealing him and the trouble she went through because of that. Junior wept as he listened, then asked, “Where is she now?” She has returned to her village.

They said, “Which village? Give me the address.” Junior demanded. Without wasting time, he got into his car and drove off. The village was small, and it didn’t take him long to find her. He saw Alice frying yam in the evening sun. Junior went down on his knees and pleaded, “Please forgive me.” Alice was confused and didn’t recognize the person before her. “What? I don’t understand.

” “Who are you?” she asked. Junior said softly. “I am the boy you helped in the village. The one who caused you to lose your job and brought pain to you and your family.” “Oh, oh, now I remember,” Alice said, her voice trembling. Please get up. She hugged him tightly and smiled broadly.

 Sit down and let me give you yam to eat. I fed you once before. Let me feed you again. Junior sat down and was served hot fried yam. Later, Alice’s daughter came in and Junior was introduced to her. He apologized sincerely, saying, “I am sorry for all the pain I caused your family. Please forgive me.” Joy smiled warmly and replied, “We never held any grudges against you. Thank God you are safe.

” Junior smiled back, “Just like your mother. Kind, loving, and gentle. Thank you.” He spent the evening at their home sharing stories and laughter. The next day, Junior gave him a generous amount of money and promised to do everything he could to lift them out of poverty before returning to the city.

 Back in the city, Junior told Madame Charity everything that had happened. She assured him that something special would be done for Alice and her family. That very day, Madame Charity called her architect to begin designing a grand project in Alice’s honor. 5 months later, the building was ready. Junior returned to the village and moved Alice and her family into the city to meet Madame Charity.

 The moment they arrived, Madame Charity said, “My son has told me how you help him and suffered greatly because of it. We have a small token of appreciation for you.” She led them to a brand new secondary school complex with classrooms, hostiles, and staff quarters. This is all yours. You can start your own secondary school here. That principal’s quarters is now your home.

” Tears of joy streamed down Alice’s face. It was more than she had ever hoped for. It was as if Madame Charity had read her heart. Alice had long dreamed of owning a boarding school where she could care for and help students. And now that dream was reality. All this is ours. Alice asked in disbelief. Yes. Junior replied with a smile.

 Alice turned to her husband with tears shining in her eyes and said softly. Look, God has indeed answered our prayers. The husband could only stare in awe, overwhelmed, knowing their lives had changed in an instant. The whole family threw themselves into making the school a success. Junior gave Alice millions of naira to kickstart the institution.

 And the same friends who once insulted Alice later came seeking her help. Many even came looking for jobs as cleaners at the school, Alice helped as many as she could. The school quickly became one of the best private schools in the country. All the years of struggle and hardship vanished in a moment.

 Alice and her family went on to live happy, prosperous lives. Thanks for watching and may God bless