Alice grew curious about the boy who frequently came to her restaurant to collect leftover food. She felt something was off and decided to follow him one day. What she discovered left her in shock.

“Lucky you today, kid. We’ve got a lot of leftovers, and you can take them all home,” said Steve, the head chef at Alice’s restaurant. He often saved leftovers for Christopher, a young boy who regularly came by for food.

“Really? That’s a lot of food! Do I have enough to share with my friends?” Christopher’s eyes brightened.

“Yes, Chris,” Steve said with a big grin. “Wait here, I’ll get the bags for you.”

Christopher happily took the food, thanked Steve with a wide smile, waved goodbye, and left.

Alice hadn’t realized this was a common practice at her restaurant until she saw Christopher leave one evening. She couldn’t shake the feeling that he wasn’t just taking leftovers to feed himself. “I need to figure out what’s going on with this kid. He doesn’t look homeless,” she thought as she watched him walk away.

For the next few days, Alice kept an eye on him. On the third day, she met him at the restaurant. “Hi there, are you here for the leftovers again?” she asked kindly.

“Yes!” Christopher answered happily. “Can you call the cook? He must have saved the food for me.”

Alice smiled warmly. “Actually, there’s no need for that. I’ve made you some fresh food so you don’t have to eat leftovers. By the way, what’s your name?”

“Thank you, that’s really kind of you,” Christopher said. “My full name is Christopher, but you can call me Chris.”

“Why don’t you eat at home, Chris? Is your mom sick?” Alice asked.

Christopher’s expression changed. “Well… I actually live at an orphanage. They don’t feed me very well there. Every time I come here, your staff helps me out. I’m really grateful. Anyway, I should go now,” he said quickly and hurried off.

Alice felt like there was more to the story, so that day, she decided to follow him. What she saw shocked her.

Instead of going to the orphanage, Christopher went to a house, placed the food on the porch, and ran off. A woman came out, looked around in confusion, picked up the food, and went back inside.

Alice almost knocked on the door to ask the woman who she was, but just as she was about to, she got an urgent call from the restaurant and had to leave.

The next day, when Christopher came back to the restaurant, Alice was ready. “You need to explain something to me, Chris. I know you’ve been taking the food for someone else. Who is she?”

Chris immediately admitted, “I’m sorry, I lied. I’ve been taking food for my grandmother. She’s the only family I have now.”

Alice was stunned. “But why are you living in an orphanage then?”

Chris sighed. “When my parents passed away, my grandmother couldn’t get custody of me because she wasn’t financially stable. She can’t even afford food, so I bring her food from here every day.”

Alice felt both proud of Chris for caring for his grandmother and deeply sorry for their situation. She decided to go to his grandmother’s house and tell her everything. Edith, Chris’s grandmother, was overwhelmed when she realized it was her grandson who had been leaving food on her doorstep.

“Is it really my grandson?” Edith asked, nearly in tears. “I miss him so much! I’m so sorry I couldn’t help him.”

“Don’t worry, ma’am,” Alice reassured her. “I can help both of you.”

That day, Alice went to the orphanage and took steps to gain custody of Chris. Fortunately, the process went smoothly, and soon Chris was able to return to his grandmother’s care.

“I don’t know how to thank you, Alice,” Edith said, tears in her eyes. “I’ve always wanted to be with Chris, but I just couldn’t.”

“You don’t need to thank me,” Alice replied. “I understand the importance of being with loved ones. I lost both of my parents when I was young, so I know how valuable family is.”

Edith grasped Alice’s hands. “I can’t ever repay you, but you’re always welcome to visit us. You’re like family now.”

Alice, with a tear in her eye, smiled. “That’s very sweet, ma’am. I’d love to visit. I already think Chris is a wonderful boy.”

“Oh, he is,” Edith agreed. “Now, I just need a way to support him.”

Alice had a thought. “Well, I might be able to help with that…”

Edith was expecting Alice to offer her a job at the restaurant, but what she heard next brought her to tears again.

“I’ve been on my own since I lost my parents, and I’ve been looking for someone to care for me,” Alice said. “I’d like to offer you the chance to be that person. As for Chris’s education, that will be my responsibility as his guardian.”

“Of course, darling,” Edith said, pulling Alice into a hug.

“You don’t need to thank me,” Alice said softly. “Now I have a family, and that’s the greatest gift I could ever ask for.”