12-year-old David was excited to buy new sneakers after saving up for months but decided to buy boots for his classmate whose shoes were tattered. Little did he know that his kindness would be rewarded in an unexpected way.
David always found himself a window seat on the school bus back home. As always, he opened the window wide and let the afternoon breeze brush across his face as he recollected the game he played that day, moment by moment.
“That was unbelievable, what you did on the field today!” one of his mates had said.
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“I think we’ve got a national-level player on our hands, guys. Get your autographs while you can!” another player teased David, patting his back almost a bit too hard.
That was the distant dream — playing for his country and creating history, like all his soccer heroes.
David could almost taste it; the sweet air of victory and pride when his team and he held the golden championship trophy and smiled for the photographs.
David would constantly rehearse what he would say for the cameras and the papers at the end of the match. How he rose from humble beginnings. And how he owed his mother everything he had become.
“Excuse me, may I sit here?”
David was so deep in his daydream that he didn’t realize one of his classmates had asked permission to sit next to him.
The boy sat down next to David, hugged his backpack, and started dreaming his own dream. ‘I want to become the best soccer player in the school. Just like David. I can’t believe I’m sitting next to him!’
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The boy was a true fan of David’s game and wouldn’t miss a chance to watch him play. In his mind, David was everything he wanted to be. He wanted to play like him, have tons of friends like him, and even wear those fancy soccer shoes David was wearing.
‘These old tattered shoes should do…for now,’ the boy thought, hiding his feet under the seat out of embarrassment.
Guillermo was always shy and found it challenging to make friends. One day, the boy finally found the courage to talk to his hero.
“Hi, David! I’m Guillermo. I’m your biggest fan!”
“Oh? Hi, Guillermo! Thank you.”
There was an awkward silence as David went back to daydreaming.
“I…really like your shoes!” Guillermo blurted the first thing that came to his mind.
“These? These are really old, and the soles have already started to come off. You should see the new shoes I’ll be getting…” David’s eyes lit up, thinking about the dreamy pair of sneakers he had been saving up for.
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“Tell me more about them!” Guillermo said, slowly tucking his feet under the seat. He didn’t want David to see how ugly and tattered his own shoes were.
“Well, they’re perfect! They’re neon orange, and they’ve got unbeatable grip…”
It had been seven months since David had been raising money to buy the pair of sneakers he wanted. This was the first time the 12-year-old wanted to buy something for himself. And he wanted to do it without burdening his mother. He knew how hard his mother worked, struggling to provide for him and his two younger twin sisters.
“Mom, you don’t need to contribute. Tracy and Katie have their birthdays coming up soon, and you need to save up to throw a tea party, remember?”
David saved up enough money. He did it with the help of a short paper route every morning and the savings from the lemonade stand he had put up the last vacation. Until one day, his piggy bank was full, and he finally had enough to bring his dream shoes home.
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On the bus ride home from school that day, he couldn’t stop talking about it with Guillermo.
“Guillermo! I did it! I’m going straight to the store after homework this evening and buying the best sneakers in town. In fact, I’ll come and pick you up, and you can accompany me to the shop. It’s going to be the best feeling ever!”
Guillermo felt genuine happiness for his idol. That’s when the bus suddenly jolted over a pothole, and one of Guillermo’s shoes fell off onto the bus floor.
David was taken aback at the sight of the worn-out, blackened shoe. It was a pair of thin, low-quality summer shoes that had seen too many seasons. There were holes in the sole, the canvas was coming apart, and there was no sign of a lace.
Guillermo let the other shoe fall, giving in to the feeling of shame.
David had tears in his eyes when he looked at his friend, hiding his face in his palms, sobbing quietly but uncontrollably. The two boys didn’t know what to say to each other for the rest of the ride.
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“Be ready by 5 o’clock!” David finally reminded Guillermo of the evening’s plan to visit the store. There was no way David was going to the store alone. Not after what he had seen.
“Ah, David! Here to pick up your new pair of soccer shoes? I’ve got them packed and ready right here.”
“Hold on, sir. Could you show me a pair of those in a smaller size?” David said, pointing at a pair of comfortable boots.
Always help the needy whenever you can.
The shop owner, Mr. Manning, was confused. “But the ones I packed are your exact size, Dave.”
“Not for me, for my friend here,” Dave replied.
Guillermo couldn’t believe what he had heard. He couldn’t possibly let David do that.
“No, David, I don’t need—”
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David squeezed Guillermo’s hand and blinked softly to quiet him. “I’ve got this, Guillermo. You’re always calling me your hero. Let me try and be one for you.”
Mr. Manning heard this exchange between the boys and felt a warmth of love and affection rise in his chest. He knew exactly what to do.
“Woah, this one looks great on you, friend. And it’s the absolute best we’ve got in this store.”
David was finally satisfied with the pair of boots he had bought for his friend. Guillermo’s shame had turned to overwhelm, gratitude, and pure joy over his unexpected gift.
As the boys left the store and cycled away, Mr. Manning signaled his staff. “Listen, there’s something we need to do right away…”
“David! There’s someone at the door for you! He arrived with an entire truck, actually.” David’s mother couldn’t make heads or tails of the strange visitor, either.
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David rushed to the door and found a familiar face. It was Mr. Manning, the shoe store owner. “I heard you talking to your friend at the store, Dave. I know what you did.”
David’s mother leaned in with a crease of suspicion sitting on her brow.
“I know how much you wanted those spiked sneakers, and I’ve seen you selling lemonade and delivering newspapers. And today, I saw you let all that desire go, just so you could help a friend who was in deeper need than you were.”
David lowered his head out of shyness, catching a glimpse of the proud look on his mother’s face from the corner of his eye.
“And I think this kind of kindness and friendship ought to be celebrated in this day and age. So come on! Get on the back of this truck and pick up as many pairs of shoes as you’d like. For you, your mother, and the twins… Don’t worry about the money; this is all on me.”
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David hesitated, looking to his mother for approval. As soon as she nodded, he dashed towards the truck with eyes shining in excitement.
“Hurry, we’ve still got to get to your friend’s house. There are free shoes for him and his family, too!”
What do we learn from this story?
Always help the needy whenever you can. Although David worked hard to buy new sneakers, he used the money to help Guillermo, who was wearing torn shoes.
An act of kindness can be infectious. The shoe store owner noticed David’s kindness. He was inspired by the boy’s actions and decided to help his and his friend’s family.
Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.
If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a boy who received his favorite sneakers from the thrift shop as a gift on his birthday. He noticed an inscription on it and was shocked to learn about its previous owner.
This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life.
Christopher Reeve’s Son’s Life Shattered by the Loss of Both Parents Before Age 13
There are many stories about kids who look just like their famous parents.
From Michael J. Fox’s twin daughters to Julia Roberts’s teenage daughter who looks just like her, and even Elvis Presley’s grandson, there are many celebrity kids who make us do a double-take.
Christopher Reeve’s 29-year-old son, Will, is one of those kids. Not only does he look exactly like his father, but he is also working hard to carry on his father’s inspiring legacy.
Sadly, Will had to face a huge loss when he was only 13 years old. He lost both of his parents at such a young age.
What does a hero look like?
For many people growing up in the late 70s and early 80s, a hero looked like Christopher Reeve.
He became famous for playing Superman in the 1978 movie, and his performance earned him a BAFTA award for Most Promising Male Newcomer. He also starred in three more Superman films: Superman II, Superman III, and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.
Christopher Reeve, born in New York in 1952, was more than just an actor. He was also a film director, producer, screenwriter, equestrian, and activist.
However, everything changed for Christopher Reeve on May 27, 1995. During a horse riding competition in Culpeper, Virginia, he fell off his horse Buck and injured his spinal cord.
The fall left him paralyzed from the neck down and confined to a wheelchair. His family and fans were devastated.
Christopher’s mother even asked doctors to stop his breathing machine and let him die. According to the New York Times, if Christopher had fallen just one centimeter more to the left, he might have died instantly. If he had landed slightly to the right, he might have only had a concussion.
Christopher Reeve was just 42 years old when he became a quadriplegic. After his accident, he was in a wheelchair and needed a portable ventilator to help him breathe for the rest of his life.
Doctors quickly told him that there was little chance of improvement and said it would be “impossible” for him to regain any movement.
Reeve was in a lot of pain and, in the early days at the hospital, he was heavily medicated and confused. After hearing the doctors’ grim diagnosis, he felt as though his life had been shattered.
Christopher Reeve didn’t want to be a burden to his family and suggested to his wife, Dana Morosini, that they might need to consider ending his life support.
With tears in her eyes, Dana replied, “I will support whatever you decide, because this is your life and your decision. But I want you to know that I’ll be with you for the long haul, no matter what. You’re still you. And I love you.”
Instead of giving up, Reeve focused on activism. He and Dana started the Christopher Reeve Foundation, which was later renamed the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. They also co-founded the Reeve-Irvine Research Center, advocating for spinal cord injury research and stem cell research.
Christopher Reeve made sure his son had a happy childhood despite the challenges he faced. In a 2016 interview with PEOPLE, Will Reeve shared that his upbringing felt “totally normal.”
He said, “They were the people who told me to turn off the TV, to eat my broccoli, to go to bed. I know not every kid sees their dad on magazine covers at the grocery store, but… it was a totally normal childhood.”
Will Reeve also remembered a special moment when his father, Christopher Reeve, taught him how to ride a bike from his wheelchair. “I didn’t think it would work. I was terrified, but I could hear my dad’s voice guiding me: ‘Steady, steady, left, right, left, right,’” Will recalled. By the third lap, he was smiling and waving at his dad, who was smiling back. “That meant so much to him. Later on, I’d race him in his wheelchair, and he’d let me win.”
Unfortunately, Will’s father passed away while they were still working on rebuilding their lives.
Christopher Reeve had health issues from a young age, including asthma and allergies that affected his breathing. At 16, he also developed alopecia areata, which caused his hair to fall out. Although he managed this condition during his acting career, he chose to shave his head after becoming paralyzed.
In the early 2000s, Reeve faced several infections. In October 2004, he was being treated for an infected pressure ulcer that had led to sepsis. On October 9, he was watching his son Will play hockey, but later that night, he suffered a heart attack after receiving antibiotics for his infection.
Christopher Reeve fell into a coma, and there was nothing the doctors could do. He passed away on October 10, 2004, at the age of 52. Both his wife, Dana, and the doctors attributed his death to an adverse reaction to medication.
Christopher’s body was cremated at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York, and his ashes were scattered.
Just 10 months after Christopher’s death, Dana was diagnosed with lung cancer, even though she had never smoked. According to Christopher P. Andersen, Dana had performed and sung in smoky bars and hotel lobbies during the early days of her career, which might have contributed to her illness.
Dana Reeve, an American actress and singer, married Christopher Reeve in Williamstown, Massachusetts, on April 11, 1992.
Dana battled a malignant lung tumor for several months and passed away on March 6, 2006, at the age of 44.
Their son, William Elliot “Will” Reeve, was born on June 7, 1992. Tragically, Will was only 13 years old when he lost both of his parents.
Today, Will Reeve has grown up to look just like his father, Christopher Reeve, though he has largely stayed out of the spotlight.
Will has completed his education and is now building a successful career in the sports news industry.
At 29 years old, Will’s resemblance to his father is striking. But what’s truly remarkable about him is that he continues the important work his parents began.
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