Orphan Twins Eating in Dumpster Find Old Jacket with Bottle of Perfume in Its Pocket – Story of the Day

Thirteen-year-old twins, Mike and Steve, are on the run from foster care. While digging through a dumpster for food, Steve discovers a jacket with a unique bottle of perfume in its pocket. He takes this as a sign his mom is still alive and sets out to find her.

Steve and his twin, Mike, had escaped from their foster home. While searching the dumpsters behind an upmarket strip mall for food, Steve found a shabby jacket and realized there was something inside the pocket. Curious, he withdrew a small bottle that sent a chill down his spine.

“It’s the handmade perfume Mom used!” Steve showed his brother the bottle. “Could this be Mom’s jacket?”

“Don’t be stupid.” Mike shoved Steve’s shoulder. “Mom wasn’t the only person who used that perfume, and besides, she’s dead, Steve.”

Steve shook his head. “The police said she’s a missing person, not dead. She’s still out there somewhere. We can’t give up on her!”

Steve was convinced this perfume bottle was a sign. He found a receipt with a delivery address in a different pocket and urged Mike to investigate. He refused, so Steve searched for the address on the receipt alone.

He soon arrived at a mansion surrounded by a lush garden. Nobody answered when Steve rang the bell at the gate. He waited until it was dark, but the place seemed abandoned. He climbed the fence by the light of the full moon and hurried to the mansion to search for clues to Mom’s whereabouts.

The front door silently swung open, and Steve stepped inside. He found nothing in the luxurious rooms on the ground floor, so he tiptoed up the wide staircase. He entered a small bedroom and found a photo of a woman sitting on a lawn chair. Someone’s hand was on the back of the chair… it was Mom!

“All you’re going to find here is a one-way ticket to juvenile hall,” a man said.

Steve panicked. He turned and was instantly transported to that day eight years ago when he last saw Mom.

She’d carried him and Mike as she ran down the city sidewalk, but the man, this man, was always behind them. She’d left him and Mike in the subway and never returned.

This man was behind Mom’s disappearance. He had all the answers, but Steve couldn’t ask outright about Mom. He’d have to try a different approach.