By Hephzibah Temple Okafor
Many years ago, way up north in Scotland, there was a man who was called the Penniless Man, although his real name was Isaac. He was a towering six-foot-seven man. Skinny as a fry, he had dark brown hair.
This man always wore a white shirt and brown pants. He lived in an area of Scotland where the roads were busy and noisy.
He was once a rich man, but then his business collapsed. He fought hard to get rich again, but kept failing. In the end, his family abandoned him and made him feel like he was not one of them. How they treated him caused him to feel heartbroken and shattered. He couldn’t believe that his family simply left him when they once always came to him for money. As a result, what they have done was traumatizing to him.
One night, as he slept, he had a dream about becoming rich again. He awoke excitedly, thinking he was already in his new mansion. But no…. He was still a vagrant in the streets. Then, all those terrifying memories came back to his mind. This time, however, he declared: “No, I will not give up. I will never give up!” He then began to utter a prayer, asking to reclaim his honor and dignity. “Oh dear Lord, what have I done to deserve this?” he cried out loud.
And then he heard a voice that came out of nowhere, whispering to him: “Oh my son, don’t you worry. You will soon be in control of a large company.”
One day not long after, he was awoken by a man in a designer suit who said to him: “I heard from someone that you were once running a business but had fallen on hard times. I am looking for someone who has experienced both success and failure. Would you like to work for me?”
Isaac could not believe his ears and jumped up excitedly. He grabbed the man's hand and shouted: “Yes! Yes! Of course I would like to work at your place, I would do anything!”
The well-dressed gentleman then placed his hand on Isaac’s shoulder and said: “Well, you can start right now. All I expect in return from you is the willingness to work hard and the determination to never give up.”
And so, with the help of a kind stranger, Isaac slowly became a rich man once again.