In a small far away town, there is a boy named Bert, he is very cheerful, talented, brave and also a
dreamer. He lives in a small house patched with woods and ragged fabrics that doesn’t seem to stand
when hit by a single storm. He is alone since his mother passed away after he was born and also his father
later on because of an illness that is impossible to be treated since their family is very poor. In the
morning Bert works in a small coffee shop as a janitor and in the evening, he works as a dishwasher in a
Restaurant. Even though he works day and night, the money that he gets always goes to his rusty and
precious tin can that serve as his “minibank”.
One night after his duty from the Restaurant, he walks slowly on the empty alley as the moonlights
lighten the way up the tiredness registered on his face and his shoulders seems so heavy that any minute
his body will collapse. The young boy walks as if he carries all the problems in this world, he feels empty
aside from the tiredness that soothes his entire body. When he finally got home, he sat on the wooden
chair beside his house under a leafless tree. He put up his legs, hugged it and begun to cry in pain.
“Mom, Dad I don’t know what would be my purpose here in this world. I’m so tired please give me
strength” Bert said while looking in the dark sky while his eyes became blurry and tears fell on his
cheeks. The sky is clear, the stars shine bright, the big bright moon and its moonlight embraces a young
boy who only feels pain and emptiness crying like there is no tomorrow for him.
The next morning, he woke up early and did his routine. He sat on his favorite wooden chair and sipped
his coffee. A slight smile registered on his face as he saw the clear morning sky, heard the chirping birds
and felt the cold wind. “What a peaceful day to start-up” he said while smiling.
“One of these days I will buy a new shirt, this one I’m wearing is so ragged” he giggled bitterly.
While on his way to the coffee shop where he is working, he saw a little girl looking in the jar of candies
near his workplace. He comes near the little girl and asks her “You want some of this?” the little girl
nodded slowly as shyness registered on her face. Bert searches his pocket if he has some coins, he finds a
penny and buys one candy. He gave the candy to the little girl and to his surprise a teary eye displays on
the cute eyes of the little girl. “Wait why are you crying?” asking the little girl while he wiped the tears
“I’m so happy that’s why a tear fell from my eyes. This is my first time tasting a candy, it is so delicious.
Thank you so much mister” the little girl said smiling genuinely. Bert smiles too as he sees the happiness
in the eyes of a little girl, his heart feels happy. “What a wonderful thing to start my day” he said while
going inside the coffee shop.
A tiring day again as the coffee shop slowly filled with a lot of customers and the seats started to dwindle.
While wiping and cleaning the table of the previous customer, Bert was surprised when a girl his age sits
unto the table, he’s cleaning.
“Good day ma’am, please let me finish this immediately so you can order without a problem” Bert said
while smiling to the girl.
“Yeah, sure take your time” the girl smiled back. Bert finished up cleaning the table and go to the kitchen
to clean there too. Bert peeks at the table he recently cleaned and there he saw again the girl writing
something on a notebook. The shop is full of customers that’s why the manager asked Bert to serve the
upcoming customer since the other staff is busy too. Seems like fate is on his side, the one that he first to
serve is the girl he saw earlier. As usual when he reached her table, out of curiosity Bert peered a little at
what the girl was doing and he saw some drawings of food and some notes. Due to fear of getting caught
he cleared his throat and approached the girl.
“Hi ma'am, here is your order of cappuccino and a slice of toasted bread. Enjoy your coffee” he said
while smiling at the girl.
“Thank you!” the girl said as she smiled back.
Bert can’t help but to smile like his heart tells it so. Filled with joy he suddenly remembered that there is
no person in the town smiling at him truly except the little girl he helped earlier that morning. Bert
continues serving the customers with a smile and more energetic. Due to tiredness, he forgot the person
who made him work happily. After the morning shift he came back to his house to rest a little since his
morning schedule is hectic. He rested a little and lay his back to his bed but drowsiness enveloped him so
he suddenly fell asleep. Later on, a ray of sunlight hit his face and he woke up, he stretched his arms and
seemed like he rested enough. Suddenly a shocked expression displays on his face as he remembers that
he has a night schedule. He panicked and immediately fixed himself while looking in a small mirror, he
walked faster but soon he ran because the sun was going to set and it means that he is late for work. When
he arrived at the Restaurant, he saw a person standing at the back door and he was surprised to know that
it is the manager that seems like waiting for him to arrive.
“Good afternoon Mr. Velazquez, I'm sorry for being late please give another chance to work here” he
sincerely begged to Mr. Velazquez to allow him to work again. A despair registered on Bert’s face as the
manager didn’t allow him to work.
“I’m so sorry but the policy is to be on time, policy is policy Bert you know that”. The manager walked
away and went inside the restaurant.
Bert left sitting beside the door hugging his knees and his eyes showed nothing but misery. He stood up
and walked slowly as if his soul wandered and left his body. While walking he passed by the coffee shop,
he looked inside and he saw a lot of people drinking, chatting and eating.
“Seems like this shop is my only hope” he said while smiling bitterly.
On the inside of the coffee shop, a girl saw Bert passing by and examined why he is walking like that. She
looked at him with an inquiring mind. She remembered that he’s the one who served her earlier that day.
She immediately finished her coffee and to her curiosity she stood up and went outside the shop. She saw
Bert in an alley walking so she followed Bert behind, until she saw Bert go inside a small house made up
of woods and ragged fabrics. She was left speechless as she realized where Bert is living and what life it
has, she hid behind a tree not so far away from the house and there she saw Bert sat in a wooden chair
while its face was like in edge of crying. The girl left dumbfounded as she imagined how tough Bert is
and how it endured all the misfortune that he experienced.
“You smiled genuinely and I thought it was normal but like what I saw in your eyes is just pure sadness”
the girl uttered in despair.
The girl took the notebook out of her small shoulder bag, she sat beside the tree while looking at Bert’s
current situation. She draws everything she saw right at that moment from birth sitting on a small wooden
chair to its house and an unvarnished tree standing beside it.
“I hope to be friends with you and make you smile since you deserve to be happy too” she whispered to
the cold breeze enveloping the surrounding that afternoon.
The next morning Bert goes to his work earlier since it’s payday and he is excited to buy a new shirt that
he can use in his work. Seems like it's a very lucky day for him because the manager of the coffee shop
approached him and wants him to work fulltime. Bert’s heart and soul can’t contain the joy he felt after
what he heard from his manager.
“Thank you so much sir, thank you for giving me this opportunity” he exclaimed happily and the manager
replied “I think you don’t know this but I’m keeping an eye on you since you work here and all I saw is a
very hardworking young boy who works with dedication. You deserve it, don't lose that fighting spirit,
okay?” Bert answers with full of energy and pure happiness “Yes sir, I will!”.
Bert’s smile can’t be removed and he cleans the kitchen happily like he is totally enjoying his work. One
of his co-workers called him and said “Bert, can you do the serving for now? One of our servers got sick,
can you do this? I got permission from our manager don’t worry since the customer is escalating, we will
need an extra hand”. Bert does the request without hesitation and the barista; his co-worker thank him for
doing it. He helped them merrily and got close to other workmates since they now recognized his
While he carefully wipes the glass cups, the door opens, which means there is a customer then when he
looks at it, he notices the familiar small beautiful face, long dark brown hair that falls on its shoulder and
a smile that seems so long since the last time he saw it. It was the girl who’s smiles melted his heart and
“Hi ma’am what is your order?” he said while looking at her. “I want a cup of cappuccino,” the girl
replied while smiling to Bert. After Bert finishes the order, he goes back to give it to the girl whose he
wants to know the name of it. He carefully places the order at the table and when he is going to go back
the girl calls him. “Hi I’m Freya” she said while extending her arms towards Bert and he brushes his dirty
hands to his apron immediately accepts Freya’s hands and shakes it gently. “Hello, I’m Bert” replied
shyly while scratching the back of his head using the other hand. “I’m lonely right now, can you join
me?” Freya said calmly. Bert was going to say no when Freya smiled and said “Don’t worry I already told
it to the manager. Then after that they talked like they knew each other for a long time, they laughed and
shared their thoughts cheerfully. In the distance near the table of Freya and Bert the manager smiled while
looking at them and a tear fell from his eyes and whispered “Finally Bert earned a friend; his smile is so
“Here look at it” Freya took her book from the small bag and gave it to Bert. Bert opened it and to his
surprise he looked at Freya with a curious look. “It's you Bert, I don’t know why but it seems like we are
destined to meet each other. When I saw you that day you passed here walking like a zombie, I followed
you and there I saw you cried and it's so painful to see those eyes flooded with tears.” Bert was shocked at
what he saw at the notebook and to what he heard from Freya” at the back of his mind something popped
up “Is it the sign I’m waiting for?” he whispered unconsciously. Seems like Freya is an angel sent by God
for him to push forward and be a better version of himself.
Days have passed and the two enjoy each other's company and later on became best friends. Freya is now
working at the coffee shop along with Bert and they both work passionately as their friendship grows
stronger. Bert got promoted to be a team leader after a year of working and now enjoying his busy life.
One afternoon Bert and Freya visit a cemetery “This is where my parents were buried. I want to show
them that I am now a stronger and braver person, I hope they are proud of me” Bert said while a tear
escaped from his eyes. “They are Bert, they are proud of you” Freya said while patting Bert’s shoulder.
Bert wiped his tears and looked in the sky “Thank you for giving me a person who will inspire and push
me to go forward” he smiled so happily.
“Sometimes their times that God will measure how long we will persevere and how we accept his
challenges. When the times comes that we felt like giving up he will do everything to help us. I think he
sent Freya to me to be a torched of my new beginning. - Bert
(Short Story by Patrick Ofialda)