Chapter 679
Their destination was a small town. According to the vlogger who shot the video,
she was just passing through when she stopped at a convenience store and saw the man, so she took a quick video and posted it online.
Even though the man was dirty and dressed in rags, he was tall with strong, defined features. Netizens had dubbed him ‘the most fashionable homeless man.’ The video went viral, which was how Mrs. Stapleton saw it.
They didn’t know where the man lived or where he usually spent his time, so Penelope parked the car outside the convenience store the vlogger had mentioned.
After they parked, Mrs. Stapleton hurried inside to ask the store owner.
“Are you here looking for Rex, too p>
“Rex?” Mrs. Stapleton was taken aback.
“That’s the beggar p>
“Isn’t that a dog’s name p>
The owner chuckled. “The beggar has no arms. When he eats, he kneels on the ground like a dog, so someone gave him that name p>
“You’re saying he… he has no arms p>
The owner nodded. “I think it was because of a car accident, but he’s simple-minded and can’t explain it clearly. Anyway, when he first showed up here six years ago, he was already missing his arms p>
“Six years ago Mrs. Stapleton recalled that Norton had run away from home six years ago. The timing matched perfectly, and a sharp pain pierced her heart.
“Are you here to shoot a video too?” the owner asked.
Penelope shook her head, about to give a vague answer, but Mrs. Stapleton exclaimed emotionally, “That… that’s my son p>
Hearing this, the owner looked at Mrs. Stapleton and Penelope’s attire, and then at the car outside, his eyes wide with surprise.
“You look pretty well-off. How could you let your son become a beggar p>
“I’ve been searching for him for years,” Mrs. Stapleton said, her eyes turning red. “I had no idea this had happened to him p>
The owner said the man had no fixed residence or regular haunts, but he would occasionally pass by the store. He suggested it would be better for them to wait there than to search aimlessly.
Penelope agreed. The town was in the mountains, and they weren’t familiar with the area. Wandering around could be dangerous.
Conveniently, there was a small hotel right across from the convenience store, so Penelope booked a room.
The
conditions were certainly not up
to city standards. Penelope
expected Mrs. Stapleton to
complain, but she said nothing upon entering. She walked straight to t the window and stood there, staring out at the street below.
“I gave the owner some money and asked him to contact his acquaintances in town.
If anyone sees the man, they’ll call him immediately, and we can go over p>
Mrs. Stapleton glanced at the sky. “It looks like it’s going to rain p>
“Yes, the forecast called for rain p>
“I wonder if he has a place to shelter from the storm p>
Penelope opened her mouth but didn’t know how to respond. Mrs. Stapleton was convinced the man was Norton, but Penelope knew he wasn’t, so they couldn’t connect on this.
“The owner said he has no arms,
that he has to eat on the ground like a dog At this, Mrs. Stapleton’s
met
voice finally broke with a sobe also said
voice is misn’t right that he
doesn’t remember anything. No wonder he couldn’t come home, no wonder I couldn’t find him p>
“Maybe it’s not Norton,” was all Penelope could say.
“It is him. I have a feeling it’s him p>
“If it weren’t for me, he would have never run away from home. I’ve failed him p>
Mrs. Stapleton was beginning to
regret her cold treatment of Norton.
She cried, saying she was wrong,
and that if she found him, she would
love him properly and make up for all the years of neglect.
Penelope looked up at the sky. Norton, if you could hear this, would you feel hatred,
sadness, or would you finally find peace?
Mrs. Stapleton stood guard at the window, barely touching her dinner.