Of all the things we could ever lose, our purses or wallets have to be right up there with the worst of them. Half of our lives are contained in those little objects; including our personal identification documents, our credit cards, and sometimes even our keys. Not to mention cash!
Sometimes, we store even more valuable items in there; things which simply can't be replaced when they're lost. They might be precious photographs, or little keepsakes given to us by people who aren't around anymore. We call such things sentimental treasures, and losing a single one of them is painful.
We're living in jaded times, and so if you were unfortunate enough to lose your wallet or purse, you'd probably assume you'd never see it again. Even if you did, you'd expect all the valuables to have been removed from it. That's why this story might just warm your heart.
This story starts with Taylor Sloan, and her misplaced purse. Taylor is an outgoing girl who loves motorbikes. Taylor had been at a bike racing meeting, and had so much fun that she completely misplaced her purse.
When she noticed it wasn't on her person, it was nowhere to be found. Taylor was forced to go home without the purse, and assumed she'd never see it again. A few days later, she got a package in the mail which was truly remarkable.
As she told her story to ''Today' a little while later, Taylor accepted that most of the blame for her lost purse laid with her. In was a January 2016 night in Oakland, California, when Taylor went to watch a motocross show.
She wasn't carrying as much cash as usual, so Taylor decided just to shove the purse in her back pocket. The pink purse should have been in a bag, as Taylor now accepts. She didn't have a bag with her, so the pocket would have to do.
The loss of the purse was annoying, but not as annoying as the items which had been inside it. As well as a little cash, Taylor had lost her debit card, and her driver's license.
Taylor made an appointment with the DMV to get a new license as quickly as she could. She chalked the loss up to experience, and wanted to move on ASAP. Little did she know that a special package was on its way to her in the mail.
As so many of us do, Taylor had forgotten to update her address details when she'd moved out of her parents' home. Because of that, her driver's license still had the address of her family home on it.
A few days after Taylor lost her purse, a strange package turned up at the house. Taylor's mother phoned her daughter, and asked if she was expecting any mail. Taylor said no, and she didn't recognize the return address either. It was a mystery.
The only way to solve the mystery was to ask her mom to open the mystery package, and so that's exactly what Taylor did. To their shared delight, it contained Taylor's purse; and that's not all it contained. Nothing had been taken from the purse at all.
All her cash was there, and so were her important documents. Taylor would have been ecstatic if that's all she'd received back, but there was more. The purse had come with a letter from the finder.
Taylor's mom read the letter out for her daughter. She could easily see from the handwriting that it was the work of a child. The young Samaritan confirmed he'd found the purse on the floor at the motocross event Taylor had been to.
He said he knew what it felt like to lose something, and he didn't want Taylor to feel that way. It would have been a beautiful sentiment from anyone. What made this incredible was that the sender, Nasim Lawrence, was only ten years old.
Nasim's father AJ would later tell the media that his son had found the purse on the floor while queuing up to get food. From the moment he found it, all he wanted to do was get it back to its owner.
Nasim was only ten, but he knew that not having a driver's license was a problem for any adult. This kid has a better grip on what's right and wrong than a lot of adults! He's obviously a well-mannered boy, who's been raised the right way.
Not only does Nasim know driver's licenses are important, he knew he had to get this one back to Taylor quickly. AJ was speaking to ABC News when he explained that his son spent the rest of the motocross event looking for Taylor.
He knew that if he didn't find her, she might make an appointment with the DMV. Even at 10, Nasim knows that waiting on the DMV isn't a fun activity. This little guy just seems to get it!
Nasim couldn't find Taylor at the motocross show. By the time he got home, it was too late to put the purse in the mail. Early the next morning, he tasked his mom with mailing the purse back to Taylor ASAP.
During the night, though, he'd had a chance to make a little addition to it. He wrote the letter to Taylor just before he went to bed. In Nasim's own words, he just wanted to make her smile when she read it.
The thoughtfulness of Nasim's kind act certainly wasn't lost on Taylor, who was grateful for the gesture. Speaking to the 'Today' show, she said that she found the letter charming, but also cute.
As well as being happy that she's got her purse back, she was also amused. There was one line in particular in the letter which made her laugh. Nasim expressed to Taylor that he was glad that he'd found the purse, and not 'a bad person!'
Taylor shared the whole content of the letter with the ''Today' show. It only got better as it went along. Nasim had seen Taylor's photo on her driver's license, and told her that she looked like a good person.
Because she looked like a good person, Nasim wanted to do something good for her. More than anything else, he just wanted to make her smile. A very grateful Taylor gave Nasim more than just a simple smile in return.
Nasim had taken the time to write to Taylor, so she decided it was only right if she wrote back to him. In her letter, Taylor offered Nasim a full and sincere thank you for his kind deed, and the return of her purse.
To show how grateful she was, she also sent $20 from the money that was in the purse. Even better from that from a kid's point of view; she sent him a big bag of candy! This story wasn't quite over just yet, though.
We all know what can happen from one single Facebook post or Tweet if people start sharing it. Taylor posted about Nasim's kindness on her Facebook account. One of the people who saw it was her friend Dano Wano, who is a local radio DJ.
With Taylor's permission, Dano shared the story on the radio station's Facebook account. That was all it took for the story to spread everywhere. Before anyone knew what was going on, television stations were getting in touch!
Because Nasim was so young, he didn't have his own social media accounts. He had no idea that everyone knew his story. As far as he was concerned, he had his money and his candy, and he was happy with that!
One day though, he ran home to his mother with a question. His school leader had stopped him in the corridor and told him that he was famous. Nasim wanted his mom to clue him in on what had been going on.
Nasim's mom Karimah wasn't a big social media user herself, so she had to do some digging to find out what was happening. Once she got onto Facebook, it didn't take long to find the post.
Everyone was sharing it! She found Taylor's original post, and decided to get in touch with Taylor. Karimah sent Taylor a friend request, and Taylor accepted. The two women started a conversation with each other in the comments - mostly about what a great kid Nasim is!
From that moment on, the story kept getting bigger and bigger. Nasim received a special honor from the council of his hometown; Antioch. Even bigger things were coming Nasim's way, though. One of the people who had seen his story - and loved it - was one of the biggest names in television.
There's one presenter in particular who loves a good news story, and likes to reward good people. Nasim and his family were on their way to meet Ellen DeGeneres!
Nasim and his family didn't go to Ellen's show on their own. They were accompanied by Taylor, giving her and Nasim the chance to meet at last. While talking to Nasim, Ellen asked him for his version of events.
With an apparently photographic memory, Nasim reeled everything off exactly as he remembered it. At one point, Taylor said she thought she had between $30 and $40 in her purse when it was lost. Quick as a flash, Nasim stepped in and told her it was exactly $38!
It could all have gone so differently for Taylor and Nasim. If she'd dropped her purse somewhere else, she'd probably never have seen it again. If anyone other than Nasim had picked it up, they'd likely have kept the money.
This is a story about two good people, connected by a single act of good fortune. It was a lucky break for Taylor - but it was also a beautiful moment; one of a kind that occurs so rarely!
The real star of the story here is Nasim, and we shouldn't take anything away from him. At the same time, we should remember the part Taylor played in all this. She could have just accepted Nasim's letter and thanked him privately.
She didn't have to put anything on social media about it and send Nasim's kindness viral. The rewards Nasim was about to receive were all down to Taylor speaking up for him and sharing his spirit of generosity!
Ellen loves to reward people who've done good things. Nasim didn't know that, though. He had no idea what was coming. Ellen asked him what he would spend his $20 reward money on.
Nasim said he was saving for a video game, so it would go toward that. There's no need for him to save up for any games now. Ellen gave him a new TV, game consoles, and games worth $1000! It all just goes to show - you never know where a good deed might lead!
