For Weeks, I Praised My Neighbor’s Kids for Cleaning the Street – But One Morning I Uncovered the Truth Behind Their ‘Kindness’

I bent down, pushing aside the same pile of leaves Idris had. My heart beat a bit faster—there’s something exciting about solving a mystery, even at my age. And there it was.

Coins. Loose change, tucked under the leaves. Quarters, dimes, a few shiny pennies.

I frowned, my mind racing. Why were they hiding money like this? I stood up, looking around.

Now that I knew what to look for, I couldn’t stop. I checked under more bushes, moved stones, peeked into cracks along the sidewalk. More coins.

Hidden by the street sign, stuffed between curb bricks, even stashed near the storm drain. It wasn’t just a little change either. By the time I finished, I’d collected nearly five dollars.

“Why would they hide money instead of picking up trash?” I muttered, pacing the sidewalk. I stood there, staring at the coins in my hand, my head spinning with possibilities. Were they up to something?

Hiding money for someone else? Later that afternoon, I saw Odes again, unloading groceries from her car. This was my chance to figure out what her kids were doing.

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