Janitor Displays His Paintings for the 1st Time, Sees Line of Tycoons in His Yard – Story of the Day

When a lonely janitor stumbles across paint cans in his basement, it brings out his inner child, who is fond of painting. Little does he know that following his lost passion would turn him into a millionaire overnight.

Henry, a 50-year-old janitor, lived in an old, weathered house he had inherited from his parents. He lived alone in a small town, where he worked in one of the neighborhood schools, earning enough to make ends meet.

Henry had worked tirelessly all his life, mopping floors and cleaning up after others. His career began at a local restaurant, where he used to clean bathrooms for a few dollars per hour.

At first, the then-young Henry thought this was not the right career path, but his circumstances did not allow him to work elsewhere. He couldn't study after graduating high school because his parents did not have enough money. As a result, he had to work jobs that did not require a college degree.

As Henry grew older, he realized mopping floors was not that bad. He found it therapeutic, but people around him always mocked him. Moreover, no girl wanted to be with him because they disliked his profession.

Although he craved attention from the opposite sex, Henry made peace with what women thought about him. He lived alone in his parents' house after their death and made his work his biggest motivation to live.

He often hung out with his friends at clubs, allowing him to interact with women. Every girl he met at the club would talk to him until finding out what he did for a living. They would immediately leave, making him feel like mopping floors was a crime.

"Why don't you lie to them about your job, Henry?" one of his friends suggested. "I'm sure they won't ask your boss about it!"

"Why should I lie?" Henry asked his friend.

"I don't want to begin a relationship with dishonesty. Even if it's casual, I can't do that."

"C'mon, you must be kidding me!" his friend laughed. "We're living in 2023! You can lie for the sake of having a good time, man. It's okay!"

"No way." Henry shook his head, recalling how his father taught him the importance of honesty. Because of his father's teachings, Henry did not believe in lying. He always spoke the truth, even if that meant staying alone for the rest of his life.

As years turned into decades, grey hair replaced black hair on Henry's head. Fine lines and wrinkles began appearing on his face, but the man did not stop working as a janitor.

With more than three decades of mopping floors, Henry now owned his profession and never hesitated while telling others what he did for a living. He had become a wise, confident man who felt proud of working hard.

Since Henry didn't have a family, he often spent evenings in the park, reading the newspaper, or talking to the kids in his neighborhood. At 50, the man thought he had experienced all the good things in life, unaware that an unexpected incident would soon change his life.

One day, Henry started missing his parents when he returned home after work. Watching kids play in the park reminded him of his childhood and how he used to play on the swings with his father.

"I miss you so much, Mom and Dad," he thought as he closed his eyes and rested his head on his pillow.

While thinking about his parents, Henry realized he had a photo of them in the basement. "I should bring it up here and place it in the living room," he thought as he left his bed and walked towards the stairs.

The final product of his creativity was nothing short of a painting created by legendary artists.

Since Henry lived alone, he rarely visited the basement. It was more of a dumping ground filled with useless furniture and things Henry's parents did not use over the years.

As the older man entered the dark, dusty basement, his foot hit a metal can sitting next to the stairs. "What's this?" he said as he switched on the yellow lightbulb.

A dim light illuminated the room after Henry turned the switch on, allowing him to inspect the cans closely. "Oh, wow!" he exclaimed upon discovering five cans of paints. "This is interesting!"

Looking at the cans reminded Henry of his childhood when he spent hours painting on blank canvases inside his room. He had mastered color theory and was well aware of the types of brushes used by professional artists.

Although his parents couldn't afford to buy him all types of brushes and paints, he still managed to create artistic masterpieces with limited resources.

"Let's see what we can do with these paints," he grinned while picking up the paint cans and shaking them to see if they were still usable.

At that point, Henry had forgotten why he had entered the basement in the first place. His inner child had replaced the thought of his parents, and all he wanted to do now was to paint.

After rummaging through the things in the basement, Henry found a few blank canvases but no paintbrushes.

"How am I going to paint without brushes?" he asked himself.

Henry sat on the wooden floor in his room, staring at the blank canvases and the paint cans, when an idea struck his mind. "The old broomstick! I can use that!" he said before fetching it from the basement.

Equipped with all the tools required to create an artistic masterpiece, Henry let his imagination go wild as he dipped his broomstick in paint before gliding it on the creased canvas. Once he filled the canvas with a thick layer of paint, he turned the broomstick around and used its wooden end to add depth to his work of art.

He stroked the wooden end in different directions on the wet paint till he turned his imagination into reality. The final product of his creativity was nothing short of a painting created by legendary artists.

As time passed, Henry's love for painting developed into a hobby. Every weekend, he would take out his paints and glide his paintbrush on a blank canvas until he created a unique piece of art.

Several weeks later, the older man collected fifteen paintings, each with a unique theme. However, no one except him had seen his artwork because he kept them inside his house. He thought people would make fun of them like they mocked his profession.

One day, Henry was making coffee on a Saturday morning when he heard the doorbell ring. Since he lived alone and most of his friends liked spending weekends with their families, expecting someone on his doorstep was the last thing on the older man's mind.

"Coming!" he shouted before slowly walking towards the door, thinking who it must be.

"Hi, sir!" a young mailman greeted Henry with a smile. "How are you doing today?"

"I'm fine. How are you, son?" Henry asked as his gaze shifted from the mailman's face to the envelopes in his hand. "Do you have something for me?"

"Yes, sir," the mailman replied. "I have this letter for Mr. Henry."

"That's me! I'm Henry," the older man said as he took the envelope in his hand and squinted his eyes to read it.

"I need you to sign here, please," the mailman said as he handed a sheet of paper to Henry.

"Wait a minute, son," Henry excused himself. "Let me get my glasses from the table. Hold a second, please!"

Henry turned around to fetch his glasses, leaving the door open halfway. As the mailman waited for the older man to return, one of Henry's paintings inside the house caught his attention. He thought the artwork was brilliant and couldn't take his eyes off it.

"That's such a beautiful painting, sir!" the man said as soon as Henry returned with his glasses. "I love the color scheme and the patterns. Where did you buy it from?"

"I painted it myself, son," Henry replied, surprised and happy. "You can take it if you like it. I've got fourteen more canvases lying inside."

"Really? You painted this?" the young mailman looked at the painting with wide eyes as he handed the sheet of paper to Henry. "This is amazing!"

"Thank you so much," Henry smiled before he shifted his gaze to the paper and signed it. "I think you should take this one with you."

"I don't have enough money to buy this, sir, but I'm sure you can earn a lot if you sell them. You're so talented!"

"Sell them?" Henry laughed. "Who's going to buy them? People don't value art anymore. They won't buy a janitor's artwork, I'm sure!"

Then, the young mailman suggested Henry display his paintings on the wall outside his house. "People will stop by if they like your work, sir. I'm certain they will pay a good price for it," he said.

"I think you should try it."

Once the mailman left, Henry thought about his suggestion as he looked at his paintings. "Are they good enough? Was the boy right?" he wondered.

After thinking for a few hours, Henry followed the mailman's suggestion. Before going to bed that night, he displayed all his paintings outside his house. There were no easels, so he made do with a few worn-out chairs, lining them up and placing a painting on each of them. Little did he know he would wake up to a commotion in the street the following morning.

"Hey!!" Henry heard a man shout outside his house as he opened his eyes. His gaze shifted to the wall clock in his bedroom. It was 11 a.m. on a Sunday, but the noise outside made it feel like a working day.

"What's all the noise about?" he wondered as he neared the window overlooking the street. He was shocked to see a queue of luxurious cars parked outside his house as unknown men dressed in formal clothes inspected his artwork.

"Oh, my God!" Henry gasped. "That young man was absolutely right!"

The older man quickly washed his face and wore his best outfit before leaving his house to meet the rich men praising his artwork. As he stepped outside his home, all eyes shifted towards him.

"He's here! The man's here!" a middle-aged man shouted.

"Will you sell this painting for $25,000?" a man asked.

"I'll pay $55,000 for these two!" another man shouted.

Shocked, Henry stood at the entrance, wondering what was happening. He couldn't believe that people were offering thousands of dollars for his artwork.

Before he could respond to the offers, a middle-aged man in a black tuxedo shouted,

"One million dollars for all fifteen paintings!"

The final offer forced everyone to stay silent. No one dared to bid higher than the man's price. Once Henry accepted the offer, the crowd dispersed. Only the man who wanted to buy all the paintings stood before Henry.

"My name's Peter," the man introduced himself. "And you?"

"I'm Henry," the older man replied, inviting the rich man inside his house. "I'll get all the paintings for you, sir. Please give me a few minutes."

"Sure, I'll wait for you in my car," Peter replied.

A few minutes later, Henry handed all the canvases to Peter and finalized the deal with him. Never in a million years had he imagined getting paid for his hobby.

"My parents left me in the dumpster after I was born, and I would have died if this kind janitor didn't pick me up that day," Peter revealed.

The following week, Peter invited Henry to his new art gallery. Since the rich man had changed Henry's life for the better, he couldn't turn down the invite. Once again, he wore his best clothes before heading towards the art gallery. He had no idea of the surprise waiting for him over there.

"Henry's Artwork," the older man read the board outside the gallery as his cheeks flushed pink. He couldn't believe that Peter had named the new gallery after him.

"I hope you don't mind me using your name, Mr. Henry!" Peter said as he walked towards Henry. "Come inside!"

Shocked, the older man looked at his artwork displayed on the walls as he walked through the gallery. He couldn't believe that the paintings he had made out of boredom were now hanging inside an art gallery.

"But why did you name it after me?" Henry asked Peter.

"That's a long story," Peter replied. "I knew I had to do this when I heard about you for the first time."

"Why?" Henry asked, his voice tinged with curiosity.

"My parents left me in the dumpster after I was born, and I would have died if this kind janitor didn't pick me up that day," Peter revealed. "He adopted me and gave me the best life he could. Despite working a low-paying job, he saved money and sent me to college. However, I could never repay him because he passed away a few months before I graduated."

"Oh, I am so sorry," Henry said while looking at the ground.

"When I heard that you also work as a janitor, I knew this was fate's way of allowing me to repay my father. I bought your artwork and set up this gallery to honor my late father and you!" Peter said.

"I know what it feels like to put your passion on the back burner while working an ordinary job. My father did the same. He wanted to become a singer."

"I'm so sorry for your loss, son," Henry said, trying to hold back his tears. "Thank you so much for everything you did for me!"

As Peter hugged Henry, the older man burst into tears. This was the first time in his life that someone had been so kind to him. People had looked down upon him all his life because of his profession, but Peter was not like everyone else. He made the older man feel loved and respected―something he had never experienced.

After that day, Peter and Henry worked together to develop the art gallery. It attracted people around town who appreciated the older man's artwork and were ready to pay thousands of dollars for each painting.

What can we learn from this story?

• Always stick to your values. Henry's friend suggested that he could have lied to women about his profession to get their attention, but he chose not to because of his values. He believed relationships based on dishonesty never worked.
• Never underestimate your skills. Before meeting the mailman, Henry never thought he could use his artwork to earn money. He underestimated his skills, unaware that his art pieces would make him a millionaire overnight.

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Click here to read another story about a woman who was sure she was marrying a janitor and nearly fainted upon meeting a millionaire at the altar.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to [email protected].