The Stolen Dream

Johnny Smith always dreamed of being a writer. His thoughts were filled with plots, characters, and dialogue almost all the time. To be close to the industry he loved, he landed a job in the mailroom of a major publishing house.

There, he befriended Moses Allen, the nephew of the company's owner. Full of excitement, Johnny shared his concept for a book about a witty and precocious boy named Smiley. Moses initially liked the idea but suggested a major change: turning Smiley into a freedom fighter in South Africa.

Johnny, however, was determined to stick to his original vision. He kept working on his story and, to his amazement, it caught the eye of a production company. The story was picked up and developed into a potential movie. Overwhelmed with excitement, Johnny confided in Moses about his success.

The movie was made, and Johnny quickly became the talk of the town. But then, out of nowhere, Moses shocked everyone by claiming that Johnny had stolen the idea from him. Moses revealed intimate details about the story that he should have had no way of knowing, all because Johnny had trusted him with closely personal aspects of the tale.

Due to Moses's connections and his family's fame and wealth, people were quick to believe his side of the story over that of Johnny, the mailroom clerk. Despite the movie's huge success, Johnny found himself on the outside looking in, receiving only a free ticket from an anonymous friend to watch the film.

From that day on, Johnny learned a valuable lesson: never trust anyone with your precious secret ambitions.