The Silver Coat

“The Silver Coat” is one of the outstanding stories of the first biannual International Short Story Contest 2018 written by Rayyan Yusuf Bin Yusmaizi, Nobles International School-Petro Rabigh, Saudi Arabia.

The Silver Coat

There once was a boy named Tony. Every day, Tony saw an old man passing by his home. The man had a nice silver coat. Tony really admired this coat.

One night after dinner, Tony saw a shooting star. He made a wish – to own a silver coat just like the old man. He then went to bed.

The next day, Tony took the bus to school, where he played and learned. In the afternoon, Tony played football with his friends and saw the old man with the silver coat cross the street. He always wondered who this old man was.

In the evening, Tony and his parents went for supper at a nice place called Golden Restaurant. Upon arrival, Tony saw the same old man, sitting at a table. “Who is that man?” Tony asked his father. His father then replied, “That man is my friend.”

“He is a nice man, he always helps people in the neighborhood,” said Tony’s father. “Can I meet him?” asked Tony. “Why would you want to meet him?” asked his father. “I want to ask him about that silver coat that he is always wearing,” replied Tony.

Tony and his father walked towards the old man. After introducing himself to the old man, Tony asked about the silver coat. “I always see you passing by my house wearing this silver coat. I really like it, where did you get it?” Tony asked the old man.

“Oh boy. This silver coat was my grandfather’s. My grandfather was an iron worker. He made a lot of things using metal and he was always helping people. One day, the Mayor gave him this silver coat as a token of appreciation for his willingness to help others. My grandfather passed this silver coat on to my father, who then passed it on to me,” said the old man.

Tony really admired the old man’s story and he promised himself that he will always help people so that one day he could have his own silver coat.