The rain had just stopped, and the small town was still wet. The smell of wet earth filled the air, and water dripped from the rusted roofs of the small houses. In a narrow alley behind the old market, twelve-year-old Charles sat on an upturned wooden crate. His feet were bare and dirty, his shirt was too big for his thin body, and his trousers had patches on the knees. In front of him were three broken plastic buckets, one cracked paint tin, and two sticks he had carved himself from guava branches with his small knife. To anyone passing by, it was just trash. Garbage that should be thrown away. To Charles, it was a drum set. The best drum set in the world. He had been drumming since he was four years old. He didn't know how to read music. He never went to music school. But when he heard a sound, any sound, his hands wanted to play it. The sound of rain on the roof. The sound of his mother's heartbeat. The sound of the market women shouting. Everything was music to him. He close

The bus to the capital city was old and noisy. It shook like it would fall apart any minute.Charles had never been on a long bus before. He had never left his small town before. He sat near the window, holding his drum bag tight. Inside the bag was not the real drum set from church - that was too big to carry. The church allowed him to use it only for practice. For the competition, he had to use his own. So he carried his three best buckets, his paint tin, and his guava sticks, wrapped in his mother's old wrapper to protect them.His sixty dollars plus seventy dollars loan was now only forty dollars, after paying seventy for bus ticket. Forty dollars for food and place to sleep in capital city for four days until audition.The bus drove for ten hours. Ten long hours through dusty roads, green forests, and big towns Charles had only heard about on radio.As the bus entered the capital city, Charles' mouth opened wide.He had never seen so many buildings in his life. Tall buildings tha

The stage was still covered in golden confetti. The audience of 5000 people was still standing, shouting "BUCKET BOY! BUCKET BOY!" Cameras were flashing everywhere. TV host was trying to interview Charles, but Charles couldn't hear anything. In his hands, he held a giant check, made of cardboard, written: $50,000. FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS. And a golden contract that said: STAR MUSIC RECORDS - RECORDING CONTRACT. A year ago, he had 3 dollars. Now he had 50,000 dollars. But his mind was not on check. His mind was on small house in small town, 10 hours away by bus, where his mother lay on thin mattress, coughing blood, waiting. "I need to go home now!" Charles shouted to host, "My mother is sick! I need to go now!" Host was confused, "But winner's press conference... photos... celebration party..." "No! My mother is dying! Please, I need to go!" DJ Thunder, American judge, heard him and took off his expensive jacket and wrapped it around Charles' thin shoulders. "Boy, where is your

The Williams Mansion was bigger than Charles's entire small town school.The floor was white marble that shined like mirror. The stairs were made of glass. There were paintings on the wall that cost more than his fifty thousand dollars prize. A big chandelier hung from the ceiling with a thousand small lights.Charles stood at the entrance, holding his old bucket bag, afraid to step inside because his slippers were dusty.A butler in black uniform took his bag quickly."Sir, let me clean your... luggage," the butler said, looking at the buckets."No, sir! Please! Do not take it! It stays with me!" Charles held the bag tighter.Sophia Williams walked past him without looking. She went straight upstairs to her pink bedroom and slammed the door. Loud bang!Mr. Williams sighed. "Charles, do not worry about my daughter. Her father left us two years ago. He was the best drummer in America. Since then, she hates all drums. Your room is upstairs, first door on the left. Dinner is at seven PM.

The garden of the Williams Mansion was silent. Everyone was crying, but it was happy crying.Sophia Williams was still hugging her father, Michael Williams, tightly. She did not want to let him go, as if he would disappear again if she let go."Dad, you really came back? You will not leave again?" she whispered, tears on her gold birthday dress."I will never leave again, my princess. I promise. Two years ago I made the biggest mistake of my life. I chose a world tour over my family. I thought money and fame would make you proud of me. But yesterday I saw your video. You playing Heartbeat on buckets in the garden. And I understood. You do not need money. You need your father. I am home now. For good," Michael said, crying and hugging her tighter.Mr. Williams, Sophia's stepfather who raised her for two years, stood there with Mrs. Williams. His eyes were red, but he smiled. He was a good man. He walked forward and shook Michael's hand."Michael, welcome home. Sophia waited every night