Tom stopped and rubbed his head in confusion. What? How did this money get here? He’d spent all the cash inside the wallet on the bus! He checked again for some form of ID, in case that had also somehow materialized, but there was still nothing inside except for the cash. “I must be so tired that I’m hallucinating things,” Tom mumbled.

“Hello? Tom, you there?” Shirley called, impatient for a response. He could have kept arguing, but he was so tired that it wasn’t worth his time.

“Fine, just take it!” Tom said, too exhausted to care. He threw the bill down the stairs and finally went into his pathetic little apartment before Shirley could thank him. He laid down on his old ratty couch without even unbuttoning his coat or removing his shoes and let out a long sigh of relief. It was the weekend, and he was going to use it to relax. Nothing extraordinary, just some time off to spend on himself. At least that’s what he thought. 

Tom cleaned himself up and made a simple dinner for himself, just leftover cheap chicken reheated. In the oven, of course, because even Tom has standards. He searched through the pantry for something to eat on the side, but there was nothing. All of the cans that he had saved in there were gone. 

He furiously kicked a cabinet, shouting, “Curses!” Something terrible had occurred. Tom would have to… go outside and interact with other people! Not right now, though, because Tom just wanted to relax for once. He only had a tiny television that he had found on the side of the road that didn’t even function very well, but Tom made do. He adjusted the TV antenna to find a station and sat back down on the couch.

Tom didn’t particularly like watching TV, but it was something to do to pass the time. Time, how little it meant to someone with nothing to do with it. Well, at least that’s what Tom thought. He sat mindlessly for a while and then went to bed, just like any other night. 

He slept, and eventually, the morning came, as it tends to do. The first event that was out of the ordinary was that Tom slept in very late and woke up at 10 in the morning. Although I’m sure that it is normal for you to sleep far later than that. Anyway, Tom still didn’t have any food, so he would have to go to the store today. 

The supermarket, with its bright lights, annoying music, and shameless sales that weren’t even really deals. Tom came here as little as he possibly could. He remembered to bring his cards this time, but he also brought the wallet that he found the day before because he hadn’t emptied out his coat pockets. 

Nothing eventful happened when he filled up his cart with cans and the sort, but when he was at the checkout, he reached into the wrong pocket and pulled out the wallet that he’d found the day before. 

“Are you going to be paying with cash or card?” The store clerk asked. The little screen that listed everything that he wanted to buy said that it was $50.23. The wallet that he was holding felt fuller and heavier than it should be, so Tom looked inside. 

There was the money that he needed, a 50-dollar bill and an assortment of coins. Wait, again? Tom thought. Money’s just appeared, again? He just gave the clerk the money, not wanting to keep them any longer, and then left with his groceries without another word. Tom sat down on the curb to think. 

“This wallet has to be special or something,” he mumbled. While walking home, Tom fumbled with the strange wallet in his fingers, which was now empty. He said, “Every time that I’ve needed to spend money… it shows up in here.” It was the only thing that Tom could think about.

“Does this mean that I can just buy whatever I want?”