In a neighborhood on the wrong side of the tracks, a struggling teen and a compassionate homeowner forged an unlikely bond.

Though the boy faced turmoil at home, his can-do spirit left a mark on the community – and the homeowner’s yard. That is, until tragedy struck.

In the wake of the incident, the kid’s abusive mother fights tooth and nail for all his belongings, but the homeowner is determined to preserve his legacy and the special bond they shared.

You’ll want to read on for this one.

Don’t take my lawn decorations

I had purchased my first home in a slightly lower-class area of town, which is pretty close to an even lower-class area of town. (Think slightly ghetto, a mile from absolute trailer trash.)

I know most of my immediate neighbors, since most of them are pretty loud, and I’d rather be friendly with them than have them be my enemies.

Some local kid likes to go around collecting trash in his free time. A real nice kid, he does it for really no reason.

Before long, the two form an unexpected bond.

Whenever I see him, I usually get him a drink — lemonade or soda so he can stay hydrated. (California is hot.) Sometimes, I give him a few dollars.

I offered the kid $30 a month to mow my lawn twice a month. So, the kid had a gig for small but consistent income.

He goes above and beyond to do great work, much to the homeowner’s appreciation.

The kid takes a lot of pride in his work. He mows the lawn, pulls weeds, moves rocks out of the driveway, and just makes my place look extra nice, even though I don’t even ask him to do any extra work. This guy is great.

This goes on for a few years, and the kid is now a senior in high school.

His home life, however, is a different story.

His family is not doing so great — his dad just lost his main source of income, and his mom had accumulated debt, which put a lot of stress on their failing marriage.

His mom was abusive, verbally and sometimes physically, to both the kid and the father. But the kid keeps going, doing work, volunteering, and being a really happy, upbeat dude.

But regardless of the turmoil at home, he still brings an liveliness to his work.

Despite his troubles at home, the kid starts buying lawn decorations. Mostly small things, like little gnomes, decorative rocks, and a birdbath. He decorates my yard. It looks amazing, but I knew he must have spent a lot of his own money on that.

I try to reimburse him, but he denies it. He won’t take it.

So the homeowner decides to surprise him with something he really needs.

I know he needs a car, and I was about to get a newer one for myself, so I gave him mine for free. It really was the least I could do for this guy for everything he had done for me.

But then, tragedy struck.

A few weeks later, a drunk driver T-bones the kid, and he dies on the scene.

I was devastated. His parents were devastated, and they soon after got a divorce.

It seems instead of grieving, the parents went right to squabbling over his belongings. It turns out the mother was hiding quite a few things.

They were fighting over who gets what, and the father discovered that the mother had a drug addiction she had been hiding. It was straight out of left field.

She wanted everything they had and lawyered up to fight the battle.

Due to the debt the mother had accumulated on the father’s bank account, he had no money. Nobody knew where she got her money from.

As sad as it is, it wasn’t my affair.

Until the parents get the homeowner involved.

Until she sent me a letter claiming that the yard decorations were rightfully hers and that she would take them “or else.”

Now, this is a problem.

I get it — you lost your only child. You’re in a lot of pain as a parent.

But you were never a good parent to him. I was closer to him than you, by a long shot.

So the homeowner decided they would give the kid’s father the boost he needs to win against the mother.

So, I had a meeting with the father and told him not to worry about the court costs. I decided I was going to fund him in court.

Long story short about their divorce battle: The father won, got to keep everything, and even got a restraining order on her.

He then filed for credit card fraud and put all the debt on her.

After the court case, she still wasn’t doing too hot.

I heard from the father that she was recently arrested for driving while drunk.

She was searched and found with a decent stash of drugs on her. She is currently awaiting trial for that, while the father is now living a relatively stress-free life.

But Jonathan’s memory was honored, at least in this homeowner’s yard.

And I got to keep my lawn decorations.

RIP Johnathan. You are missed.

The lawn decorations aren’t solely ornamental; They’re monuments to a boy who turned a troubled life into something beautiful.

What did Reddit think?

This commenter can tell Jonathan was a special person, despite having never met him.

The kindness of the homeowner no doubt helped the kid through his troubles.

Drunk driving has cut too many young lives short.

This user is surprised the parents didn’t try to go after the much more valuable asset.

While his life ended too soon, the boy’s selflessness lives on.

In helping the boy’s father get justice in court, the homeowner ensured his quiet triumph in the face of adversity won’t be forgotten.

If you liked that post, check this one about a guy who got revenge on his condo by making his own Christmas light rules.