Luke loved singing as much as he loved his pet caterpillars. Every morning, he would pick up his ukulele, wear a big smile, and sing until he could sing no more. During breaks, he would eat whatever his fortune would allow—a slice of a pizza or a sandwich and spend time with his caterpillars—the only family he had. As soon as he would get his voice back, he would start singing again, as if he was performing live in Wembley for thousands of people.
Funny thing is, his audience was the entire population of the city. Perhaps, it was one of the perks of being homeless and a music lover. Luke never had any complaints against life. He had found his purpose in the anthology of The Beatles and in the chorus of Over the Rainbow. And Luke was good—often people would stop in their tracks to listen to him, even drop a quarter or two in the gig bag. As seasons passed, and smartphones became a way of life, the crowd around him grew—he even got his street name ‘the homeless Lennon’. People would stop by, enthralled by his performance and passion for music.
The tables turned one day when a stranger uploaded Luke’s performance on the internet. Needless to say, he became an overnight sensation. His video went viral with millions of likes and thousands of retweets on social media. All TV hosts wanted him on their talk shows. Luke even signed a deal with a record label that finally got him a roof over his head and hot meals on his table. But there were a few things that remained the same—his passion for singing and love for his caterpillars—he never went anywhere without the big jar of those insects.
During an interview, one curious journalist asked him about his fascination with the caterpillars. Lifting the jar from his side, Luke said, “During all my hopelessness and despair, they were the ones who motivated me to wake up every day with a smile and sing. There were nights when I thought my life was over, just like theirs, but in the mornings, I would wake up to see them turned into butterflies. It gave me courage.”