That Day, Once Again | Lateral Thinking Puzzles

Hints

Take it little by little, just as much as you need.

Hint 1

The cash and cards were all there, but that does not mean everything inside the wallet was exactly as it had been.

Hint 2

The man did not leave home to escape danger.

Hint 3

Something in the wallet mattered not only to the man, but also to the person who had stolen it.

Hint 4

It was a photo taken long ago on a day out with the whole family. One of the family members in it had been away from home for a long time.

Hint 5

The change was on the back of the photo. The man recognized the distinctive handwriting there.

Answer

The date on the back of an old family photo in the wallet had been changed to today's date, in the handwriting of the man's son, who had left home.

The man understood it as a signal: “I want us to get together as a family again, here, today.” He set off with his family to meet his son.

Explanation

The person who had stolen the wallet was the man's son, who had been away from home for a long time.

Short of money, the son could not bring himself to ask his father for help. He took the wallet from the family home while no one was there. But inside, he found a photo taken long ago on a day out with the whole family. There he was as a little boy, smiling alongside them.

His father was still carrying that photo with him.

When the son realized this, he decided not to take any money.

He drew a diagonal line through the old date on the back of the photo and wrote today's date underneath. He wrote nothing else, then returned the wallet to the mailbox at the family home.

As the man checked the returned wallet, he noticed the change on the back of the photo. The newly written numbers had the familiar quirks of his son's handwriting.

The place in the photo. Today's date. And the family standing together there.

The man understood what it meant and set off with the family members who were at home.

To bring the family in the photo together once again.