I had called a plumber that day.
A young man — polite, quiet — came to fix the problem. I’m in my 30s, a single mother raising my 4-year-old son, and things have been… hard. Money’s tight, bills pile up faster than I can breathe.
He must have noticed.
He saw me fumbling through my purse, counting coins and small notes to pay him.
He glanced around my small, worn-out house, and without a word, I told him softly, “I’m short… about twenty dollars.”
He just gave a small smile, said “It’s okay,” and left.
I thought that was the end of it.
But when bad things happen, they come together, don’t they?
A few weeks later, another problem — another repair. I had to call him again.
This time, he walked in with a small bag in his hand. Chocolates. “For your son,” he said.
I froze for a moment. My boy hadn’t had chocolate for over a month. My heart ached because while he was bringing joy into my home, I didn’t even know if I could afford to pay him for his work.
When he finished fixing everything, I told him honestly, “I can’t pay you right now. Can I give it to you next month?”
He shook his head gently.
“No need. This one’s free.”
I didn’t know what to feel. Gratitude… shame… confusion. A part of me even wondered if he was being kind for some other reason.
But as he reached the door to leave, I stopped him. “Why free for me?” I asked.
He turned, looked straight into my eyes, and said,
“Sister… you don’t remember me, do you?
When you were in college, I was a 10-year-old boy. I was sitting on my doorstep, crying. You were buying ice cream from the cart. You called me over and offered me one. I didn’t say thank you… I just ran back home. That night, I shared that ice cream with my mama. We hadn’t eaten all day.”
I just stood there, speechless.
My eyes burned, my throat closed.
We both broke down in tears and hugged — strangers once, bound forever by a small act of kindness neither of us forgot.
That day, I learned…
Sometimes the smallest seeds of kindness you plant in someone’s life return years later as a tree that gives you shade when you need it most.
Credit to the rightful owner~