One winter evening, I bought shawarma for a homeless man and his dog. At the time, it seemed like a simple act of kindness. But when he slipped me a note alluding to a past I’d completely forgotten, I knew this was no ordinary encounter.
I worked at a sporting goods store in a downtown mall. After 17 years of marriage, two teenagers, and countless late shifts, I thought nothing could surprise me anymore. But life has a funny way of surprising us.
Woman in her thirties working in a sporting goods store while wearing winter clothes | Source: Midjourney
That day had been particularly difficult because holiday shoppers were demanding refunds for items they’d obviously worn. Also, a cash register kept jamming, and my daughter, Amy, had texted me to say she’d failed another math test. We had to consider hiring a tutor.
All these things were running through my mind as my shift ended. Worse still, the temperature had dropped to freezing. The thermometer outside the store read -3°C.
The wind howled between the buildings, whipping loose papers across the sidewalk as I stepped outside. I tightened my coat, dreaming of the hot bath I would take at home.
Woman in her thirties tightening her winter coat on the street | Source: Midjourney
On my way to the bus, I saw the shawarma stand that had been there almost as long as I’d been working at the store. It was tucked between a closed flower shop and a dingy convenience store.
Steam rose from the metal surface of the grill into the hot air. The smell of roasting meat and spices almost made me stop and eat one. But I didn’t particularly like the vendor. He was a stocky man with a permanently furrowed brow.
The food was good, and you could get your shawarma in two seconds, but I wasn’t in the mood to be grumpy today.
A shawarma stand with a vendor working on a cold, snowy, and windy day | Source: Midjourney
I stopped, however, when I saw a homeless man and his dog approaching the stand. The man, who was about 55 years old, looked cold and definitely hungry as he stared at the rotating meat.
The man was wearing a thin coat and the poor puppy had no fur. My heart broke for them.
“Are you going to order something or stay here?” the sharp voice of the salesman made me jump.
I watched the homeless man gather his courage. “Sir, please. Just a little hot water?” he asked, his shoulders hunched.
Homeless man with a dog in front of a shawarma stand on a snowy day | Source: Midjourney
Unfortunately, I already knew the salesman’s answer before he even said it. “GET OUT OF HERE! This isn’t charity!” he barked.
As the dog approached his master, I saw the man’s shoulders slump. That’s when my grandmother’s face appeared in my mind.
She told me about her difficult childhood and how a single act of kindness had saved her family from starvation. I have never forgotten that lesson, and although I can’t always help, her words come back to me:
“Kindness costs nothing but can change everything.”
A grandmother on a rocking chair, smiling in front of a fireplace in a cozy house | Source: Midjourney
I spoke without realizing it. “Two coffees and two shawarmas.”
The salesman nodded and worked at lightning speed. “18 dollars,” he said flatly, placing my order on the counter.
I handed over the money, grabbed the takeout bag and a tray, and rushed to catch up with the homeless man.
When I gave him the food, his hands shook.
“God bless you, my child,” he whispered.
I nodded awkwardly, ready to hurry home and get away from the cold. But his raspy voice stopped me.
Woman in her thirties holding takeaway food and smiling on a snowy street | Source: Midjourney
“Wait.” I turned around and saw him take out a pen and paper and scribble something quickly, then hand it to me. “Read it at home,” he said with a strange smile.
I nodded, stuffing the bill in my pocket. My mind was already elsewhere, wondering if there would be seats on the bus and what I was going to make for dinner.
***
At home that evening, life continued as usual. My son, Derek, needed help with his science project. Amy complained about her math teacher. My husband, Tom, discussed a new client at his law firm.
A mother helping her son with his homework | Source: Midjourney
The note remained forgotten in my coat pocket until I began gathering clothes for laundry the next evening.
I opened the crumpled paper and read the message:
“Thank you for saving my life. You don’t know it, but you already saved it once.”
Below the message was a date from three years ago and the name “Lucy’s Café.”
The clothes I was holding almost slipped out of my hands. Lucy’s had been my regular lunch spot before it closed.
A cozy cafe | Source: Midjourney
And suddenly, I remembered that day clearly. There was a thunderstorm, and many people had entered the cafe to seek shelter.
A man stumbled in. His clothes were soaked, and the look in his eyes told me he was desperate, and not just for food. He needed something else.
No one looked at him except me. The waitress almost pushed him away, but like the other day, I heard my grandmother’s voice.
So I bought him a coffee and a croissant.
A woman holding a takeaway coffee cup and a brown takeaway bag | Source: Midjourney
I told him to have a good day and shared my best smile. It was nothing special… or so I thought.
It was the same man, and my heart broke all over again. Clearly, his life hadn’t improved, but he remembered my kindness. But was food, once every few years, enough?
I couldn’t sleep that night with that thought running through my head.
The next day, I left work early.
A woman in her thirties smiles on a snowy street during the day | Source: Midjourney
Luckily, he was near the shawarma stand, just huddled in a corner, hugging his dog. The adorable puppy wagged its tail when it saw me.
“Hi,” I said, smiling. “I read the note. I can’t believe you remember that time.”
The man looked up, surprised to see me, and gave me a brittle smile. “You are a bright spot in a harsh world, my child, and you have saved me twice now.”
A homeless man hugging a dog tightly while sitting in front of a building and looking up | Source: Midjourney
“It’s not,” I shook my head. “It was just food and basic human decency. I want to do more. Will you let me help you, for real?”
“Why do this?”
“Because everyone deserves a second chance, a real one.”
He nodded, and I told him to follow me.
There was a lot to do to help him get back on his feet, and since my husband is a lawyer, I knew we could help. But first, I wanted to get to know him, so I invited him to a coffee shop, introduced myself properly, and learned his name was Victor.
A homeless man hugging a dog inside a cafe and smiling | Source: Midjourney
Over two cups of coffee, a shared berry pie, and a treat for his dog, Lucky, Victor told me how he had lost everything. He was a truck driver with a wife and a daughter.
One rainy evening, a car veered into his lane. The accident left him with a broken leg and crippling medical debt. When he couldn’t find another job, his wife took their daughter and left.
Despite his injuries, his company refused to pay him disability benefits. And eventually, depression engulfed him whole.
A man kneels in the rainy street, looking sad and hopeless | Source: Midjourney
“That day at Lucy’s,” he confessed, wrapping his hands around his coffee mug, “I intended to end it all. But you smiled at me. You treated me like a human being. That gave me one more day. Then another. Then another. Finally, I found Lucky abandoned, and I kept moving on. I didn’t feel so alone anymore.”
Tears rolled down his cheeks. “And now here you are again,” he finished. “Just when this bad weather was making me wonder if I should let someone adopt my dog.”
I shook my head as tears welled up in my eyes. “No, you don’t need to do that. I’m here. Lucky isn’t going anywhere without you.”
***
That evening, I contacted a local shelter and secured a place for Victor and his dog.
Woman in her thirties holding a phone at home | Source: Midjourney
I also started a GoFundMe to raise money for new clothes and essentials. My kids helped create the social media donations. Additionally, one of Tom’s colleagues specializes in disability benefits litigation and was willing to take on Victor’s case pro bono.
Once this matter was settled, we helped Victor replace his identity papers and important documents, which had been stolen while he was sleeping on a public bench.
It took us another month to find him a suitable room to rent near the shelter. With his new address, he found a job at a factory warehouse, where his supervisor allowed Lucky in; the dog quickly became the unofficial mascot of the morning shift.
Man in his fifties smiling in a warehouse with a dog running in the background | Source: Midjourney
On my birthday the following year, there was a knock at my door. Victor was there, holding a chocolate cake from the local bakery.
He was clean-shaven and well-dressed, and his smile radiated a confidence he’d never had before. Even Lucky was wearing a new red collar.
His eyes shone with gratitude as he said, “You’ve saved my life three times now—at the cafe, at the shawarma stand, and with everything you’ve done since. I’ll never forget that. I wanted to bring you this cake, but it’s really the least I can do for the heroine who was born that day.”
Man in his fifties standing in a doorway, holding a birthday cake | Source: Midjourney
I smiled, refusing to start crying again, and invited him inside.
As my family shared cake and conversation with our friend, I thought about how I had almost walked right past him that cold evening, too busy with my own problems to notice anyone else’s pain.
How many other winners were waiting for someone to see them?
That’s why I often repeated my grandmother’s words to Amy and Derek, reminding them to always be kind and to take every opportunity to make the world a little less harsh.
Woman in her thirties talking to her teenage children on a sofa | Source: Midjourney
You never know if it will be a lifeline for someone.
Here’s another story : One rainy night, a pregnant taxi driver takes an injured homeless man to the hospital for free. The next morning, she wakes up to a parade of vehicles outside her house. Men in suits knock on her door to deliver a shocking truth that will change her life forever.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the story. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims regarding the accuracy of events or character portrayals and are not responsible for any misinterpretations. This story is provided “as is,” and the opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
Để lại một phản hồi