There are times when it seems that the chain of problems will never end. But then we meet people who, with a few words or a simple act, prove to us that life is beautiful, and after a black stripe there is always a white one. Just read this.
Story 1 :
I went into the subway, put my card against the turnstile — not enough money. Groaning, I go to the ticket office. Behind the glass sits a sad, pretty, middle-aged woman. I say hello, hold out my card and money and wait for her to top up my balance.
She is typing something on the keyboard, and at that moment I say to her, “Your manicure is so beautiful!” It didn’t seem like a big deal, but she blossomed after that and said, “Thank you, I had it before my holiday!” She refilled my pass and we said goodbye. As I left, I saw her smiling happily and looking at her hands.
Story 2 :
Growing up, I adored rabbits and had a black rabbit called Hades when I was 9 years old. He was gorgeous and I loved him dearly. Sadly, one day my mum came up to me and said she accidentally left the gate open when Hades was running around outside and he ran away. I was so distraught, and it was a genuine mistake on my mother’s part, so I was never overly mad at her.
It took me a while to get over it, but my parents agreed to buy me a new one. So off we went to the pet shop and, when picking out a rabbit, I told my story of woe to the pet shop employee. What she said to my 9-year-old self I still remember to this day.
“Really? You lost a black rabbit? That’s weird. There is a group of wild rabbits that lives in the woods by where I live, and I always see them when I leave for work. Recently, a black rabbit has joined them and they all seem very happy.”
My eyes lit up! I knew it was Hades and he was okay! He was living a happy wild life out there! I rested easy after that and brought home my new rabbit.
Believe it or not, it was only recently I realized that she lied to me, but what a wholesome lie.
I wish I knew who she was, so I could thank her personally because it really helped a 9-year-old me feel okay with the death of my beloved rabbit Hades.
Story 3 :
I was an intern at a large company in another city. I am on my way to the exam, the results of which will determine whether or not I will be hired for the position. I’m beautiful, in a dress, in stilettos, in a fur coat. And I blow a tire!
I get out of the car and try to get the spare. I know in theory how to change a tire. But I weigh 92 pounds, and the wheel is heavy. I took it out and cried, understanding that I wouldn’t be able to change it myself, plus I would be late for the exam.
Men were driving by, laughing. It made me cry even harder. Eventually, a car with construction workers stopped. They changed my tire. So many years have passed, and I still send them rays of kindness and gratitude! I passed the exam, by the way.
Story 4 :
My husband and I were driving in the car. We see a girl who can’t move out of the car space — she’s jerking back and forth. I say to my husband, “Help her out.” He did.
She thanked him, and he got back into the car and said, “I wanted to help her, but I thought you’d be against it and make a fuss about it.”
Story 5 :
I was 18 and had just moved to NYC by myself and was trying to adjust to the lifestyle there. It was my first time using the train and I had no idea how to buy a metro card. So I’m standing there at the only working machine with a line of people behind me trying to buy a card and was a little frantic because I knew people were waiting.
People in the line start yelling at me to “Hurry up!” “What’re you, stupid!” I start to get teary-eyed, which made me even more frantic. This guy steps out of the line and tells everyone to chill out. He comes up, shows me step by step what to do, and pays for a 12-ride card for me.
He patted me on the back and told me, “Not all New Yorkers are bad, but next time someone tells at you, yell back, and they’ll leave you alone.” At that moment, I didn’t feel so alone.
Story 6 :
My mum had me at 18, divorced my dad at 19, we moved back to her parents — a small 3-bedroom flat, where my grandparents, and mum’s 2 sisters also lived. Nobody cared about me, except my mum’s younger sister.
Thanks to her, at the age of 4 I could read, understand the time on the clock, add and subtract simple numbers.
But one of my most vivid memories is when she and I made a snowman. I was about 5 years old, she was 13. We made it, colored it, stuck a carrot in it and dressed it up. But when I went outside in the morning, there was a pile of snow instead of a snowman. I ran home in tears and told her everything.
She told me to wait at home while she’d go to “check it out.” And then she called me outside and showed me the footprints going from where the snowman was to the school. She said that he wanted to study, and this pile of snow just fell from the roof. I’m grateful to her for everything to this day.
Story 7 :
I’m standing at an intersection with a couple standing next to me. A cool car drives by. The guy and I stare at the car.
His date thinks he’s staring at another woman. They’re walking, and she’s scolding him for it. I catch up with them and tell her we were both looking at the car. Man, I hope that helped you.
Story 8 :
When I was about 12 years old, I went to a book store with my cousins. We bought a few books and then went outside and started reading them.
We were all getting stared down by this old man, but after about 10 minutes of him staring us down, he got up of the bench and went inside the book store.
He later came out about 5 minutes later with 3 gift cards, he walked up to us with a smile and said, “I love seeing kids read” and handed each of us a $20 gift card. I have never been so shocked and touched.
Story 9 :
I was 19 and moved away from home for the first time to a big city for a job opportunity. I’d never been away from my Mom before, or even been alone for longer than like 2 weeks.
I could cook basically nothing and everything I did was just missing something, so mostly lived off takeout and microwave meals, which I was starting to get really, really sick of.
I just wanted a nice meal made with love and fresh ingredients. Anyway, I told my coworker that and the next day she came in with 5 homemade meals in containers for me to eat for the next week. I don’t think I will ever forget it.
Story 10 :
My son got his first pair of glasses when he was 5, the only one in our family and in his classroom.
We’d just picked them up and were walking through town to get back to the car with the little paper bag, and he was obviously self-conscious and uncomfortable, and there was nothing I could say or do to make him feel better.
A lady stopped us and told my son how handsome and grown up he looked in his glasses. I could have burst into tears then and there.
Story 11 :
I had my alarm go off in an underground car park the other day. It started screaming, flashing, beeping, the car wouldn’t start and react to the key fob. I couldn’t do anything.
A man came round, moved me aside and said, “Got any tools?” I’m like, “No.” He brought his own tools and fixed it. He had a beautiful girl with him, and she stood there the whole time looking at him with admiration.
Story 12 :
Yesterday a guy came up to me in the subway and said, “Miss, what a beautiful dress you wear, like berry ice cream!” I’m in my fourth year on maternity leave, I’ve already forgotten when I last received compliments from a stranger. Sir, if you’re reading this, thank you, you made my day!
Story 13 :
I was in NYC taking a lunch break at a job I absolutely hated. I was sitting eating alone at a McDonald’s, and after about 15 minutes this man in his forties or fifties (I’m a 28-year-old male at the time) goes up to me and says something like, “Hey man, you look really sad. Things will get better,” and just shook my hand.
Takes a lot for one adult man to offer that up to another strange man. Really cheered me up.
Story 14 :
I was at a supermarket to do some shopping when my baby had a blow out diaper. I also had my 2-year-old with me. There was no family restroom, so I had to use the changing station in the ladies’ room.
My toddler was out of control and was just itching to do gross stuff like lick the floors or play in toilet water or something that would horrify literally anyone on the planet except a mischievous 2-year-old.
A woman, probably in her forties, saw my predicament and interacted with my toddler, so I could deal with the poolosion my tiny infant son produced.
They counted sinks, jumped from tile to tile, made silly faces to one another. It probably only lasted 2–3 minutes, but it was the most helpful thing someone could have done for me in that overwhelming moment.
Story 15 :
My 5-year-old son has an appointment for a lung X-ray. He’s nervous, I’m trying to cheer him up, but he’s still anxious. I anticipate tantrums and tears.
A medical professional peeks out of the office and addresses him in a friendly manner, “Hello, bunny!
Let me take a picture of you, take your mum with you and come in. I have a special machine, it can only take pictures of superheroes. Take off your clothes above the waist and come on in.
So, now we’ll put on your armor to make it look really cool. That’s pretty cool. Now show me some karate. Put your hands up, clench your fists and cross your arms over your head. Nice! Now the mum’s going to come out for a second, and I’m going to take a picture of you.
Okay, done! It’s a very superhero photo! I’ll give it to your doctor to look at.” We left happy, with no nerve cells lost, no tears and no screaming. Thank you, lovely person.
Story 16 :
I got a cat! I noticed a cat dragging a kitten somewhere near an abandoned building site. The kitten was a bit heavy for the cat, so she couldn’t carry it away. She sat with it for a while, and then just left it under the fence on a concrete slab. So, it sat there.
The nights are already cool, I go somewhere and see this inconspicuous red lump. On the third day, it became like a rag, sat in a hole, didn’t raise its head, didn’t move, didn’t eat. I bought a feeding bottle, but the condition of the kitten was so bad that it wouldn’t help.
I took it home, went to the vet. It turned out that it was very small, so it couldn’t eat, it didn’t even know how to drink from a bowl. I feed him from a bottle with special kitten milk, and it licks wet food for kittens.
Story 17 :
The cat spotted you and dropped it off for you!