I didn’t get your name and I regret that I can’t put a name to the face if I were to run into you again. I may be making something big out of a very small gesture but I’m incredibly thankful for your kindness. I’m a small person who always gets herself into big situations and by some miracle, you were parked right next to my car and had just exited the store as well. I had purchased a bed frame that was much too heavy for me to lift into the car on my own and so I asked you for help.

You didn’t hesitate and helped me immediately to situate it properly. After getting the box as far into the car as it would go, I realized the trunk wouldn’t close due to the box coming out about an inch or so. At that point, you asked me if I had any string so we could just tie the trunk closed, to which I responded that I did not have any.

You hurriedly went to your car in search of some string as I raided my car for any signs of stringy material. I hadn’t found anything and concluded that I wouldn’t be able to get the bed frame home that night. You turned around then and told me how your wife had sent you to get her some baked goods, and there were about 12 boxes of them so it had been tied in a string – you said it should work.

I felt terrible for having you go through so much trouble for a plain old stranger, and I made my thoughts known, but you reassured me it was no problem. You proceeded to make knots and crosses and it looked like this wasn’t your first time doing this type of thing. I told you as such to which you replied with a stern no. I then asked you how it was that you knew how to make the knots and crosses, to which you couldn’t come up with an answer. I responded with, “You’re probably going to tell me it’s just common sense,” to which you bellowed out in laughter. You said how some things are common sense to some people that aren’t to others and I agreed. You also told me how some people had told you that you had the brain of an engineer, but that when you were younger your father couldn’t afford to send you to engineering school. I smiled and told you that if things were different you probably wouldn’t be helping me right at that second and you nodded.

After finishing the knots, you showed me how if I just pulled on the longer end of the string all the knots would unravel, which worked like a charm later when I got home. As I was pushing the shopping cart back to its place, you turned around and said, "Can I have your number so I can have my wife call you to confirm why I was late?" We both laughed at that and said our goodbyes and we went our separate ways (I hope your wife didn't berate you too much about the pastries!)

As silly as it may sound, what may have seemed as a small gesture to you, meant a great deal to me. Being a New Yorker, I always find myself stuck in crowds of pushy, angry, tired people and as a result, I usually don’t expect these acts of kindness from strangers. I think that with the rise of racism and the inequality that has now consumed the country, I’ve become even more wary of people and their intentions, and so your act of kindness meant a lot to me. You restored a sense of my faith in humanity and offered me reassurance that there is still some good in this world, and I’m incredibly thankful for that.

So thank you, Stranger, because although you’ll never see this and may never know what your kind gesture meant to me, I needed to get this memory into writing because you made a streak of bad days a whole lot better. Thank you for reminding me of the good in the world and the things to look forward to and for instilling hope in this pessimistic soul.