Soaked In Kindness

Due to not owning a car, I rely heavily on public buses to get me to my destination whenever I need to go somewhere. This means I am often caught having to stand at the stop for upwards of twenty minutes in the worst weather. Unfortunately for me, at the time of this story, I was having trouble with finances and did not own an umbrella, nor anything thicker than a hoodie. So, I was stuck in the pouring rain and soaked to the bone one cold spring day.

That was when a lady in a van pulled up at the bus stop and rolled down her passenger window. Expecting her to ask for directions, I stepped forward to answer her questions,only to find a travel umbrella pressed into my hands. She told me that she’d seen me as she was passing by going the other way, and had used the intersection further onward to turn around. She wanted to give me her spare umbrella, because she felt that no one should have to stand in the rain in such a thin hoodie without an umbrella.

I was already soaked to the bone, so it wasn’t too much use for me by that point, but she refused to let me give it back, and instead drove away, saying that she hoped I got dry soon.

I’ve never seen her again since that day, but I still have that umbrella. If you’re reading this, thank you for backtracking just to give someone already completely soaked the means to stay dry in the future!