(I’m a field service tech working on one of the older model self-checkout registers in large grocery store – it isn’t dispensing change. The whole machine is open and a little boy of about eight or nine is watching me, seemingly fascinated by the gears and pumps. His father is nearby; they are waiting for the next register to clear up.)

Me: *smile at the boy*

Boy: “What’s wrong with it?”

Me: “It’s not giving out change.”

Boy: *frowns for a couple of seconds then opens his eyes wide* “Check the hyperdrive!”

Me: *smiling* “Hyperdrives only work on starships, kid.” *referencing Han Solo calling Luke that*

Boy: “Oh… have you ever worked on one?”

Me: *chuckling* “I have one in my garage.”

Father: *chimes in* “Is it a Corellian YT-1300 like Han Solo has?”

Boy: *eyebrows shooting up to his hairline* “Dad, you’re cool!”

Me & Father: “Rebel Alliance!”

(My child is both a tiny geek like their parents and non-binary gender meaning they feel somewhere between male and female. We’re visiting our local comic book shop.)

Child: *to clerk* “Excuse me, I’m a boy and a girl and I wanted to know if there are any superheroes like me.”

Clerk: “Not that I know of, but why don’t you write your own?”

Child: “If I do will you put it in your shop?”

Clerk: “I would be honoured.”

(My child spent the rest of the day beaming and thinking about the superheroes they would create and their powers. Thank you, shop clerk, for simply accepting my child for who they are and encouraging them.)

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(I am working as a checkout operator in a local supermarket. The town has always been fairly rough; pretty high poverty rates, a lot of gang activity, etc. The clientele of the supermarket generally reflected this, and most customers are pretty gruff. A little boy and his mother approach my checkout with a small shop; not too many items.)

Little Boy: *as he approaches me sitting in the trolley* “Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi!”

Mum: *laughs* “He’s been saying this to everyone all the way around the supermarket today.”

Me: “Hi, kiddo! How are you today?”

Little Boy: “Good! You’re really pretty!”

Mum: “He hasn’t said that to anyone else!”

Me: *to the little boy* “Thank you. That’s very nice of you to say!”

(It may not have been much, but I’ve always been very self-conscious about my appearance, so it’s lovely to hear someone say that, even if it was a four-year-old boy!)

(I have ME/CFS but am also in the somewhat difficult position of being a carer for both of my parents. On days when my ME is bad, I tend to use crutches or a walker. On this particular day, my parents, who are both elderly and partially disabled, are both unable to walk more than a few steps but since we need to go shopping, I push my mum in her wheelchair and use that as a walker, while my dad hires one of the store mobility scooters. My parents and I have reached one side of the shop when I suddenly remember I need to go back to the other for coffee and cereal, so they ask to stay where they are while I head off. I’m limping badly because of severe sciatica and have just picked up the cereal and reached the coffee aisle when I hear a voice beside me.)

Boy: “I’ve got one of those!”

(I look down at the box of cereal and see an advertisement for a ball inside it. I debate just smiling and shrugging it off, but see his parents nearby with the good old ‘here we go again’ look on their faces.)

Me: “Really? They look cool! I got a smaller box last week but there was nothing in that one.”

Boy: “Yeah! I got that one.” *points to the ball in question* “It’s a special one!”

Me: “Oh, wow! I’m gonna have to be really lucky to get that then.”

Boy: “Yeah, but the other ones are cool, too. You’ll have to see which one you get. It could be good!”

Me: “I will. Thanks for the tip!”

(I grinned at him and then looked at the parents, who gave me bright smiles as the boy ran back to his mum before his dad paused to tell me that the boy was actually very shy and I was the first person to listen to him chatter about the toy he got. He thanked me, but that was the first time that day when I hadn’t felt close to tears from the pain in my leg and had actually forgotten about it, and being scared of people myself, getting to talk with that little boy and his parents was a joy. I think it’s me who owes them more thanks!)

(This story takes place a couple of years ago. There is a comic and game store inside a local mini mall that I frequently visit to play Magic: the Gathering. It is between rounds in a small tournament they’re hosting, so I am passing the time on a bench just outside the store. Across from the store is a hair and nail salon, and I see a little girl start crying. I get up and approach the girl and her mother.)

Me: “Is everything okay? What happened?”

Girl: *crying* “Mommy, owie!”

Mother: *to me* “It’s okay. She just pinched her finger a little in the door.”

(The mother turns to her daughter and begins to comfort her. I look down at my phone and see my cell phone charm of an anime character I really like. I take the charm off my phone and hand it out for the girl.)

Me: “This is [Anime Character], and he always does a good job of making me feel better whenever I’m sad or hurt. I’ll let you borrow him for a little while if you promise to take care of him, okay?”

Girl: *wipes her eyes and nods, taking the charm* “Thank you…”

(I headed back into the game store for the next round of the tournament. When I came back out during the next break the girl’s mother was waiting for me near the bench and returned my charm to me, telling me that her daughter was feeling much better and wanted to thank me for what I did. In the end I placed near the bottom in the Magic tournament, but I’m glad I was able to brighten that little girl’s day.)