A Heart Of Gold

Street lamps illuminated the road as I walked home one Saturday night shivering against the cold wind. Silence filled the air with most people comfortably inside their warm homes. My footsteps grew louder and my pace increased to keep away the chill. When I reached the corner of what I thought was the last block of my journey, a whisper emerged from the silence, “Sir, hello sir.”

So focused on my steps I believed I was hearing things, but the whisper grew louder, “Sir,over here sir.”

An old woman was standing at a bus stop, metrocard in hand and a sad expression on her face. “Can I be of assistance,” I asked.

She had been waiting for the bus a long time but the ice and darkness made her afraid to walk the few blocks home. My house was only one block away, but in the opposite direction and I was so cold. Yet, I agreed to help her home, slowly walking step by step.

Steve reflects, “When I reached my house later that night I discovered I did not have frostbite and the next morning I was not sick with a cold. Then I remembered a saying,

Kindness can warm the coldest times and illuminate the darkest of nights

Kindness triumphed over the elements that night and sparked a moment of relief for an old lady nervous and afraid of the weather and dangerous terrain. This act of kindness brought the saying to life. Kindness has more value than any currency, gold, silver or any precious gems because kindness shows that you have a golden heart.”

– Edited by Jewel Fries

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