THE KINDNESS OF THE STRANGER

                                                              When I was growing up, children were commonly taught: “don’t talk to the strangers, don’t care about the strangers and especially don’t believe in them because whoever is not familiar with us will not be ready to help us, they just want to cheat us to have some benifits”. That saying was always in my mind until I read my favorite book -“soul seed” with the lesson about the kindness of the stranger. That story was about the 25 year-old man who did not believe in the help of the stranger traveling by walking 6 weeks around the USA with a very little money to find out if there were the kindness from the stranger or not. Without a lot of money, he noticed that the kindness was everywhere because he could receive 2 loaves of sandwich from a 7 year-old boy selling sandwich when he was very hungry sitting in the corner of the street, the newest coat of the poor painter who just had 2 new coats a year when his coat was worn out, 2 days living and treating his stomachache in the old retired doctor’s house and countless time getting a gift and many things from the strangers during his trip. And thanks to this story, that made me believe more in life and tried to receive the help from the stranger once that I had never done before. Now I still remember everything happened in that day, the day I realised the value of life-the kindness of the stranger.

     It was a Sunday afternoon in the end of last August, I went to my friend’s house in district 1 and came back at 9 p.m, the time for the last bus I thought. Waiting at the bus station alone, listening and singing “a little love”-my favorite song, seeing the most animated district in the evening was very awsome at first. However after 15 minutes waiting, I recognised that noone except me was waiting there, I felt a little worried looking around, asked some people walking along the street and knew that the last bus was over 30 minutes before. “Oh my god! What happen? How can I come back home?...”. Many questions appeared in my mind with no answers, I became much more worried when I could not contact with my friend through my cellphone. “Is her cellphone out of work? And if I can contact with her, how can she come to district 1 from Thu duc to pick me up?”. I started cried and tears were pouring down my face and I had no idea what to do. Suddently, a very luxury red car stopped in front of me made me very scared. The man was nicely and fashionably dressed with black leather shoes, a smart suit and a suitable blue and black striped tie getting off the car and asking me if I needed any help in a gentle and warm voice: “Do you need any help, little girl? It is too late for you to stay alone in the street like this”. I could not open my mouth to say anything because of scaring the strange but nice-looking man. He reminded me about the story in “soul seed” book so that after a few minutes worried and scared, I told him the fact that I could not go home for I missed the bus and waited for his help-the help from the stranger. Immediately, he told me to get into his car and he would let me get a lift. Because I could not take the bus, because I also wanted to know that there was the kindness from the strangers or not, I stepped up his car, sat next to his seat without thinking about any danger he might give me.

           When he closed the door next to me, got into his car and continued to close his door, started the car engine, I started to worry. I did not know why I could believe in the strange man who I had never seen before, why I did not think about the danger in front of me. The cold, fresh air from the car air condition made me getting colder and colder and be worried sick about the stranger next to me. My heart beated and beated very fast as if I were having a very important and stressful exam. The strange man and I did not talk anything together so that I was startle by the ring of the phone coming from my roomate-Thanh. “Hey Mui! Have u come back yet? Too late!”, she said. “Don’t worry! I will be back soon. I am getting a lift from the kind man, girl.” I answered. “ What? A kind man? Who? Be careful! He may cheat you, Mui.”, she said. “I’m OK, see u soon, bye!”, I stopped the conversation because I did not want my friend to worry and because I wanted to be well-prepaired to protect myself in the worst situation that may happened. Looking like the strange man could read anything in my mind, he said with the warm voice: “I’m a doctor in Thu Duc hospital, I will drive you home on the way I come home, you should not be worried, I will not cheat you”. Listening every word he said, I could keep calm but was still scared until he looked at me by his bright eyes in the dark which made me feel very safe. He told me about his university life in the past and his own life as a doctor now. The stranger but very friendly gave me a piece of good advice  and made me believe more in life. After 30 minutes, his car turned right and stopped in front of the gate of my rent house. Very polite and gentle, he got off the car and opened the door for me to go out of the car. Saying good bye him in the grateful, I stood there stunned looking at his car moving very fast forward until I could not see it. Going to my room but I could not stop thinking about him- the strange but very kind man with his wholehearted help.

      Thanks to the man who was ready to let me get the lift, who made me believe in my favorite book story that there is the kindness from the stranger, who made me understand clearly the saying in the final of that book: “believe in our life because the kindness is everywhere if we open our heart to receive it”. Now I strongly believe in that and try to help the other, especially the stranger who is in need in order to prove with others that the kindness from the stranger is real, in order to join hands to make our life better.