The Kindness Book

Lily and her roommate Keiko were standing in line at the supermarket. Keiko was holding a small basket containing spaghetti and all the fixings to make sauce, and Lily was holding a moderately-low-priced bottle of red wine. There were two people in line ahead of them: a hippie-looking middle-aged man with a basket full of vegetables, and a college girl who had just put a birthday cake and small package of candles on the conveyor belt.

The cashier scanned the items and announced, “Seventeen fifty-five”. The girl pulled out her credit card and pushed it in the slot – Boink. Or maybe it was Thunk. or Buzz. It definitely wasn’t Ding. She stared at the machine, pulled out her card and tried again – chip up, then chip down. She swiped it up then down, front then back, left then right, and finally handed the card to the cashier “Can you try? I used it yesterday and didn’t have any problems.” The cashier looked at the card and said “It’s expired. Today’s the first. The card expired at the end of last month. That was yesterday.”

The girl was dumbfounded. “I -- I don’t think I have enough cash. Oh God, I ordered this cake for Jamil’s birthday” as she started rifling through her purse and pockets.

The hippie reached in his pocket and pulled out a crumpled twenty dollar bill. “Let me buy it for you,” he said, smoothing out the bill.

“Oh, I – I can’t take money from a stranger.”

“Don’t worry about it. Someone gave me some cash once when I really needed it. Let me do this for you. No strings attached. One day, when you have the money, you can pay it forward and do the favor for somebody else who really needs it.”

He stood there holding out the bill, and the girl very tentatively took it from his hand and held it out to the cashier. “Thank you. I don’t even know your name.”

“That’s not important. Wish –“ (he peered at the cake for the name) “Jamil a very happy birthday from the Universe.”

The cashier took the money and handed him his change. The girl picked up the cake and candles and whispered “Thank you so much” as she hurried away.

Lily was watching this whole exchange, and she reached into her back pocket and pulled out a little black Moleskine notebook. She started making some notes in the book as the cashier rang up the hippie’s order. Then Keiko put her groceries on the conveyor and poked Lily – “Hey!”

Lily looked up from the book and realized everyone was waiting for her. “Oh, sorry.” She put the wine on the belt and the book in her pocket.

On their walk home, Keiko asked – “So, what is that book? I see you writing it in every once in a while but you never talk about it.” And Lily explained …

“It was a gift from my grandmother. For my high school graduation, she gave me a beautiful pen which I lost a long time ago, and this book. She called it a Kindness Book, and told me to write down any time that I saw people doing extraordinary acts of kindness for a stranger, or even ordinary acts of kindness -- like what happened today when that man gave the girl money to buy her birthday cake. And Grandma said that whenever I got sad or angry, I should look in this book and be reminded of how much good there is in the world. And that’s what I’ve done. Grandma passed away a few months ago, but I feel like she’s here with me when I hold the book, whether it’s reading it or writing in it.” And the girls chatted about grandparents and cousins and families and the next thing you know, they were home and eating their spaghetti dinner.

A few days later, Lily got a package in the mail. “Who’s Harold Jacobson Esq.?” called out Keiko. “I have no idea,” said Lily, as she opened the large envelope. There was a typed letter inside, on very formal lawyer-like stationary, and a small envelope with her name written on it in purple pen. Lily gasped. “I know this handwriting – this is my grandma’s handwriting, and she always used a purple pen!”

Dear Ms. Foster, I am contacting you on behalf of the estate of the late Lillian Morten, your maternal grandmother. I am the Executor of Mrs. Morten’s estate. This letter is to inform you that your grandmother left you a bequest, which can best be explained by the letter she included in her will which has now been sent to you. You may contact my office should you have any questions regarding her instructions, and of course, contact me when you have finished the task. Thank you and sincerely yours, Harold Jacobson Esq.

“Wow” said Lily. She held the envelope and just stared at it. “I had no idea she’d left me something in her will.” She took a deep breath and opened her grandmother’s letter.

Lily, darling, you are my first grandchild and your parents named you after me, so we have always had a special bond. I have something important I want you to do, and I hope you will honor my memory by granting my wish. It involves your Kindness Book. I want you to be aware of others in need and help them. I am leaving you $20,000 to be used for Kindnesses, with the knowledge that you will see the value in giving. Use your Kindness Book as inspiration and seek out people in need: it can be as simple as buying someone a new car battery or giving a child tickets to The Nutcracker. I have no doubt you will excel at this task; you are a warm, wonderful young woman with a good heart, and I only wish I could be there to watch you.

Mr. Jacobson will be waiting for you to report back in six months or a year or however long it takes you, and then he will present you with another $20,000 from me for you to use for your own pleasure. I love you very much, my darling granddaughter, and know you will see Kindness for what it is.

With love now and forever, Grandma Lillian.

Lily stared at the letter, then looked again inside the envelope and pulled out a folded check. “It’s $20,000.” She stared at the check for a minute. “I’ve got my work cut out for me.”

***