One Small Act of Kindness

The train pulled into Kansas City’s prestigious Union Station, screeching to a halt. As the crowd of busy passengers push and shove their way off, a young man of 28 with wearied face stays seated for a moment, small standard leather briefcase still in hand. It carried his only possessions-some clothes, a toothbrush and tooth paste, razor, comb, and some resumes, along with a couple pencils and a few sheets of blank drawing paper. He otherwise held nothing of great wealth or value.

New city. New life. New possibilities. All of which were desperately needed.

The young man finally stands up and makes his own way off the train after the crowd dies down. As he steps out into the common areas of Union Station, he notices the beams of light descending as though from Heaven itself; a single unexpected tear filled with somber hope slid down his cheek.

“Excuse me, young man,” called out a fragile, elderly voice. “I wonder if you’d be so kind…I seem to have dropped my dime on the ground.”

The young man turned and looked down blankly at the diminutive old lady for a moment; he felt as though he recognized her from somewhere deep in his past.

“Oh…yes, ma’am,” the young man stated, wiping the tear from his cheek and politely taking off his hat as he glanced at the floor for anything shiny. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a dime of his own to spare for her. The old lady smiled in return, holding her tiny rose-printed clasp purse delicately before her.

Try as he might with wearied eyes, he could not see much of the tile floor through the herds of feet and shoes walking to and fro. A headache brewed upon his brow.

Another sign …I really am a walking disaster…

The headache worsened like an ever-growing rumble of earth and sky. Already the new world he was trying to build was in a state of impending doom. Destined for failure, like everything else he’d ever tried to do. The young man’s face fell into a grimace, though he still tried with all his might to seek out anything shiny on the floor. Crowd after crowd of people continued to walk past, nearly stepping on and tripping over him as he searched.

The old woman looked at the young man with mercy in her eyes. She closed her eyes just for a moment, and whispered words unknown.

The young man began to check his coat pockets for any possible change he could give in return, and quickly found a couple of nickels covered in lint. Aside from a few pennies, these were his last coins.

This’ll have to do…

As he turned towards the old woman to give her his last bit of change, he spotted something shiny on the floor, not far from where she stood. Relieved, he fought through the crowd, picked it up, and indeed it was a dime! Freshly mint, too.

He looked around for the old woman, who stood waiting in the crowd. She looked back at him, and waved kindly before disappearing into the crowd. A single eagle feather floated to the floor where she had stood. A smile crept onto his face. He glanced at the heavenly light pouring into the common areas once more.

Perhaps there was some hope after all.

The young man walked over to the feather, and picked it up off the ground. As he held it in his hand, he felt more hope surge within. Inspiration. The new life he had needed and craved for so long was at hand.

It was time to rise.