by Aylin Akca
The little girl smiled at a sad stranger.
This smile made the man feel better.
In this mood, he remembered that he had
not thanked a friend who had helped him
in the recent past. He immediately wrote a
note and sent it. His friend was so delighted
by this thank you that he left a large tip for
the waitress at the restaurant where he ate
every lunch. The waitress received such a
tip for the first time. On her way home in the
evening, she left a piece of the money she
had earned in the hat of the poor man who
always sat at the corner. The man was so,
so, so grateful. He had not eaten for two
days. After filling his stomach for the first
time, he made his way to his only room
in the basement of an apartment block by
whistling. He was so cheerful that when he
saw a puppy shivering under an eaves, he
picked it up. The little dog was happy to
escape the cold of the night. It ran around
in the warm room until morning. After
midnight, smoke filled the apartment block.
A fire was starting. Smelling the smoke, the
dog started barking so loudly that first the
poor man woke up, then the whole
neighbourhood… Mothers and fathers
embraced their children who were about
to suffocate from the smoke and saved
them from death… All of this was the result
of a smile that didn’t even cost five cents.
© Aylin Akca 2024-05-04