meI bought a nice new sofa after my Labrador chewed up the first one. But I didn’t put it in the apartment right away. My plan was to replace the old sofa with a new one right before my parents came to visit from overseas so the dog wouldn’t ruin it before they arrived.
Since my apartment was upstairs and my new sofa was stored on the first floor, I hired a removalist to replace both sofas the day my parents arrived. They took down the tattered old sofa but didn’t lift the new sofa. Instead, they left it out on the street for anyone to catch, and it was gone before I had a chance to fix it.
A lovely neighbor saw what was happening and offered to help us set up our new sofa. But moving the bulky sofa up the narrow stairs took two people, and I wasn’t strong enough to lift the other end. I didn’t have any friends either.
I was beside myself. I had to get this new sofa in before my parents’ plane landed! So, in desperation, I drove to a nearby gym and asked the receptionist if anyone could help me. I thought it was a room full of people lifting heavy weights, but where better to find a strong man? The receptionist said she wouldn’t be able to ask anyone for me, but that I was welcome to approach people directly.
Just then, a large, burly man started walking out. I stopped him and frantically explained that there was a beautiful leather sofa stranded on the side of the road and asked if I could help. He looked very amused, got into the car and followed me the kilometer or so back to my house.
From there, he and my neighbor kicked me out and sent me to pick up my parents from the airport. When I got back, the couch was safe in my apartment.
I expressed my deep gratitude to my neighbor, but never saw the man at the gym again. I wish I could have told him that he restored my faith in people. Without any judgment or asking how I got into that predicament, he offered to help.
I took a picture of my new sofa, posted it to Instagram, and captioned it: “If you want to give up the universe, show me this!” Now, whenever I have doubts about humanity, I look at that photo and am reminded of the kindness of strangers.
What is the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?
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