My Melons Tumbled Away and a Group of Helpful Elderly Ladies Came to the Aid
One Saturday morning, I joined my mother to the nearby market for our weekly fruit and veg shop. Mum was still looking around when I offered to bring the groceries back to the car, which was stuffed into a small rolling cart. It resembled a magical bag – rather compact, but it was astonishing how much you could fit inside. That's what we believed.
With the trolley straining under the load of an packed load of supplies, my mum rested a carton of sweet melons on top. She cautioned me to be careful getting it back to the car.
All was proceeding smoothly as I made my way through the crowds of shoppers and out of the market. But as I was crossing the hectic main crossing into the market, the trolley got stuck on the traffic island in the middle of the road, and the box of melons fell to the pavement. They went flying, dramatically tumbling out towards pedestrians and stationary cars.
As the pedestrian signal changed from green to red, I was stunned, speechless, trying to figure out how I was going to retrieve the melons shooting in multiple directions.
Suddenly, a band of three or four elderly ladies came to my rescue. White hair, scarves and one with a walking stick – they looked like they had stepped out of the same nesting doll. They didn't hesitate by the cars inching their way towards us. Completely brave, they just held up their hands to stop the traffic, in both directions. They gathered all the melons for me, retrieving a single one, as I repaired the box to hold them.
I expressed gratitude to them and they didn’t say a word, just smiled and waved me goodbye. I never consumed the melons – I was not particularly fond of honeydew melon – but I tell this anecdote all the time because I love it so much.
What is the Kindest Thing a Unknown Person Has Ever Done for You?
Whether it brightened your day to changing your life, we are eager to learn about chance encounters that have stuck with you.
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