The Kindness of a Stranger

October 29, 2019 – I lost my job today. I saw it coming (sort of) and I’ll write about it later as I decompress and process everything.

Today I write about a good deed done by somebody I had never met.

The company I was working for was moving offices  I was faced with the prospect of paying double for my parking or taking public transit. I don’t have a problem with taking the bus but the cold winter was fast approaching. I spent a good month trying to find parking that was close to what I was paying. I had almost given up when I searched Kijiji and saw an ad. The spot was in a condo – secure and heated. I contacted the person, negotiated a rate, signed the lease and transferred a deposit and first month parking fee. A couple of people cautioned me about paying out so much. It could be a scam. I chose to believe that everything was on the ‘up and up’.

Yesterday, I texted the owner and made arrangements to pick up the parking fob. The office wasn’t moving until mid-November. I had some time. We set a date and time for November 6.

I walked to my car after I was ‘dismissed’ and escorted out of the building. I sat there and processed what had happened. The realization that I would be on unemployment hit me hard. Living on nothing. I had no savings. I cried – not because I lost my job but because I didn’t know how I was going to pay my bills.

I texted the owner and let her know I had lost my job. She texted me right back  she was sorry to hear about the news. She said she would refund my deposit later tonight when she got home from work. I started to cry again. I texted back a thank you; knowing that the words wouldn’t convey how much the $180 rebate meant to me.

Later that night, the owner texted me that she was going to try to rent out the spot and, if she did, she would give me back $90. She texted me the next day. The spot was rented and the money had been transferred back to me. She wished me luck with my job search.

There are times when thank you doesn’t seem to be enough. It was a small gesture made by somebody I had never met. A small act of kindness by a stranger that meant so much to me at a low point in my life.