Kindness is not the most common quality people show, especially strangers. Having people completely new and random do nice things for you always hits different. Those acts of kindness are most indelible when they come in the most difficult of times,times where you don't even expect a total stranger to look your way,not to talk of helping you out. I've had a few of those times and like I mentioned they're indelible.
Sometime last year, there was a wedding in my family, and I was very involved in the preparations, especially when it came to our outfits. Anyone who have helped to plan an event would relate how stressful those those moments are. One day, I went to the market with two of my sisters to buy fabrics for the women in the family. We went to one of the biggest fabric markets in my city. My sisters were relying on me to lead the way because they assumed I was familiar with the market. What they didn’t know was that I wasn’t as familiar with the nooks and crannies of the place as they thought.
We walked through different lines in the market, scanning stalls and being called at by traders the usual way they do. Some we ignored, others we told we weren’t interested, even though the truth was that we didn’t even know exactly where we were supposed to go. We were just walking and hoping we’d eventually find what we were looking for.
While we were moving around, there was this particular man who kept following us and asking what we wanted. Since he wasn’t standing in front of any shop, we assumed he was just another trader trying to get customers. We told him not to worry, but the more we dismissed him, the more persistent he became. At some point, we stopped, and I properly explained what we were looking for. He told us he knew where we could get it and even said it would be at a cheaper rate. He asked us to follow him.
We were very skeptical at first. He was a total stranger, and honestly, he could have been anyone. But after some hesitation, we decided to take the risk and follow him.
He took us much deeper into the market, far beyond where we initially met him. We turned corners, passed unfamiliar paths, and honestly, I knew there was no way we’d find our way back on our own. As we walked, he explained different market tactics, telling us how to identify quality fabrics and how to avoid being overcharged. He showed us different sections of the market for different items and also talked about his own business. We were looking for white wedding fabrics, while he dealt in traditional wedding items.
Eventually, we arrived at the shop he wanted us to check out, and to our relief, we found exactly what we were looking for. You would think he would leave at that point, but he didn’t. He asked if we knew how to get back, and we all laughed because we clearly didn’t. He said it wasn’t a problem and waited while we finished our purchase. When it was time to negotiate, he asked us to step back and let him handle it. Using his influence as a fellow trader, he negotiated a very fair price for us, far better than we expected. He even told the seller that we were his sisters and that one of us was getting married, and just like that, the seller agreed.
After we were done, he showed us a faster route out of the market and pointed us to where we could get transportation easily. We were so grateful that we offered him some money to appreciate the time and effort he put in, but he declined. Completely.
I’ve had strangers do kind things for me before, but this one stayed with me. This part of my city is known for very business-minded people who would do anything to make a sale, so meeting someone who left his own business just to make sure we weren’t cheated felt rare. It was a level of selflessness I wasn’t expecting. We took his number and promised to reach out if we ever needed anything from his store. Since then, I’ve been happy to refer his business to women lookingfor cultural outfits. That experience renewed my hope and trust in humanity once again.