as he moved along, he saw something he hadn’t encountered before. A woman who looked like she was elderly was tracking his steps. She didn’t do anything too direct, yet there she was, usually a bit behind me.
At the beginning, the young man believed it was a pure coincidence. She would pause along with him and every time he picked up an item, she would too. She didn’t pay much attention to his groceries, but kept watching him. He had a slight pang of uncertainty, but he pushed it aside and went shopping.
The elderly woman came to speak to the customer after he had finished checkout. She softly told him, “I didn’t want to disturb you; it’s just that you seem a lot like my son who passed some years back.”
Trying to make things better, the young man answered kindly, “Being late like this is fine.” She sounded sincere and he didn’t want to embarrass her.
There was a small pause, after which the woman asked an unusual thing. “It’s silly, but hearing you yell, ‘Goodbye, Mom,’ before you walk out would really please me,” she said.
The man was surprised when he first heard her, but he understood there was some vulnerability in her. Though it sounded odd, I felt that the request mattered a lot to her. “For sure,” he smiled back happily.
“Goodbye, Mom” the young man said with a strong and clear voice, as the elderly lady walked out of the store. She smiled softly and gratefully as she turned to look at him.
After waving at him, the woman went out of the store with a smile of happiness and contentment. He was happy inside knowing that he had that day made her feel a little better. He went back to the counter, pleased with the way he had treated the cashier.
When he reached the checkout, the employee greeted him and started scanning his purchases. When she had counted, she said, “Your total is $121.85.”
Seeing how he was surprised, the man looked at the items he had bought. “So much?” he wondered aloud. I bought only five things in the store.
The clerk smiled and told him, “I’m afraid your mother said you’d be covering some of her transactions as well.”
The young man stood still for a bit, not knowing what to do. It was at that point he realized the woman had been more serious than he thought and that her request wasn’t just for a little fun. While thinking he was cheering her up, he helped her pay for her groceries without realizing it.
Seeing the funny side, the young man laughed a little nervously. Paying for the groceries, he gave a disappointed look at what happened. But there was a sense of link between him and the older woman, who had, in her own way, brightened up his day.
Leaving the store, the young man remembered that a little kindness can sometimes change something he never expected. A simple action to make another person happy had now become enjoyable and funny for him.
And despite all the confusion, the young man left the place with a smile after seeing the elderly woman smile when he said “Goodbye, Mom.”