Kindness is a daily act, but we don’t remember every time someone was kind to us or even when we were kind to someone else.  Some memories are just always impossible to forget.

On a fierce, boiling day after a tedious day of school work and repetitive classes, the classrooms were always filled with the surprisingly pleasant smell of old books and cheap furniture. My grandfather picked me up from school in his light gray car that was almost purple. My legs almost instantly got glued on the sticky, black, worn car seat through my thick jeans.

My nose was filled with the horrendous and ghastly stench of gasoline and the enclosing noise of honking cars in every direction. It made me dizzy from the discomfort. The raging sunlight from the transparent window made my eyes squint, blinded from the sudden burst of light. The car was filled with the unusual stink of store receipts, wood chips, and sawdust.

My grandfather was cruising on the road like this is what he’d been doing ever since birth. The silence was suffocating. The radio was broken and the air conditioner was desperately trying to continue to make the car ride bearable, but it seemed to be failing horribly. I felt an abrupt stop. My body launched forward, landing perfectly in my original location after the stop.

My expectations were setting in, preparing for the thought that he had more work, like collecting rent from tenants nearby, or sinks that needed to be fixed. My thoughts were not answered when I saw a soda shop and a pastry shop through the car window. My grandfather made a decision, declaring,“ I think you need a treat,” pulling in to buy me a pastry with a crispy outer shell and chocolate cream in the center with a fresh cherry. It smelled like heaven, away from the discomfort of gasoline and honking cars. It was like I had my own tranquil, peaceful bubble.

That day made me realize the most memorable moments are the daily moments of kindness that are occasionally remembered but change a day or even a mindset.

 

 

 

 

-Anagha V.