Kindness
Jackpot
You can never tell where an act of kindness
will lead. Naturally an act of compassion is done without any expectations. A
caring act can spark another one, sometimes with surprising results. In the
excerpt below I played with a response to Daniel’s kind act by adding a twist––his
perception of Eve’s loving response lead to unexpected rewards.
“I
think this year was the best. I doubt next year can beat it.” Eve proudly
extends her left hand, wiggling her ring finger. “Today Daniel asked me to
marry him.” She bounces up and down like a rubber ball. Jill catches her hand
to get a better look.
After they finish admiring the ring
and congratulating Daniel and Eve, Amber asks, “Why now?” Amber looks at Daniel
for an explanation.
“Exactly two years ago Eve let me kiss
her. She made it a special day for me, so I wanted the same day to be special
for her.” Daniel wraps his arm around Eve’s waist.
“What about the rest of the story?”
interrupts Eve. Before Daniel can start she says, “Two years ago a bunch of us
from church got together for a New Year’s Eve party. Late in the afternoon
Martin Shopka hitched up a couple of his horses and took us for a hayride. I
was pushed off the wagon. Half buried in cold, powdery snow I watched the wagon
pull away.”
“Everybody was laughing so hard that
Mr. Shopka didn’t hear her call to stop,” says Daniel.
“So Daniel jumped off to help me,”
cuts in Eve. “Another burst of laughter erupted from the wagon.”
“I think the others thought I too was
pushed off,” adds Daniel.
“Anyway, Daniel rescued me.”
“That’s when she kissed me,” explains
Daniel.
“We walked back to the church,” continues Daniel. “It wasn’t
that cold.”
“For the rest of the night Daniel was
the target of my affection. “I thought I’d make some of the other guys
jealous,” says Eve. “How was I to know that Daniel would take me seriously?
After that he never quit calling me. Eventually he convinced me he was worth
hanging on to.” She looks at him and plants a kiss on his lips.
Daniel’s chivalrous action resulted in
expressions of affection from Eve. What an unexpected reward! While Eve’s
affection that New Year’s eve was motivated by a different interest, Daniel
perceived it as acts of kindness. It encouraged him to pursue a relationship
with an attractive girl that he never thought was possible.
It seems to me that we do not hear often
enough how beneficial it is to be nice to someone else. In this case Daniel is doubly
blessed. He not only saw the gratitude of Eve when he walked through the snow
trail with her but he also found a soul mate.
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haiku capsule:
girl falls in snow bank
young knight jumps to her rescue
fast attraction built
Next blog: Misreads, T e n
s i o
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