Mary realized she had left her wallet behind when she was trying to pay for some groceries, but a good-hearted boy named Mark paid for her belongings. Later, when Mary and her daughter found out that Mark’s grandmother required costly surgery, they decided to act, shocking the poor child. “Oh, geez. I must have forgotten my wallet in John’s car. I’m so sorry. I’ll have to come back for these things later,” Mary said to the cashier, who began gathering up and putting them back. Mary closed her purse, ready to leave when the boy in line behind her interrupted, saying, “Wait, ma’am. You don’t have many things anyway. I’ll pay for them.” He couldn’t be older than twelve.
Oh, no. Mary retorted, “I couldn’t let you go like that.
“Ma’am, I insist. Karma will repay us later if we do nice deeds, don’t you think? The youngster put his few belongings on the belt and paid for everything Mary had chosen, saying, “That’s what my grandmother says all the time.” Fortunately, it was just a few necessities.
Mary decided to drive up from San Diego, California, to Santa Ana because her husband was in Europe on a business trip and she needed someone to watch the kids because her daughter, Anastacia, had the flu. However, when they got their groceries ready, Mary and the child went outside. “Hey, I’m Mary Cummings. What’s your name?” she said conversationally. “I’m Mark.” “Thank you so much for what you did, Mark. It saved me a trip to the store. Listen, how about you give me your phone number so I can reimburse you as soon as I get my wallet back,” she said.
“Here, but don’t worry about it. There’s no rush. I live nearby anyway,” Mark said casually. “Although I also believe in paying it forward like you and your grandma, we have to pay off our debts,” Mary added, and they said their goodbyes. When she got home, she told Anastacia that she had left her wallet in John’s car and that the store kid who paid for her belongings had only gone to buy a few items for chicken noodle soup, so it wasn’t anything important. “Even so, it was nice to see a young man being so kind,” Mary concluded as she put away her belongings and prepared to make the soup.
The older woman went on, “I don’t think this kid comes from a rich family, though. Maybe that’s why he’s so nice. But anyway, I’m worried that he might need that money urgently.” Fortunately, she called John, who agreed to come up to Santa Ana the next day and return her wallet. Mary and Anastacia rang the bell at the address Mark had given them. John had previously come up, given Mary her wallet, and Mary had called the kid to return the money when he told her where he lived. Now they were directly in front of his house, which was small and old but appeared clean and had a well-kept garden. It was evident that these people didn’t have a lot of money.
“Hello, Mrs. Cummings,” Mark said as he opened the front door. “Hey, Mark! This is my daughter, Anastacia. Here’s your money. Again, thank you so much for everything,” Mary said with a smile of kindness. “Thank you. You didn’t have to hurry,” the boy said, glancing over his shoulder for a moment. “Listen, I would invite you in, but I’m not supposed to have anyone over. My grandma would be mad.” “Oh, where is she? Maybe we can come later to meet her. Does she like pecan pie? Because we’re going to the bakery right now,” Anastacia added joyfully.
She needs a major surgery, and I started a GoFundMe, but I’ve been trying to promote it. It’s not that popular. For now, the hospital has understood, and they are keeping her in observation while I raise the money.” “Oh, sweetie. You shouldn’t have to do that on your own.” “We don’t have anyone else. It’s only us,” Mary and Anastacia said, concerned. Mark frowned as he explained this.
Give me the link to the GoFundMe and your grandmother’s name. Also, come with us to the bakery. We’ll go visit her and see if the doctor lets her eat some pie,” Mary offered, although it was more of a demand.
“Are you sure? You don’t have to.”
Anastacia insisted, “We must,” and Mark accompanied them.
After purchasing some pies, they went to the hospital to meet Mrs. Julie Strada, Mark’s grandmother. After a lengthy conversation, Mark agreed to spend the night with her, so Mary and Anastacia left. Once they were home, Anastacia gave a few hundred dollars and shared the GoFundMe link with everyone she knew, but Mary felt completely helpless, saying, “They need so much money for this surgery. I don’t know if sharing the link is enough,” sadly. “Let’s think,” Anastacia said, glancing at her computer, “How about we share the boy? I mean, how he helped you, even though they need the money so much.”
He couldn’t have known that you would repay it, after all. It might get viral. We should try Reddit.
Mary said doubtfully, “That’s a one-in-a-million thing, Anastacia.”
“We’ll see,” the younger woman said with a smile and started writing everything that happened on Reddit. She shared it on her Twitter and in a number of subreddits.
At first, there were only a few commenters, but thousands of individuals had read the tale and given to the cause after a few days. To reach the $230,000 target—the total cost of Mrs. Strada’s treatment—many more donations were still required.
The story was unexpectedly picked up by a well-known news organization, who spread it and even spoke with Mary and Mark for their piece. They were thrilled that the GoFundMe project had surpassed their target by a significant margin. Mark was incredulous. She somehow managed to repay him and more, even though he had only spent about $20 on what Mrs. Cummings needed at the store.
Written by a professional writer, this account was inspired by the story of one of our readers. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only.