Mary realized she had forgotten her wallet while trying to pay for her groceries, but a nice boy, Mark, paid for her things. Some time later, Mary and her daughter learned that Mark’s grandmother needed an expensive operation, so they decided to take action, which shocked the poor child.
“Oh, my goodness. I must have left my wallet in John’s car. I’m so sorry. I’ll have to come back and get these things later,” Mary told the cashier, who began picking up the items and putting them back. Meanwhile, Mary was closing her purse, ready to walk away when the boy behind her in line spoke up.
“Wait, ma’am. You don’t have much stuff anyway. I’ll pay for it,” he said. He couldn’t have been more than 12 years old, and Mary noticed that he didn’t look particularly well off.
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“Oh, no.” I couldn’t just throw you out like that,” Mary retorted.
“I insist, ma’am. Sometimes you have to do good things, and karma will reward you later, right? That’s what my grandmother always says,” the boy said, putting his few belongings on the belt and paying for everything Mary had picked out. Luckily, it was just a few essentials.
Mary’s daughter, Anastacia, was sick with the flu. She needed someone to watch the kids because her husband was in Europe on a business trip, so Mary decided to drive to Santa Ana from San Diego, California. But her friend, John, had driven her, and it seems she left her wallet in her car.
With their groceries ready, Mary and the boy got out. “Hey, I’m Mary Cummings. What’s your name?” she said conversationally.
“My name is Mark.” »
“Thanks so much for what you did, Mark. Saved me a trip to the store. Listen, how about you give me your phone number so I can pay you back as soon as I get my wallet,” Mary suggested, and the kid wrote her number on the receipt.
“Here, but don’t worry. There’s no rush. I live nearby anyway,” Mark said casually.
“While I also believe in paying back like you and your grandmother, we have to pay back our debts,” Mary added, and they said their goodbyes.
She went home and told Anastacia that she had left her wallet in John’s car and the kid at the store that had paid for her stuff. Mary had only gone there to buy a few things for the chicken noodle soup, so it was nothing major. “Still, it was nice to see a young man being so nice,” Mary finished as she put things away and prepared to make soup.
“I agree. Although kids these days are all so progressive, some of them can be quite self-centered,” Anastacia.
“I don’t think this kid comes from a rich family, though. Maybe that’s why he’s so nice. But anyway, I’m afraid he needs the money urgently,” the older woman continued. Luckily, she called John, who agreed to come to Santa Ana the next day and return her wallet.
Mary and Anastacia rang the doorbell at the address Mark had given them. Earlier, John came over, gave Mary his wallet, and Mary called the kid to return the money. He told her where he lived, and now they were right across the street from his house.
The house was small and old. But it looked clean and the yard was well-kept. It was clear that these people didn’t have a lot of money, but they took pride in keeping it nice. Mark opened the door.
“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 kind smile.
“Thanks. You didn’t have to hurry,” the boy replied and looked back for a second. “Look, I’d invite you in, but I’m not supposed to have anyone over. My grandmother would be mad.”
“Oh, where is she? Maybe we can come by later to meet her. Does she like pecan pie? Because we’re going to the bakery right now,” Anastacia added cheerfully.
“Actually, she’s in the hospital and won’t be out for a while,” Mark explained with a frown. Mary and Anastacia wanted to know more, so he continued. “She needs a huge operation, and I started a GoFundMe, but I tried to promote it. It’s not very popular. Right now, the hospital has figured it out, and they’re keeping her under observation while I raise money.”
“Oh, sweetie. You shouldn’t have to do this alone,” Anastacia said, worried.
“We don’t have anyone else. It’s just us,” Mark shrugged. Mary and Anastacia looked at each other and made a decision without a word.
“Give me the link to the GoFundMe and your grandmother’s name. Come to the bakery with us, too.” We’ll go visit her and see if the doctor will let her eat pie,” Mary offered, though it was more of a demand.
“Are you sure? You don’t have to.”
“We have to,” Anastacia insisted, and Mark went with them.
After buying pies, they went to the hospital to meet Mark’s grandmother, Mrs. Julie Strada. They talked to her for a while and Mark decided to stay with her that night, so Mary and Anastacia left.
When they got home, Anastacia shared the GoFundMe link with everyone she could think of and donated a few hundred dollars as well. But Mary felt desperate. “They need so much money for this surgery. I don’t know if sharing the link is enough,” she said sadly.
“Let’s think about it,” Anastacia said, looking at her computer. “What if we share the boy’s story? I mean how he helped you, even though they needed the money so badly. I mean, he couldn’t have known you were going to pay him back. Maybe it could go viral? Let’s try Reddit.”
“It’s a one in a million thing, Anastacia,” Mary replied skeptically.
“We’ll see,” the young woman said with a smile and began writing everything that had happened on Reddit. She posted it on several subreddits and on her Twitter.
At first, there were only a few commenters, but thousands of people had read the story and donated to the cause within a few days. They still needed many more donations to reach the goal of $230,000, the cost of Ms. Strada’s entire treatment.
But surprisingly, a new and popular media outlet picked up the story, shared it, and even interviewed Mary and Mark for their article. The GoFundMe project far exceeded their goal, and they were thrilled. Mark couldn’t believe it. He had only paid about $20 for what Mrs. Cummings needed at the store, and she somehow found a way to pay him back and then some.