A Little Bit of Kindness

The small black journal lay innocently in Arden's bag. The book itself seemed of little importance; the pages inside, however, were a different story. They contained poems spelled out in tears and laughter. There were doodles scratched out and redrawn or morphed into something new. There were daily notes and intimate thoughts not meant to reach the eyes of anyone else. Last, there were dreams. Dreams and wishes written out with hope and inked with want. The small book innocently contained the deepest desires of its owner and there they will stay. That is, they would have if not for one forgetful moment.

Arden sprinted out the door after seeing the time. Being late to work was the last thing she needed today. If she's late one more time, Jess will have her head! A shrill ringing slowed Arden down to a brisk walk as she fished her phone out of her bag.

"You're running late again, aren't you?" The unimpressed tone brought Arden to a stop. Scrunching her face in frustration, she decided to be honest in hopes of a more lenient consequence.

"I'm so sorry, Jess! I promise, there's a good reason this time." She hoped the exasperated manager wouldn't call her bluff as she currently could not imagine up an even slightly plausible excuse.

"You're lucky I'm feeling caffeine withdrawal right now. If you pick me up a coffee, I'll consider you on-time. Just this once!" Jess stressed the last sentence, but the effect was slightly lost in the yawn that followed. Quickly agreeing, Arden drove to the quaint little coffee shop closest to work.

It wasn't much, but their products are consistently good and the shop was almost always busy. Two coffee orders and an apology chocolate chip muffin later, the young woman moved back to wait for her drinks. A hard bump into someone else resulted in her bag and all it’s contents on the floor.

"I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed to the older woman as she bent down to gather the items.

With kind eyes looking back at her, the woman laughed lightly, "It's quite alright dear. I wasn't being too aware of my surroundings. Here, let me help you." The two quickly put everything back into the bag and stood back up.

"It seems like this whole morning has been a bit of a disaster," the flustered young woman chuckled, shaking her head. "Thank you for helping. My name is Arden!" She punctuated her last statement with a hand put out to shake.

"Marianne, nice to meet you. And it's really no problem."

A little bit of chatting later and Arden heard her name being called for her order.

"Thank you for the nice morning conversation! Have a great rest of your day, Marianne." Arden waded through the people in front of her and heard from behind, "You have a lovely day as well dear!"

Arriving at work, the nervous woman hoped Jess wouldn't back out of their deal. A quick nod from the manager in question and a small smile at the apology muffin eased those fears considerably.

Arden finished the day and started looking for her keys in her bag. Something stopped her in her tracks. There's something missing. Her book! It's not in her bag! Thinking back, she knows she brought it with her. The incident at the coffee shop flashed through her mind. A quick call with a clearly unbothered employee yielded nothing to show for it. Devastated, she returned home, ate dinner, and thought about all the memories and dreams that are now lost or on display for any stranger to be reading. Oh how embarrassing! Another worry to add to the pile that's seemingly growing every day.

Needing a little extra magic tonight, Arden turned on her night sky projector and stared at the lights on the ceiling as she got warm under the covers. She picked out various laser stars and made wishes on them. She wished for happiness. Wished for opportunity. Wished for peace of mind and for her book to have fallen in the hands of someone who could appreciate it instead of throw it out. She wished for everything her mind could think of because surely one of them must come true. One of those little light points on the ceiling must be lucky and grant her wish. It's primarily that small chance she needs because sometimes even just the hope of a wish being granted is enough to keep moving forward.

With one last wish, she closed her eyes and allowed her dreams to take over.

The next year provided very little in terms of change. No new job or new opportunities have opened up. Running late and barely making it past the threat of getting fired has still been a common happening. However, some more desperate coffee shop runs allowed her the chances to run into Marianne again. They have nice, light conversations every time and the woman's kind eyes always seem to have an extra twinkle in them with every meeting. A small friendship had blossomed in an otherwise unchanging life for the tired young woman.

One particularly rainy morning, a knock brought Arden out of her warm blanket cocoon on the couch. Checking the peephole, she saw no one and opened her door to the sight of a small package sat on her porch. Furrowing her brows, the young woman brought the package inside and opened it, wondering what it was since she couldn't remember having ordered anything recently.

The contents pulled a gasp from her lips. It's her book! A white envelope with the words, "OPEN FIRST" written on the front was situated right on top. Following the instructions, Arden carefully opened it.

The envelope contained two items. Two items that would change Arden's life. Those two items consisted of a handwritten letter and a check for $20,000. The sight of the latter item sprung tears to her eyes, but it was the letter that truly made her sob.

The letter went as follows:

Dear Arden,

You must be very shocked to receive this package. I'd like to apologize ahead of time for not returning your book that first day when I found it on the floor of the coffee shop. I'm afraid my curiosity got the best of me and I looked through the pages. Again, utmost apologies for the invasion of privacy. You filled those pages with so much love and creativity; I was intrigued and could not stop reading. However, I did notice a common theme throughout the pages. You mentioned various countries and cities you have dreamt about visiting. This sparked an idea since I know from your writings that you cannot afford to travel right now.

I have made many friends over the years and some of them have connections all over the world. I sent your book to my friend in New York and asked him to write one little bit of travel advice for you in the back of your book. I also told him he could donate a little money toward traveling for you if he felt so inclined and then send it off to our mutual friend in Edinburgh with the same instructions. That friend then sent it off to one of her friends and so on and so forth. What it comes down to is that your book has now traveled the world in your place, gathering travel advice to prepare you for your moment when it comes. Everyone it came in contact with loved the story and wanted to help you. In doing so, they donated a total of $20,000 that I consolidated to a single check for you and could send to you using the address that was listed in the front of your book. Hopefully that is still your current address.

May this money and your special little book turn your dream into a reality. Take this kindness as a gift and remember to share your own kindness in this world.

Best wishes, Marianne

Arden grabbed the slightly weathered black book with shaking hands and opened it. The handwriting after her last entry comprised of various lines and colors. Each new entry of advice was punctuated with a kind thought or joke. Every paragraph was labeled with a person's name and the city they're from. Marianne was right; the book really did travel the whole world and brought home the keys to Arden's own opportunity.

After that day, she saw Marianne one more time. The two women cried and conversed about the book and about life in general.

"I will never be able to thank you enough. Really." With tears still wanting to spill, Arden grabbed her friend into a tight hug.

A gentle voice responded along with a light pat to the back.

"My dear, the best way for you to thank me is to take that money and go live your dream. Think of it as a type of repayment for invading your privacy and reading your book. As well as letting the others read your book too," Marianne chuckled with the knowledge that the young woman had already forgiven her for the indiscretion. "Life is meant for creating experiences and connecting with people from all types of backgrounds and cultures. Live as openly as possible and allow people to be kind to you as I know you are to others."

With that, she now had the last bit of advice from the most important person. Arden grabbed her bags, bought her first plane ticket, and held her little black book of strangers' kindness in her hands as she walked through the airport.