DOING a good deed, no matter how small or big, can make a difference in someone’s day. Often, such acts are done out of empathy, especially when we’ve experienced a similar situation ourselves and know how it feels.
A woman’s act of kindness earned praise online after she offered to pay for a customer’s items at a convenience store.
“I’ve been in that situation when I was a student many, many years ago. It hits home,” she wrote in a Threads post.
The woman said she was in line at a convenience store with her child when she noticed a young girl, whom she presumed to be a student, holding up the queue at the self-checkout counter. The girl appeared to be struggling to come up with the cash to pay for her items and was waiting for assistance from the store staff.
In her post, she claimed that the young customer refused to move aside despite the frustration of the shoppers behind her, and only stepped away once the staff arrived.
When it was the woman’s turn to pay, she noticed the girl hunched over, pulling out coins from her pockets.
“The coins were wrapped in cellophane tape along with some banknotes. The staff member was busy counting them,” she said.
Sensing that the young girl might be going through a difficult time, based on her behaviour, the woman decided to cover her bill, which amounted to RM17.
Understandably, the girl was surprised at first. The kind woman even offered to pay for anything else she needed, but the girl politely declined.
“I don’t know why I paid for her. But my motherly instinct told me she needed help at that moment,” she added.
Netizens were moved by the woman’s thoughtfulness and shared similar experiences, whether as the giver or the recipient of such gestures.
“Whenever I have extra money, I try to pay for other tables at restaurants without them knowing. I feel a sense of calm afterwards,” one user said.
“I’ve been in that exact situation when I was a student. I didn’t have 5 sen for the RM1 bus fare. The driver returned my money and told me to study hard. That 95 sen was all I had,” another recalled.
However, some users expressed scepticism about the girl’s financial situation, suggesting that if she could shop in a convenience store, she might not truly be struggling.
