Before I left, I quietly slipped $500 under the teapot.
“Give this to your dad,” I said.
I never could’ve imagined that simple kindness would get twisted into something awful later.
She jumped up and hugged me so tightly I could barely breathe.
I smiled, waved goodbye, and walked back into the cold, believing that was the end of it.
Kindness was simple in that way — you helped and moved on, hoping you made a difference.
