When I was a child, my dad worked as the janitor at my school.

Some students didn’t treat me kindly because of it,

but there was one girl in my class who always showed me compassion.

Her kindness was like a light in difficult times.That same year, she moved away,

and I never heard from her again. Life went on, and I carried her kindness with me as a reminder that one caring person can change everything.

Twelve years later, I had become a lawyer. One afternoon, as I reviewed the list of scheduled visits,

I froze when I saw her name. Could it really be the same girl?When she walked into the room,

it felt as though time folded back on itself. She smiled, and in that moment,

all the years disappeared. She began to speak, and I realized that just as she had once been there for me, life had brought me the chance to be there for her.

As we talked, I learned that she had also faced challenges of her own after leaving our school.

Yet, she said she often remembered that year too — not because of the difficulties,

but because of the friendship we had shared in small, ordinary moments.

What I thought was a quiet memory for me had also lived in her heart all along.

In that meeting, I understood something powerful: kindness is never wasted.

Even when it feels small, it becomes part of someone else’s story.

And when life brings people back together, those moments of goodness return like gifts, reminding us of the beauty in simple, human connection.