A Christmas Kindness From Years Ago Came Back to Me in the Most Unexpected Way

A few days before Christmas, I forced myself to walk to a small grocery store for something warm to hold—tea, maybe, or bread. The aisles were loud with music and cheer that felt foreign to me. That’s when I overheard a little girl asking her mother if Santa would bring her a doll.

The woman gently explained that Santa had run out of money that year. The child didn’t cry; she simply accepted the disappointment with a maturity no child should have to learn. Something inside me moved before I could think.

I left my purchase behind, grabbed a doll, a small teddy bear, and some candy, and ran outside. I told the girl I was one of Santa’s helpers, dressed like a regular person so no one would know. She hugged me with such pure joy that for the first time in weeks, I felt air return to my lungs.

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