After sitting in her wheelchair by her front porch for a couple of minutes, her neighbors started to notice her. They walked toward her to say hi, and soon, the crowd grew. “It’s so lovely to see you outdoors, Abigail!
How have you been?” one of them asked. “I’m so happy to be breathing some fresh air for a change. I couldn’t leave the house for months because of the snow.
It was too deep, and I couldn’t afford to hire someone to help me with it,” Abigail admitted. “But yesterday, I saw a kind young man cleaning my yard the entire afternoon. I wanted to approach him, but I had no food to offer him because my caregiver had not arrived yet,” she shared.
“He is such a blessing. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw him!”
The neighbors looked at each other, guilty all over their faces. They realized they had been so blind to Abigail’s problems that no one thought to help her by cleaning her yard.
As soon as Abigail praised the “kind young man” who helped her, they immediately knew it was Leo. They decided to thank him by visiting his house, with one neighbor pushing Abigail’s wheelchair on the sidewalk. They visited on a Saturday morning, and Leo was still asleep.
He was awakened by a choir of voices calling out his name from outside. After doing some morning stretches, he slowly walked to his window and looked out. He saw his neighbors calling for him to go downstairs.
Leo was frightened, thinking he might have done something wrong. He tried to recall whether or not he had done something to anger his neighbors, but he could not remember anything. When he opened his front door, he was surprised to see his neighbors bearing gifts.
They handed him pastries, fruits, and a huge pie. “What are all of these for?” he asked, surprised. “We’re here to thank you, dear.
Thank you for helping me clean my yard. You are heaven sent!” Abigail said, reaching out to touch Leo’s hand. Other neighbors chimed in, thanking him for reminding them what it meant to be a good neighbor.
“You helped Abigail out when none of us did. Thank you for reminding us to be mindful of what other people are going through so we can help where we can,” one of them told him. Leo was happy to see that he was able to help Abigail and his neighbors.
Since that day, their street was always clean, and all yards were well-groomed. The neighbors declared every Sunday afternoon “neighbor day,” when they would gather on the road and help each other out. What can we learn from this story?
Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them. If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a woman who spotted her old neighbor searching for food in trash bins despite usually having money to spend on necessities.
This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only.
Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to [email protected]. Source: amomama
