stranger’s kindness

it was one of those days where nothing seemed to go right i was late for work spilled coffee on my shirt and forgot my lunch at home by the time the day ended i just wanted to crawl into bed and pretend it didn’t happen but of course i had to stop by the store because i was out of food 
i was standing in line tired and annoyed when i realized i’d forgotten my wallet i checked every pocket twice but it wasn’t there the cashier was already ringing up my stuff and people behind me were starting to get impatient i mumbled an apology and said i’d have to leave everything behind
that’s when the guy behind me stepped forward he must’ve been in his late 40s wearing an old jacket and carrying just a loaf of bread and a carton of milk “don’t worry about it i’ll cover it he said handing the cashier a few bills i started to protest but he just smiled and said “we all have bad days it’s no big deal
i was so shocked i barely managed to say thank you i offered to pay him back but he waved me off like it wasn’t even worth discussing just pay it forward someday he said and walked out before i could say anything else
that small gesture completely turned my day around it wasn’t about the money it was about the fact that someone went out of their way to help me when they didn’t have to ever since then i’ve tried to do the same when i see someone who needs a little kindness