Otherwise… I don’t know what would have happened.”
The old lady smiled kindly:
“I’m old, but my nose is still very sensitive. I can tell right away if I smell something strange.”
Luckily, there was a small garage nearby.
Jack called them to bring the tools. While waiting, the old lady took a bottle of mineral water from her bag and gave it to him:
“Drink it, it’s so hot that it’s easy to lose strength.”
ack accepted the water, filled with gratitude.
He had thought he was simply helping an elderly woman, but it turned out she had saved him from a potential disaster.
Once the truck was repaired, Jack returned to the cabin and glanced at the old woman sitting quietly. Even under the intense Texas sun, her wrinkled face radiated a calmness that struck him. He paused for a moment, then realized:
“If it weren’t for her, I would have been in an accident by now…”
He dared to ask:
“Where do you live?
Let me take you home.”
The old woman smiled and pointed to a small road that turned off the highway:
“My house is at the end of that road.
But if you’re busy, just let me drop you off nearby.”
Jack shook his head:
“No. After what you just did for me, I have to at least take you home.”
The small house at the end of the road
The truck turned onto a narrow, bumpy dirt road.
Eventually, Jack stopped in front of a small, dilapidated wooden house with peeling paint on the walls. On the porch, a few pots of golden daisies were still carefully tended.
A baby girl of about 10 years old ran out, shouting:
“Grandma!
You’re back!”
Jack was surprised. The elderly woman hugged the child, her eyes shining. Then she introduced:
“This is Emma, my granddaughter.
Her parents died in a car accident 5 years ago, leaving only the two of them to depend on each other.”
Jack was speechless.
He looked around the poor house, understanding why the old woman had to walk under the hot sun – perhaps just to save a few dollars for a taxi ride. During the conversation, Jack learned that the old woman’s name was Martha.
Every day, she often took the bus to town to do odd jobs: cleaning houses for hire, packing groceries. The money she earned wasn’t much, but it was enough to pay for meals and buy books for Emma.
She said softly:
“I’m old, I don’t have the strength anymore, but as long as she can go to school, I’ll endure any hardship.”
Jack choked up.
He remembered the moment she warned him about the burning smell, saving him from an accident. This little woman not only saved a life, but also fought every day to protect her orphaned grandchild. That day, Jack came back home with a heavy heart.
He had been driving for decades, had met many people, but Martha’s story made him uneasy.
Some weeks later, Jack returned to the old road, visited the small house. He brought some food, some new clothes for Emma, and quietly left an envelope with the money he had saved.
Mrs. Martha was moved, her eyes were wet:
“Sir, I don’t know what to say other than thank you.
But don’t worry, I will use this money for Emma, so she can have a better future.”
Jack gently squeezed her skinny hand:
“You saved me once, now let me help you and Emma.
Sometimes, we are family not because of blood, but because of kindness. Since then, every time the car passed by that suburb, Jack took the opportunity to stop by to visit. The small wooden house gradually had more laughter, and there were new flower pots on the porch.
And in Jack’s heart, Martha and Emma were not only people he had helped, but also proof that kindness always gives birth to miracles.
