The Kindness That Lit Up a Dark Night.

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Life has a way of throwing unexpected situations at us, and sometimes, it’s the kindness of a stranger that helps us get through them. Something happened yesterday when I was coming back to school, which really made me think about this.

It was in the evening when I boarded a cab heading toward my school. Everything seemed normal at first. I knew I would probably arrive late, but I didn’t expect that by the time I’d be getting close to school, it would already be dark. The road was quiet, and apart from the sound of the cab’s engine, there wasn’t much happening—until we got to a certain area.

All of a sudden, we saw a large group of boys on the road. They were holding cutlasses and making a lot of noise. It wasn’t a small crowd; they were plenty, and the sight alone was enough to make anyone uneasy. The road ahead was blocked, and from the look on the driver’s face, it was clear he didn’t want to take any risks. He quickly told all of us in the cab to get down, saying he couldn’t continue the journey for his own safety.

Honestly, my heart was pounding. I had no idea what was going on, and the sight of people waving cutlasses at night was enough to make my mind imagine the worst. The driver later mentioned that it was their own kind of festival, but in my head, I couldn’t make sense of it. Festival in the middle of the night? It sounded strange, and I didn’t want to stick around to find out more.

As soon as I got down, I adjusted my bag and started thinking about how I would get to school from there. The place where we were dropped wasn’t too far—just a few minutes away from my school—but at that time of the night, every shadow felt like a potential danger.

That was when one woman who had boarded the same cab with me spoke up. She looked at me and said, “Please, be careful. Just get a bike straight to your school gate.” She was also visibly shaken by the whole situation, but in that moment, she was more concerned about my safety than her own fear.

It may have been a simple statement, but it touched me deeply. In a tense and scary situation, when everyone was focused on their own safety, she still took a second to think about me, a complete stranger. That kind of kindness is rare, and I’ll never forget it.

Sometimes, it’s not about grand gestures—it’s about the small, genuine acts of care that show our shared humanity. That woman didn’t just give me advice; she gave me reassurance when I needed it the most. And that meant everything to me.

Thanks for reading.