I was running my own little clothes shop in Manchester, and one evening just before closing, a pregnant woman walked in. I was about to shut up shop, but she kept browsing through the dresses. We got chatting, and she told me her husband had left her with two kids already. She was really strugglinghad to move out of her rented flat and back in with her parents. They were some help, but then she found out she was pregnant too. Too late for an abortion nowshe had to go through with it. Had nothing to wear, everything was too small. Just someone elses hard luck story, you know? And I could tell she was looking for the cheapest thing, but even that was too much for her.
I was exhausted, but I thought, *Whats one dress?* So I gave it to her. Her face lit upshe was so happy, so grateful. She left, and honestly, I forgot all about it.
Then, months later, on just an ordinary day, this woman walks in smiling, and Im wracking my brain trying to place her. She pulls a little parcel out of her plain handbag and starts talking. *Remember me? I was pregnant, came in here with no money for that dressbut you gave it to me anyway. You talked to me, told me everything would be alright, that we can handle anything life throws at us. You have no idea how much that meant. I got through it. Had the baby. Its just me and my three kids now, but were okay. And I believe things will get better. Thank youfor being there when I needed it.*
We hugged, wished each other well, and off she went. I opened the parcel. Inside were wingsjust a simple pair of angel wings. I felt a bit embarrassed, honestly. Id given her that dress mostly just to get her out of the shop, to stop feeling guilty about her situation. But somehow, in that moment, Id actually been her angelsomeone who listened, who cared, who said the right thing and gave her a bit of hope with a cheap dress.
Funny, isnt it? How little it takes to pull someone out of the dark. Sometimes just a kind word, a smile, and a nudge in the right direction.
