Once upon a time, there was a caring and kind friend.  She thought more of her friends than she thought of herself.  If a friend was in trouble or sad, she always made time for them.  She never expected anything
in return because she gave from her heart.  The only thing that hurt
her feelings is when her intentions were misunderstood by those
she tried to help.

Across the river, in the rich section of the city, lived a shining friend. He
lived in a pretty house with a perfect yard. He had many friends and went
many places. He was always surrounded by smiling faces.  They always said nice things to him and wanted to be his friend.  But this man was not very happy inside.  He often wondered deep inside if his
"friends" were sincere at heart or only wanted to be around him because
he was rich and had alot of nice "stuff". This made him close off his heart to kindness and he had few people he could really trust.
 

One day, he took a walk to town.  He usually had someone drive him but today, he wanted to walk. It was such a beautiful sunny day, that he could not help but want to be a part of it all.

That very same day, the caring friend was in town also. She was signing up for an art class at the University. She had always liked to paint and put it off for years. She had settled for studying practical stuff like typing and did not listen to her creative heart when it came time to choose a career path for herself. That was because she was needed to help pay the bills for her Mom and Dad.  So, she gave up her dream of being an artist just to help the family. That was okay for a while, but she soon
she became angry inside because she always put herself last and everyone else dream always seemed more important than her own.

She felt like something was missing from her life. She was not happy inside even though she was giving. There seemed like there was nothing inside her heart to give anymore. She felt empty somehow. The light of life seemed snuffed out.

So when she read about the art classes, she thought that was her last chance to do something just for herself.

She signed up for the art classes and was about the cross the street when a blue car ran a red light and hit her. She was thrown to the side of the road unconcious, with her books and paints scattered on the sidewalk.

Meanwhile, the man from across the river, was having a coffee at the
coffee shop just across the street.  He heard the screech of tires
and a crowd of people just watching the commotion outside. He went
outside to see what the fuss was all about. 

He saw the girl across the street unconsious and all the people just watching and not doing anything to help her. So he rushed to the telephone and called an ambulance. Then he ran across the street
and to her side. He took off his jacket and covered her. Careful not to move her head because he was not sure. He waited by her side until the ambulance arrived and then he went along to the hospital with her.

Inside the ambulance, he kept talking to her as if she was awake.  She seemed like a sweet person that did not deserve this tragedy to happen to her.  He wanted her to live. This made him think of all the times in his life when he just took each day for granted.  How he took people for granted.  He looked down at this sweet girl who never even spoke to him and he knew that he wanted her to live to see another day.

Tears ran down his cheeks.

At first he did not understand why. He did not know this girl. It just seemed like such a waste of a beautiful life. It just did not seem right for someone so young and full of life to have it snuffed out so soon, when he had lived a long and full life and had everything a person could want but still inside he felt empty.

He knew then and there that seeing this girl look up at him and smile and breathe would be the happiest moment of his life. Never mind the places he has seen or the things he had, just to have this one thing would be enough.

He decided to wait in the waiting room area. He found her wallet
and asked the nurse at the front desk to help him call her family so
that they can come to the hospital. The nurse called the family and they
soon arrived. Her family was just as nice as he thought they would be.

He sat there with them and cried and worried and waited all night to
see if she would survive the night. All of their prayers were answered.
Yes, she did survive and the man who was a stranger just a day before
became a dear friend. When she smiled up at him the very first
time, he took her hand and since then he never let go of her hand
or her smiles.

He felt happy inside his heart. The sweet smile of a strange girl on
a normal day. Who would guess that could turn around a man who
thought he had everything when a simple act of kindness and caring
brought two strangers together as dear friends.