Small Hands and Open Hearts

I was at the mall yesterday with my two-and-a-half year old daughter, Megha, doing that familiar parent dance—running in circles, keeping her tiny hands from smearing the glass storefronts while my wife was off getting something.

Then Megha came to a sudden halt.

A young woman stood there, maybe mid-twenties, holding a soft toy. She had that look about her—well-groomed, pleasant, like she could be a kindergarten teacher or a therapist. But then again, every kindergarten teacher needs the patience of a therapist.

The toy was a blue penguin clutching a mushroom. It made no sense. Penguins aren’t blue, and I’m pretty sure mushrooms don’t grow in polar regions. But there it was.

The woman waved at Megha. My daughter stood motionless, assessing the situation the way toddlers do. But I know my daughter—she was eyeing that penguin.

The woman moved closer and offered the toy to Megha. My daughter looked at me for approval, confused by this unexpected gift.

“Say, no thank you,” I told her, following the script of polite refusal.

“It’s okay,” the woman said. “I won this at the arcade. I don’t need it. I want her to have it.”

“No no, it’s okay. You keep it,” I replied.

But she insisted. She really wanted Megha to have it.

I was taken aback. It’s been ages since I experienced an act of kindness from a stranger. I saw it often when I was a photographer a decade ago, but nothing in recent times.

It took me a moment to process. Then I told Megha it was okay, she could have it. Her small hands reached out and took the toy. I asked her to say thanks, and she did. The woman asked for Megha’s name, smiled when she heard it, then walked away to join her friend.

As adults, we forget what it’s like to be kind to another person without reason. I don’t know when it happens, but at some point we start running through life, seeing people beside us as competitors rather than fellow travelers on this journey.

And incidents like these remind me that despite everything, the world hasn’t changed that much. People are still kind, especially to children. That gives me relief when I think about the world my daughter will grow up in.

It gives me hope. Maybe that’s what a blue penguin holding a mushroom is meant to do—remind us that kindness doesn’t always have to make perfect sense.