By: Yegor Kulichenko
As Jonas left his apartment, he pushed his earbuds into his ears, and walked down the stairs before bumping into his elderly neighbor. He paused, watching the frail woman struggle to pull her grocery bags up the flight of steps. “Do you need any help with that, Ms. Morgan?” asked Jonas as he took out his earbuds. The old woman looked up at him. “Why, that’d be great, dear! Thank you.” Jonas picked up the bags and slowly helped her make her way up to her unit, dropping the bags off in her kitchen. “Thank you so much for the help, young man. Would you like to stay for lunch?” she asked warmly. Jonas shook his head. “I’m sorry Ms. Morgan, but I have to catch the bus or else I’ll be late for work.” Ms. Morgan thanked him once again as Jonas dashed off, barely making it to the bus.
After paying his fare, he made his way to a seat, putting his earbuds back into his ears. Jonas rubbed his eyes; just a few more minutes and he’ll be late for work. When the bus briefly halted, he noticed a man with a child, struggling to find a seat. The man furrowed his brows, trying to make sure the youngling didn’t run off and cause chaos on the packed vehicle. Noticing his trouble, Jonas stood up, waving the man over and sacrificed his seat. The man sat down, grateful for Jonas’s kind act. Jonas brushed it off as if it were nothing and made his way to the front of the bus, getting off at his stop just in time to make it to work.
“You’re late!” yelled out his boss as Jonas entered the cafe. Jonas turned to face the man, shooting a grin at him. “Thanks for waiting for me, boss!” He said, pointing finger guns as he walked towards the piano. “How about I buy you lunch? My treat!” Jonas asked as he started to set up his music. When he was done, Jonas looked at him for a moment, his smile as wide as always. “You know you can’t keep bribing me to keep you in here, Jonas,” said his boss, already knowing what Jonas was going to do. Jonas reached into his wallet and handed him a folded up $10 bill. “I’m not bribing you. It’s just the least I can do.” Jonas answered brightly and began playing his music, letting the tunes fill the cafe as the customers looked over with faces of interest and contentment. “Y’know, you really live up to your last name Goodman,” his boss said before he went away for some food.
Hours later, the cafe slowly began to close and Jonas packed up his music, picked up his dinner from the cafe, and made his way outside. With the streetlamps guiding his path, Jonas walked along the seawall. He enjoyed admiring the view of the night sky after a long day of playing music. As he walked, he suddenly heard a voice from behind. “Spare some change, kid? I ain’t got no food.” Jonas looked over to see a homeless man on a bench. He paused for a moment before walking over and handed him his dinner. “Have this, sir. I wasn’t gonna eat it anyway.” The homeless man smiled and took the bag from Jonas. “God bless you, son.” Jonas smiled back and continued on his journey. As he walked, thoughts of his good deeds spiraled in his head. Not only was he satisfied with the man he had become, but he was also proud to call himself a good Samaritan.