I work for a bus company in where I am an aide on a school van with two disabled teen boys. One of my guys, Tyrell is almost completely blind and has some other physical and mental issues as well. Tyrell was all smiles for about a week at this point. He's normally a quite happy kid but I could tell this was different than the normal silly Tyrell that I enjoyed. He just never let the smile go. Wednesday morning my curiosity finally got to me and I asked him why he was all smiles.
He told me that he was going to ride his brand new 3-wheeled bike that very day when he got home from school. This is huge for Tyrell because he barely got to go out and play let alone go around the block. No one wanted to deal with him because of his disabilities let alone be his friend. He told me all about his bike and couldn't control his happiness... some times he got so excited he broke out in giggles. We let him off at his stop and I reminded him about what was coming up and he gave me a smile from ear to ear. A smile that will forever be in my heart.
The next morning when we picked him up from his stop, I noticed that his eyes were quite puffy, like his allergies were really bothering him. His Mom had the same eyes. As I was getting him into the van, I asked him how his bike was and his Mom let out a sad like sigh. She explained that the puffy eyes weren't from allergies but from many many hours of tears the night before. She said that Tyrell got to ride it once around the block before he had to come in for dinner and was promised that he could go back out and ride it again afterward. He left it in the back of his yard where they thought it would be safe, especially since he would be back to take it for another spin in a half an hour or so.
That was a promise that would not be able to be kept. After dinner Tyrell came out by himself to go back out on it and couldn't seem to find it. In tears because of his frustration he called into the house for his mom to help him locate the bike. The bike was gone. Nowhere to be found. She immediately broke out in tears because she had to tell her boy the thing that he treasured so much was stolen.She called the police. While they were waiting for the police she called her close friend to find some consolation or comfort. They talked for a bit and hung up when the police arrived.
To no ones surprise the Police could do nothing but take the report. The close friend called her up later and said that she forgot to tell Tyrell's mom that she had something for them and asked if it would be ok to bring it over. She of course, still crying from the thought of knowing they could barely afford that bike but another bike would be impossible to do, said yes. The friend brought over a huge box.
While Tyrell and his mom were talking to the police their angelic friend was making calls to and gathering money from her friends. When she gathered it all up she went to the store and bought a brand new bike, the same style and color and everything for Tyrell.
When Tyrell's mom noticed what was in the box she cried even harder and called for Tyrell. Tyrell had just stopped crying of his loss when he asked what was going on. His mom told him to say Hi and Thank You to her angel and he being the silly guy he is asked why that you mom? She told him reach down on the floor and when he did he knew exactly what it was. He's very good at remembering shapes. They all began to cry, not of sadness but of happiness, joy, thankfulness, and confusion as to how it all worked together and from the smile that was once again on his face.
This story serves as reminder in my life to remember that in a world of evil, there is still goodness, compassion, caring, a deep love for others and a good kind heart. For one evil person there are many more great hearts... pass it on.