The Strawberry Smile

A reclusive Ontario community knew Mr. Walter, a retired postal worker, as someone who would only give gruff silences and complain to children who played too boisterously. He'd sit by himself each afternoon on the same park bench, observing life go by, holding a crumpled letter he never mailed — a letter to his estranged son.

One day, as he sat frowning at a grey sky, a little girl from the neighborhood, Amira, walked by holding a strawberry ice cream cone. Her mother was calling her from across the park, but she stopped near Walter.

“Did you drop this?” she asked, holding up a pink woollen mitten.

Walter blinked, surprised. “No. But… thank you.”

Amira looked at him, then smiled. “You never smile. Are you always mad?”

He didn’t know what to say. After a long pause, he replied, “Maybe… just a little tired.”

She tilted her head. “My mom says when I'm mad, I need a nap… or ice cream.” She extended her cone towards him. “Strawberry makes everything better.”

Walter chuckled softly — his first laugh in weeks. “You’d better eat that before it drips.”

As she skipped away, waving with her sticky hand, Walter sat quietly. Then, pulling the old letter from his coat pocket, he slowly tore it and stood up. The sky seemed a bit lighter.

Moral:

Sometimes, a small moment of kindness is enough to remind us not to carry anger forever. Life is too short to stay unhappy.

Inspiration:

Don’t waste your time in anger, regrets, worries, and grudges. Life is too short to be unhappy. – Roy T. Bennett