There was a girl named Elizabeth, but everyone called her Ella. She was a lonely girl for she was very rude and mischievous in nature. She misbehaved with everyone and acted so proud that she often ended up hurting others’ feelings.

One day, she was walking back from school when she saw a peculiar looking shop. She stopped in surprise. She had been walking on this route since more than two years, yet she had never seen such a shop there before. She went closer to it.

She saw the shop had books, toys and yummy treats like candies, cookies and chocolates. This made her mouth water and she searched in her pocket for some money. Upon hearing the jiggling sound of coins from the pocket, she decided to go in and buy something.

She entered the shop, and saw an old lady, with sharp features, on the counter. She thought, ‘How ugly she is!’ and she looked around in the shop. She picked up a packet of delicious cookies and asked the lady for the cost.

In a coarse voice, the lady answered, “One act of kindness please!”

Ella was surprised, “An act of kindness? Are you kidding me?” she laughed loudly.

“Yes dear!” the lady replied calmly.

Ella looked at her angrily and threw the pack of biscuits. She was about to stomp out of the shop in anger when a boy came in and picked up a chocolate. Ella stopped to see what the lady tells him.

The boy asked the price and he got the same reply, “One act of kindness please!”

On hearing this, the boy thought for a while and said, “This morning I saw a cat that was whimpering because she was hungry. I felt so bad that I gave her my school lunch. I know it’s not much, but I really hope it’s enough for this chocolate.”

“It’s enough for two dear!” the lady replied smiling.

“Oh really! Thank you, so much!” the boy said happily while Ella couldn’t believe it.

Ella stormed out of the shop and started running towards her home. She stopped short when she saw a beggar on the sidewalk. She immediately emptied her pockets and gave him all the coins she had. Then she ran back to the street where the shop was. To her utter disappointment and surprise, the shop had disappeared. She was pretty sure she had come on the right street. But there was no shop there. The street looked just like it used to. Almost in tears, Ella started walking back to home.

Suddenly, she felt somebody coming behind her. It was the same boy she had seen in the shop. He handed out one of his chocolates to her.

“Why are you giving me this?” Ella was surprised and delighted at the same time.

“I saw that you left the shop disappointed so I thought I should share my chocolate with you,” the boy said.

“That’s very kind of you,” Ella said, opening the wrapper from the chocolate bar. “But....”

“But what?” the boy asked.

“Where did the shop go?” Ella shared her confusion with him.

“Oh that?” the boy said, “The shop appears when you will least expect it to. I have been through this too. I used to be unkind then one day I saw this shop. I couldn’t buy anything that day. But, from then on, I decided I would always be kind so that someday I would be able to buy something from that shop. And you saw how today I got the reward for my kindness.”

“Oh... wow!” Ella was surprised.

That incident changed Ella. She went back home and thought about all her misdeeds and unfair attitude towards her friends and family. She was really ashamed of herself. She thought maybe this was God’s way of showing her the right path. So that day she decided to change herself. Her changed attitude made everyone around her surprised, but happy too.

Days passed into months and even years. One day, she was feeding a hungry dog, on her way back from school, she saw the same shop. She was surprised because by now she had forgotten about it. After feeding the dog, she got up and went to the shop. The same lady was there.

“How much this chocolate costs?” Ella asked politely.

“An act of kindness.”

Then Ella told her what she had been doing this all this time.

“You may take five of them,” the lady replied giving her a smile.

“I saw you feeding that lame dog across the street and now you have been so polite to me, so you deserve it!” the old lady explained to her.

“Oh thank you so much,” Ella was grateful. She happily left the shop with her chocolates.

Published in Dawn, Young World, October 30th, 2021