About 10 years ago, I was working as a waiter at a small restaurant. We offered a set lunch at a reasonable price, and one day, an elderly man came in and asked about it.

After hearing the price, he sighed deeply and seemed ready to leave. He looked like he couldn’t afford it, and I felt a pang of sympathy for him. Without giving it much thought, I decided to help him out. I quietly fed him the meal and, to my surprise, I paid for it myself, not wanting him to leave without eating.

Later that day, when my manager found out what I had done, he was furious. He scolded me harshly, saying that I shouldn’t have given away the meal because it would set a precedent and they would keep coming in expecting free food. His words stung, but I couldn’t undo what I had already done.

I simply hoped the man appreciated the meal and that my small act of kindness had made a difference in his day.

However, something unexpected happened later that evening. A man, who looked fairly ordinary, came in and had a meal.