He almost didn't see the old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even
in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His little kancil car was still sputtering when he approached her. Even with the smile on
His face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so .. was he going
to hurt her? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was
frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can
put in you. He said, "I'm here to help you, Puan. Why don't you wait in the car where it's
warm? By the way, my name is Kamal."
Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough.Kamal crawled
under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he
was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt. As he was tightening
up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was
from Kuantan and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to
her aid. Kamal just smiled as he closed her trunk.
The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She
already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Kamal never
thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need,
and! God knows there were plenty who had given him a hand in the past. He had
lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way. He told her that if she
really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help,
she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Kamal added, "And think of me." He
waited until she started her car and drove off.
It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing
into the twilight. A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a
bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a
dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was
unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. she
had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The
lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and
aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so
giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Kamal.
After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly
went to get change for her hundred ringgit bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the
door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered
where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin. There were tears in
her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: "You don't owe me anything. I have been there
too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay ! me back,
here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you." Under the napkin were four
more RM100 bills.
Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but
the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed
into bed, the pregnant lady was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going
to be hard. She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave
her husband a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, "Everything's gonna be all right. I love you, Kamal."
