Chapter 10: An Anonymous Act of Grace
The rain continued to pour. Vanessa, shivering in her thin jacket, pushed her cleaning cart out to the alley to dump the trash. She was bone-tired, hungry, and entirely alone. As she turned back to her cart, she noticed something sitting on the handle that hadn't been there a minute ago.
It was a steaming cup of coffee and a sealed white envelope. Heart pounding, Vanessa opened the envelope. Inside was a $100 grocery gift card and a small, handwritten note: “No one deserves to be cold. Keep going.”
Vanessa looked wildly around the empty alley. There was no one in sight. She clutched the coffee cup to her chest, feeling the warmth seep into her freezing hands, and broke down into violent, ugly sobs. It was the first act of kindness she had experienced in three years.
