Istanbul Kindness

 When Julie’s boots finally gave out for good, we were leaving the mosque and it was raining outside. I was waiting by her as she sat on the steps outside the mosque, struggling to find some way to keep her boots together at least until we found the nearest shoe shop. A woman who was about to enter the mosque sees us and immediately approaches Julie. Without being able to speak or understand a single word of English, she takes Julie’s shoes and starts yanking on the zippers trying to help us fix it. Something about this really stayed with us. It makes me see that kindness must be a universal language, and it is very beautiful to witness. The woman stayed with us for at least ten minutes before she too realized that Julie’s boots were a totally lost cause.

If complete moments could be captured like photographs, then I would want to take this memory and frame it permanently by my door so I could look at it every day.