The next day, the salon owner was surprised to find a mysterious gift on the counter. It was a beautiful arrangement: “A bouquet of pale yellow roses and baby’s breath, carefully arranged in a mason jar.” There was no note and no name, only “the faintest trace of her perfume lingering on the tissue paper.”
The salon owner smiled, thinking it must have been Amara. She appreciated the gesture but didn’t expect anything more, especially knowing that Amara had been “clearly struggling.” The owner even wondered if “That $12 probably wasn’t even hers to spend.”
The stylist nodded, still a little confused. The man then shared his mother’s heartfelt reaction: “She told me what you did. Said you made her feel like a queen.” The salon owner modestly replied, “She was a queen,” trying to keep the conversation light.
The son presented an envelope, explaining that Amara “didn’t want to accept charity, but she also didn’t want you to think your kindness went unnoticed.” Before the owner could even respond, the man was gone.
Inside the envelope was a handwritten note from Amara that read: “Thank you for seeing me when I felt invisible.” Tucked beneath the note were five crisp $100 bills. The gift was a big surprise, but the salon owner understood that this kind of generosity came “from a place of deep, raw gratitude,” not a place of wealth or showing off.
A Friendship of Simple Moments
Over the following weeks, Amara started dropping by the salon more regularly. Not for services, but just to visit and bring small treats like pastries or rice pudding. During a quiet time, she sat down and shared stories about her son, Nabil, whom she had raised mostly alone after his father passed away. She recalled a touching memory of Nabil as a child: “He used to give me pretend makeovers with crayons,” she laughed. “Told me I was the prettiest mama in the whole world.”
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