8
0I met Gunter on a cold, wet and unforgettable evening in September. l had planned to fly to Vienna and take a bus to Prague for a conference. Due to a big storm, my flight had been delayed by an hour and a half, l touched down in Vienna just 30 minutes before the departure of the last bus to Prague. The moment l got off the plane, l ran like crazy through the airport building and jumped into the first taxi on the rank without a second thought. That was when l met Gunter. l told him where l was going, but he said he hadn't heard of the bus station. l thought my pronunciation was the problem, so l explained again more slowly but he still looked confused. When l was about to give up, Gunter fished out his little phone and rang up a friend. After a heated discussion that lasted for what seemed like a century, Gunter put his phone down and started the car. Finally, with just two minutes to spare, we rolled into the bus station. Thankfully, there was a long queue still waiting to board the bus, Gunter parked the taxi behind the bus, turned around, and looked at me with a big smile on his face. “We made it.” he said. Just then l realized that I had zero cash in my wallet. l flashed him an apologetic smile as I pulled out my Portuguese bankcard. He tried it several times, but the card machine just did not play along. A feeling of helplessness washed over me as l saw the bus queue thinning out. At this moment, Gunter pointed towards the waiting hall of the bus station. There at the entrance, was a cash machine. l jumped out of the car, made a mad run for the machine, and popped my card in, only to read the message: “Out of order. Sorry.
I ran back to Gunter and told him the bad news.“Sorry, I ca’t take cash out.”I said embarrassedly, with my face burning. Hearing my words, Gunter replied with the familiar smile on his face,“That’s OK, just go ahead, you can pay me at your convenience.”So surprised and moved was I that I couldn’t say a word out. As the bus queue became shorter, Gunter pointed toward it and said to me,“It is your turn.”Realizing it was time to leave, I took out my notebook, asked Gunte’s number and wrote it down hurriedly. At the same time, I promised firmly that I would call him and paid him back as soon as possible.Four days later, when I was back in Vienna, l called Gunter as promised. The moment Gunter picked up the phone, I couldn't wait to introduce myself. Gunter seemed to know I was going to call, and he said softly, "I know." We made an appointment to meet at the departure place. As we met the following day, I hugged him tightly like we were long-time-no-see old friends, and I expressed my great gratitude to him. I paid him back and offered an extra $10 tip, however, he refused the tip, only to accept the taxi fare, saying“It is not a big deal.”Suddenly, a warm current washed over me. It was at that time that I realized that a small kindness action could make such a big difference!
