10 Real Stories That Feel Like a Tightrope Walk

Sometimes, what starts as a story that seems destined for a sad ending takes an unexpected turn and warms your heart instead. We’ve gathered 10 stories that will leave you feeling uplifted rather than weighed down. These moments prove that even in tough situations, things can turn around in the most beautiful way.

• At the top of an escalator, a woman was trying to deal with her luggage, a baby in a stroller, and a toddler. Her toddler slipped right before they got on the escalator. She reached for him and, in doing so, let go of the baby stroller. The stroller started to tilt downward, and when I realized it was about to completely tip over, I dropped my own luggage, grabbed it and brought it back up to the landing. No idea if I actually saved the kid’s life, but the escalator was empty, so I imagine it would have fallen all the way down. © synaesthetist / Reddit

• My husband left his phone in my car, and it was unlocked on a chat with someone named "Maria." They were talking about meeting up, and his last message read, "Okay, I'll tell my wife I'm going to my sister's place." I felt a lump in my throat. I texted Maria, "Who are you?" Within seconds, she replied, "Calm down, I’m his childhood friend." Furious, I went to confront my husband. He sighed and said, “Maria is helping me plan something for you. Please don’t ruin the surprise.”
  I pressed him for more details. Eventually, he admitted Maria was helping him book a vow renewal ceremony for our upcoming anniversary. He even showed me the plans, complete with my dream location and guest list. I felt a wave of relief—and embarrassment.

• When I was 11, I was standing in the entryway of my friend's house, waiting for her to leave with me, as her toddler brother played on the second floor banister above me. She had a big house, and the ledge that her brother was dangling his various limbs from was very high up.
  Literally out of nowhere, I saw a large mass falling from my peripheral vision. I dove toward it at the last second as I realized it was her brother falling. I ended up with whiplash from him landing on my neck and knocking me down, and he was screaming and crying for about an hour. But at least he didn't meet the wood floor headfirst. © sadie14 / Reddit

• Recently, my dog slipped her collar (it was 3 am). She bolted. We couldn't find her. She's not the brightest, she's 90% anxiety and 10% snuggles, and she's 14 pounds. I thought she was gone forever and cried myself to sleep. We would reconvene in the daylight.
  At 8:15, I got a call. She'd been found! A woman was on her morning run, and the dog ran right up to her like, 'Hello, human, I have made a mistake. Please help.' She took the dog to the vet, got her microchip read, called me, and my puppy was dropped off on her way home from the vet.
  The woman has since offered to dog-sit her anytime and has texted to see how she is!
  This was a wonderful boost for my faith in humanity. © Unknown author / Reddit

• A dairy farm had about 60-head of milking cows, plus several horses and a flock of sheep with baby lambs. Everyone loved it because of the summer farm stand, where people bought all manner of fresh fruit and vegetables, apple cider in the fall, and pumpkins.
  Then, one night, there was a major fire in the barn that started in the hayloft overhead. Volunteer firemen rushed to the scene along with neighbors and rescued the majority of animals before the structure burned to the ground. The community helped the farming family rebuild and took care of the animals as best as possible during the process. Today, the farm is thriving and many of the cows, horses, and sheep are direct descendants of those that survived that horrific fire. © Unknown author / Reddit

• When I was around nine years old, a group of kids and teens in my apartment complex chased me into a park. They surrounded me in a circle and picked up palm-sized or larger rocks, prepared to throw them at me. A woman saw it from her window and came out to yell at them as she rushed to my side. She got them to scatter and walked me home while comforting me. I have no way of finding her, but I'd love to thank her. That woman deserves all the good things. © Forgetful_Panda / Reddit
  

• When I was in 5th-6th grade, there was a stray kitty in our backyard I called Tawny. She had kittens under our AC unit. One night, it was pouring down rain. We decided we wanted to go check on Tawny and her babies, because their little hole was probably going to flood. We pulled back the blinds from the sliding glass door into the backyard. Tawny was standing there. She led us back to her babies, and lo and behold, their little home was flooded. We took them inside and got them warm and dry. Tawny had come to get us because she knew we would help her. I think about this a lot. © NightsThyroid / Reddit

• A few years ago, I had adopted a hamster called Bam Bam. He was a shy, old dude, but really gentle and lazy. I’d take him out of his cage, and he would run (crawl slowly) around the rooms - sometimes we would even build racecourses for him. This little guy, however, was also a little bit naughty. He managed to escape countless times, and we often found him in the strangest places, including my father’s bicycle helmet and a sock drawer.
  However, the most memorable was when he went missing for a few hours. Younger me was very upset, worried that he would never be found, but we then found him later snuggled asleep on the family dog (12-year-old golden Labrador). They seemed to love each other, and after that they were best friends. © clashvalley / Reddit

• I saw an old black lady in a restaurant crying. She was there alone, barely eating, probably over 70. I had purchased some flowers for my girlfriend. So, I brought the lady the flowers and sat down and ate with her. She was quite pleased. © Unknown author / Reddit

• I ran out of gas while driving across the country. Lots of cars just passed me for over four hours. Finally, a guy stopped and checked on me. I told him I had no gas or cash. He just turned around and left. Ten minutes later, he came back and poured gas into my car. He made sure it started and then left. That guy saved my life because I was having some dark thoughts. © fatninjainvegas / Reddit

If you’re craving even more real-life hero stories that highlight amazing individuals and the extraordinary things they’ve done, don’t miss this article!