12 Stories of Strangers Whose Actions Can’t Be Forgotten

Some people turn to social media to tell stories of unforgettable encounters with strangers, showing the power of human connection. These moments remind us of the beauty of chance meetings and encourage us to appreciate the magic of unexpected connections with strangers.

• Got on the metro to visit family for Thanksgiving. A woman in her 70s got on the same stop as me and sat directly across from me. She had a newborn strapped to her chest and was singing in Spanish.
  After riding the train for about 20 minutes, she signals for my attention and I take my headphones out. I go towards her, and she gestures to the baby and says, «You take?» So I held her infant (grandchild, I presume) while she got herself organized to feed and change the baby.
  After she was done, she gestured for me to help her strap the baby back on. She waved goodbye when she got off the train and that was that. It’s weird to know there is some random newborn that I’ve held and will never know. © wanderbread108 / Reddit

• Years ago, I was at the bus stop super early one morning. There was a guy that I used to see every time I would get the 7am bus. We were on «nodding terms.»
  One morning, there was a fireball/disintegrating meteor. We both saw it, he turned to me and said with a super serious face, «You know our souls are forever linked now.»
  We went back to nodding terms, and I never saw him after I quit early morning classes. I guess because I do remember it and he was right. © Unknown author / Reddit

• I was a horticulture student on a botanical tour of Europe in 1979. I am at a flower market in Munich and see a plant I don’t recognize. The lady working in it doesn’t speak English; I don’t know any German.
  I see a plant I do know; touch the leaf and say the Latin name for it. She nods and smiles. I name another plant I know. Her smile gets bigger. I point at the unknown plant and look at her with an expression that I hope says, «Your turn.» She tells me the Latin name.
  We don’t speak each other’s language, but we can communicate in a language that has been dead for over a thousand years. © toastie2313 / Reddit

• This was about two years ago, when I was in university. I was having some gas pains, so I went to use the bathroom. I was the only one in there, but someone came in shortly after, so I decided to wait until she was done. She apparently was in the same situation as me, so we were both just sitting in silence waiting for the other to leave, occasionally letting out tiny toots.
  Finally, she says, «Can we both just fart?» I laugh and say «Yes please!» And for about a minute after, both of us are simultaneously laughing and farting. Laughing because we’re farting, and farting because we’re laughing.
  We finished at about the same time and said «hello» as we washed our hands. I never saw her again. I still giggle every time I think of it. © CocoaAndToast / Reddit

• I’d locked myself out of my flat once when I was taking out the rubbish. It would have been close to midnight. Female, early 20s, and just out of hospital. I had no way to get in and no money, phone, or nearby friends.
  I don’t remember this boy arriving or explaining myself to him, but he sat with me until morning, the whole night long, beneath my block. He had limited English, so we barely spoke, and he shared a tin of pineapple with me, he had in his bag. He was calm, empty of ill intent, quiet but watchful. Friendly, a big, open smile.
  When the sun came up, he walked on. I’ll never forget him, or how kind he was to do that. Some people are so in tune with the world, they protect it. I hope he was ok too. © stopbeingamole / Reddit

• I met a well-dressed older gentleman at a train station in London, he struck up a conversation about the departures board, and being a 20-year-old old woman I was hesitant to talk back, but I like chatting to people and decided to keep the convo going.
  He ended up being extremely easy to talk to, I ended up telling him I was waiting for a train to take me to the airport, so I could see my boyfriend in Hong Kong whom I hadn’t seen for months, and he ended up telling me all about his life and his amazing family, and just be all round charming.
  He was in London for the day to pick up a passport so he could whisk his wife away on holiday, and he just made me smile the way he was so smitten with her.
  He ended up leaving after about half an hour, and when he left he took my hand and kissed it, telling me it’s so beautiful to see a young woman in love. I never caught his name, but I’ll always remember him. © moolymoomoo / Reddit

• When I was studying abroad in Lithuania I volunteered at a soup kitchen and every now and again there would be an older lady helping out who dropped off supplies. We would smile at each other and say hello, even through the language barrier.
  One night I went to mass in the town I was volunteering in, and it was warmer during the day, so I didn’t think about bringing a heavier jacket once it got dark. So I’m sitting through mass, and I’m getting colder and start shivering pretty noticeably, when all of a sudden I feel someone drape a scarf over my shoulders. I turn around, and it’s the lady who would drop off supplies at the soup kitchen!
  Once mass was over, I tried to return the scarf, but she refused to take it back. I did my best to extend my gratitude through the language barrier, but I’m sure she knew. It was the most beautiful and kindest thing that has ever happened to me. That was the last time I saw her, and I will never forget her kindness towards me. It still tears me up thinking about it. © Lithuanian_Rooster / Reddit

• When I was 14, I was trapped in the rubble of an earthquake. I spent 6 hours crawling towards a man whose face I never had the opportunity to see. He was a citizen who didn’t leave his name with anyone and never came forward, after the fact. It has always bothered me that I will likely never find out who he was or tell him how much comfort his voice gave me during those horrible hours. When I saw pictures of the space I ended up in, much later, I couldn’t (and can’t) understand how he was able to stand where he stood for six hours without injuring himself or suffering some sort of emotional trauma himself. He’s my hero. © trailangel4 / Reddit

• My touch football team was sponsored by a local bar that does karaoke on the same day of the week that our games are. We went for a drink after our game. I don’t sing well, but I enjoy singing, and I’m not shy. I sing the occasional song, about 1 every 4 times we go.
  I wasn’t planning on singing this time, but a girl went up on stage and asked if anyone would sing that song from Grease, «You’re the One That I Want». I thought, why not? I went up and we nailed it. People were dancing and cheering.
  We finished the song. We both sort of said good job like stuff. She went back to her table of friends. I went back to my football team. She and her friends left shortly afterward. That was over 20 years ago. I still think about that night from time to time. © Fiascoe / Reddit

• My son was in a pretty serious accident. I was a wreck in the ICU waiting room. A little girl, maybe about 9 or 10 years old, was with her family, saying goodbye to her great-grandmother. She waltzed right up to me and said, «Sir, why are you crying?» I explained my son was very sick.
  She handed me a miniature puppy doll and told me it was lucky and that my son would get better. She was right, he did, and I still keep that little puppy on my dresser and think of that sweet child. © Stillloveyou112 / Reddit

• I was on a long late night bus ride. It was express, so it made very few stops. The bus had maybe 10 people on it in total. Halfway through the trip, it made a stop at a small town station, so people could grab a snack or use a public restroom and maybe stretch their legs.
  I went up to the counter to buy what at that point was my dinner even though it was after 10 pm, and when the cashier rang it up I passed a $50 bill to her, and she told me that she couldn’t make change. Defeated, I went back to my seat on the bus.
  As everyone piled on and the bus drove away, a lovely middle-aged lady walked up from her seat near the back and politely asked if I minded if she sat with me. I told her she was more than welcome. She sits and proceeds to unpack a small lunch bag.
  She then split the entirety of her meal with me. She said she had been waiting for the washroom to clear out and had overheard what happened. She said, «I’ve gone hungry in my life and it sucks. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, so you can share with me.»
  When we were done, I jokingly asked if she could break a $50 and we had a good laugh. She stuck with me for the remainder of the trip and was a very interesting lady besides being incredibly generous. I hope she is well. © Theearthhasnoedges / Reddit

• I wrestled in high school and after a match tradition dictates that you walk over and shake the hand of your opponent’s coach, then cross the mat diagonally and shake your own coach hand, crossing paths with your former opponent as you do so.
  Once after a match with a kid I’d never met before, I said «round the world» as we approached each other, and we high-fived as we crossed paths and then did the round the world high five thing and high-fived down low behind our backs. It was one of my proudest moments. © Orthoff / Reddit

Other folks had even more unusual interactions with strangers. Check out their stories here.