14 People Who Happened to Be Right on Time

3 weeks ago

Sometimes, even a random passer-by or neighbor can help us find a way out of the worst situation. And these stories can help us believe in luck and good people who turned out to be in the right place and in the right time.

I was on my way to my girlfriend’s house yesterday on my moped, and about 10 miles from home, 5 miles away from my destination when the bolt holding my rear fork on came out halfway, causing the rear wheel to smash into the frame and lock up. I was able to stop it and pull over, but I was stuck on a road where people were whizzing by at 100, and I had to push my bike on a narrow patch of grass on the side.
After a few minutes, a young man in a package delivery truck pulled over and rolled his window down, yelling at me to put my moped in his van. I opened the door and tried to lift it in, but the thing is heavy, so he got out and helped me. He then proceeded to drive me all the way to my girlfriend’s house.
After unloading the moped, he refused to accept anything for it, so I just thanked him for all his help and gave him a hug. This random guy taking the time to help me out saved me out of the kindness of his heart and nothing more, and made a really bad day quite a bit better. © Dry_Bicycle / Reddit
I was riding on a crowded bus. Suddenly, a handsome stranger puts his hand on mine. I stood
there confused for a second before the driver abruptly hit the brakes. Everyone started to fall, and I felt a sharp pain in my hand.
Turns out the guy squeezed my hand so hard we had to go to the hospital. As a result, I missed an important class, got a fracture of 2 fingers, but I’m now sitting with this handsome guy and having a heart-to-heart talk. It was a good day! © Caramel / VK
The train is delayed for about 20 minutes, and all the people on the platform are frozen and angry. Everyone wants to go home after work. No one announces when the train will arrive. At last, the train comes, everyone sullenly loads up, sits, frowning, waiting for departure.
And then a ruddy-haired guy with a cake tied with a ribbon runs into the carriage, panting, and shouts into the phone, “Can you believe it? Today is the most fantastic day of my life! I was running in desperation, I was terribly late! And it’s standing there, waiting for me! I’m coming! I will come on time! Hurrah, right?”
And everyone in the carriage started smiling, relaxed, as if we were all waiting on the platform on purpose, so that he could get there in time with his cake. © StrogiyNik / Pikabu
It seems like the entire series of events in my life had been leading me to this one moment. So many things happened so that I could live in another country in my thirties. There, out of the blue, I felt an urge to get up in the morning and go for a walk in the park, which is not my habit at all. In the end, I rescued a kitten, found it a home and returned to my home country. © Overheard / Ideer

As a person who used to rely on the city bus to get around while I was in school and for a bit after, I know the frustration of just missing the bus — especially after you run for it and the driver probably sees you running but drives off nonetheless (I get it, they have a schedule to keep). So, for years I have resolved that if I ever see that happen, I’m gonna pick the person up and drive them past the bus and let them off at the next stop.
Today I got up to make some spicy red pasta sauce and realized I needed one more ingredient, so I drove over to the neighborhood Publix. As I’m leaving the parking lot to come back home, I see a guy running through the crosswalk, waving. I’m thinking about pasta sauce at this point, but I look to my right and there’s a city bus driving away and this man waving his arms.
And my inner voice was like, “You’ve been preparing for this moment for years.” So, I do a right on red, pull up next to the bus stop, roll down the window and say, “Get in, fella, we’ll catch up with him.” The guy just starts laughing and says, “Seriously?” and I say, “Yeah, come on.”
It took about 15 blocks to get in front of the bus and drop him at a stop. And really, we just laughed the whole way. I shook his hand, told him “Happy New Year” and that was that. © birdie_sparrows / Reddit
I met a girl in Romania and as we both were solo travelers, we managed to spend a lot of time together. While parting, as the tradition goes, we said, “See you soon.”
Last weekend, I went to Paris for some work, and I was shocked to see her in the elevator. I screamed out of excitement, but she didn’t recognize me and thought that I am just someone trying to talk to her.
I doubted my ability to recognize, stepped back-foot from my excitement and calmly asked, “Have you ever been to Romania?” to which she spontaneously asked, “Do you come from Germany.” (That time I was living in Germany).
I somehow threw yes out of my throat. Looking at me (I was visibly shaken), she said, “I am her twin sister!” The world is so small! © Gaurav Deshmukh / Quora
I’m doing an extra biology class in high school where we take difficult topics. I noticed that one girl, a solid C-student, was answering assignments using complex terms. I decided to approach her and check if she was looking for the answers on her phone.
I looked under her desk and was stunned — instead of a phone, she had a familiar notebook on her lap. My student notebook! I gave this notebook on plant physiology to a friend from one of the junior courses when I was a student.
This friend, who had kept it for some reason, turned out to be the uncle of that very student and gave the notebook to his niece when he learnt that she was going to take an exam in biology. The student, of course, didn’t know that it was mine, because the surname on the cover is my maiden name. Coincidences are beautiful. © NaginiSnake / Pikabu

Was studying my family tree in Ireland. Searched a large region for days for relatives or anyone connected but came up short.
Finally, on the last evening in a hire car, pass an old woman in late eighties walking down the road at dusk, offer her a lift to her home. Explained my story, and on a whim, asked her whether anyone had ever drowned in her family. She has a look of shock on her face, says she needs to show me something.
We get to her house, sit down at her kitchen table, and she brings out a printed family tree with maybe 50 names. The name at the very bottom is a man that drowned in Australia in the 1840s, the same man at the very top of the printed family tree that I’m carrying. The 2 pieces of paper join in a truly Indiana Jones moment.
We both sat there in shock. She’d never known what happened to the family that went to Australia in the 1840s, and we’d never known where our Irish relatives originated. She still owned “our” original family home. We now have a family tree with more than 1200 people. © Unknown_athor / Reddit
We were on holiday with family at the seaside and lived in a cottage on the second floor. My sister and I went out on the balcony at 11 p.m. to look at the view. We were standing there, when suddenly my sister looked up at the roof and twitched as if she saw a ghost.
But there was something worse — spiders! Not the usual small ones, but tarantulas. Since we’re both arachnophobic, we started panicking and fussing quietly on the stairs. We tried to keep ourselves in control, because we had children sleeping, but panic is an uncontrollable thing.
Our neighbor heard us and went out to check what was going on. My sister pointed at the spiders and said that we were very afraid of them and that we were not making the noise on purpose. The man went into his room without further ado.
He came out a minute later with a table, a chair and a broom, climbed up on them and swept the spiders away with the broom. Seems like an ordinary thing to do, but if you think about it, not many people will go out in the middle of the night to help strangers get rid of spiders. © Caramel / VK
A friend of mine went adventuring in his late twenties to Morocco. He decided he wanted to see how the “real people” lived, so he left the tourist areas and ventured on foot, alone, into the outlying rural areas where the locals lived.
When the light started to fade, he realized he was lost and no one spoke English to help him. He wandered the streets until it was dark. He was fumbling down a pitch-black, narrow alley when he suddenly ran smack into someone.
In that instant, a million thoughts ran through his head: middle of the night, somebody lurking in a dark alley, stupid tourist lost. Forgetting that he hadn’t heard English in hours, he blurted out, “Excuse me!” “Oh, that’s okay,” a feminine voice came out of the darkness.
“Wait, you speak English?” he said, amazed. “Yes, I sort of got lost. Do you know how to get back to town?” “No, I’m lost too.”
They decided to stick together and eventually, through dumb luck, found their way back. When they got to a place with enough light, they recognized each other; they had been in the same class in high school, and had actually known each other well! © Marcia Wilcox / Quora
I was rushing to an important job interview when my heel suddenly broke. Time was running out, and I didn’t know what to do. There was an elderly woman on the street who noticed my desperation and offered her help.
It turned out that she was carrying a spare pair of shoes for her granddaughter in her bag. These shoes turned out to be my size! I thanked her and ran to my interview.
When I got back from the interview, I decided to find this woman to return the shoes to her. And imagine my surprise when I met her at the same place! She just smiled at me and told me that we should do good when we have an opportunity.
It touched me, to be honest, and I promised myself that I would try to follow this principle too! By the way, I got that job, and I really wanted it. © Not everyone will understand / VK

Last night I walked up to the store, and when I had been home for awhile I realized I couldn’t find my debit card. I tore the apartment apart, searched my jeans, my wallet, called the store. No one had turned in a card.
Walked back in case I had dropped it along the way. No luck. I was bummed because I have to pay rent in a few days and a replacement card can take awhile.
Just a few minutes ago, I get a knock on my door. I’m thinking, “Who the hell is at my door at 11 p.m.?” I’m cautious about opening the door that late, seeing as how I’m a girl in the city.
Well, anyway, it turned out to be my neighbor with the debit card! He had found it outside and tried to return it earlier, but it must have been when I was walking around looking for it. © beavisandboothead / Reddit
When I moved to another city for work, my chronic illness worsened, and I was admitted to hospital. These were difficult and uncomfortable 2.5 weeks. The situation was aggravated by the fact that in this city I didn’t have friends, and my parents were far away. And in general, they were not in a hurry to come to me, they said I wasn’t a child anymore and figure it out myself.
There was a girl of my age in the ward with me. Her mom came to her almost every day and brought her books, clothes, food. It was so nice, but I felt bitter that nobody supported me like that.
After a few days, this girl and I started to communicate quite well, and when her mom came over, the three of us would talk. Also, her mom started bringing food to me as well. Her food was divine, especially compared to the hospital food. This kind woman supported and comforted me.
It was the first time I felt that much warmth and care from a stranger! With all my heart, I am grateful to her for helping me in that difficult moment. She was my salvation. © Ward 6 / VK
My husband and I were walking late at night past the railway station. We noticed an elderly man — gray-haired, with a beard, carrying a huge bag, his clothes clean, but clearly old. He stood confused, everyone passed by him, apparently thinking that he was a beggar or something else. We decided to approach him to see if everything was all right.
It turned out that this man was a priest from a church in the countryside, he had come to visit his acquaintances, they were supposed to meet him, but he couldn’t find them. We started to search together, tried to call them to no avail, and the man obviously didn’t have money for a hotel.
My husband and I couldn’t leave him without help, in a strange city, no matter what happens. We offered to spend the night at our place. He thanked us very much. In the morning, we managed to reach his friends, they came to pick him up, and we said goodbye warmly.
6 months later, I learnt the happy news — I was 2 months pregnant. My husband and I have been together for 10 years, we had no children, because both he and I have problems in this part. There was no chance, and here is such a miracle. Do good deeds, and they will come back to you, one way or another. © Chamber 6 / VK