15 People Reminisce About the Strangers That Will Stay in Their Memory Forever

While some people pass through our lives and don’t even leave a single particle in our memories about them; others manage to stay in our memories for the rest of our lives. Whether that was an occasional compliment from a stranger or a saved life, the strangers in our compilation are still ingrained in the minds of our contributors.

We at Bright Side collected 15 stories about how an unknown person can change someone’s day or even life.

• I was doing tech support and my customer was so happy with my service she offered to marry me to her daughter. I politely declined. © TheRealOcsiban / reddit
• When I was in elementary school I fell through ice. A man who was walking his dog saw me fall and rushed to the shore. I frantically swam back to the shore, I was only about 5 meters into the pond so it wasn’t a long way, but it was taking more time to reach the shore with soaked winter clothes on. When I reached the shore, the man pulled me up by my jacket. It would’ve been difficult to get up, since there was a steep incline. I didn’t thank him, because I was in shock, but I bet he knows I was grateful, and 20 years later, I still wish I would have thanked him. © Omenaa / reddit

• The lady who told me I looked great in blue, and that it was clearly my color. To this day if I’m deciding between shirts to buy, or wear, I’ll go with blue. That compliment was about 15 years ago at least. © TurdsforN****es / reddit

• When I was super overweight, I was just starting to workout somewhat regularly. Being morbidly obese at the gym is terrible — I have never felt more eyes on me before in my life. I was on a treadmill, grinding out some inclined walk/ light jogging, and a super fit girl got on the machine next to me. She did a short warm-up, and before she got off the treadmill she turned to me, gave me a high 5, and told me to keep it up. It was so encouraging to have that support, when I was used to getting stared at by everyone else in the gym. Her small, kind gesture went a long way! © FishNchips72 / reddit

• My lost wallet was returned in the mail. The anonymous stranger sent it back at their own expense ($9.75 postage) with all the money, credit cards, my driver’s license, and other items intact — nothing was missing. A note enclosed read: “Please do something kind for a stranger whenever you have the opportunity.” © Back2Bach / reddit

• This kid I knew in school (senior year of high school) decided to give out neckties to as many people as he could one day. No explanation, no requirements, he’d just walk up and say “want a tie?” then pull one from his bag, hand it to you, and walk away. Chaotic good. © science_and_defiance / reddit
• The foreign exchange student and his parents who walked past my park bench on campus and dropped his passport. I chased after them to return it and his mom started screaming at me in broken English like, “Why you have his papers? Why you steal his papers?” while the kid and his father looked like they were going to die from embarrassment. © ThadisJones / reddit

• When my wife and I first started dating, we were walking into a supermarket holding hands. This elderly woman looks at us and says rather loudly, “CUTE COUPLE ALERT!!” My wife and I still laugh about it, it’s been 12 years at least. © seabass4507 / reddit

• I was waiting for my appointment with an optometrist when an old Haitian man walked in with a grocery bag. The receptionist knew him, so he walked up to me and proceeded to test me with riddles. When I finally got the right answer to one, he reached into his bag and gave me a snickers, then left. To this day I’m really curious as to what would motivate a man to become a wholesome riddler. © Not_an_elk / reddit

• The gentleman in a business suit handing me his umbrella in the middle of a downpour. We were just passing each other on the sidewalk, our eyes met, and he just handed over the umbrella with a “here ya go.” Never saw him again. © Jenmeme / reddit

• This reminds me of a couple when I was out of town for a wedding. This taxi that was waiting for a passenger was blocking the covered area in front of the hotel during a downpour. I asked him to move so I could pick up my wife and put my child in the car seat, but he said no. I told him he could circle back since the passenger was nowhere to be found. He started arguing with me and cussing me out. This couple passing by gave us their umbrella so we wouldn’t ruin our wedding clothes since we had to get in the car in the rain. © Economist-Future / reddit

• This happened to me in an airport when I was 8. A man dropped his wallet and I gave it back to him. His wife was just like, count the money in it, she looks like a thief. He didn’t even have any money in it and she accused me of stealing it. © That_Adhesiveness_24 / reddit

• I was on a tram, I didn’t have a ticket, and the ticket inspectors came on. I got asked to show my ticket and I said I “couldn’t find it on me” and he said he’d come back so I could look for it. There was a stranger sitting in the seat behind me who had a ticket, he gave it to me and he got off at the next stop. Guy gave me his ticket so I wouldn’t be issued a fine. © blakee42069 / reddit

• When I was younger, I went grocery shopping with my dad. As we were walking, an old man stopped us and handed both me and my sister a shiny one dollar coin. He told us that he wanted us to have them and to have a Merry Christmas. I never saw him again, but I think of that kind old man from time to time. © Honeybee_53 / reddit

• I ran away from foster care when I was 17 and was living on the streets of NYC. It was a bad situation, but I would still try to take the train as often as I could to go to my high school. I ran into one ticket inspector a handful of times who always made it clear he would come back around for my ticket once I “found” it. Things got noticeably rougher for me as time went on and there was one day near the end of the year where he slipped me a brown bag with a sandwich, an orange, a Twinkie, and a handwritten note saying that he packed one just like that for his daughter every day and to never forget to dream big. I never saw him again after that, but I still carry that note 6 years later, and I will never forget him. Ticket inspectors like you all are the reason I graduated high school and was able to survive, so thank you on behalf of all of the other me’s whose lives you might have touched. © indytriesart / reddit

Have you ever come across a stranger who you still remember? Why?