17 People Who Got a Surprise for Their Kindness

They say, kindness always comes back to you. But does it? What about the saying, “No good deed goes unpunished”? And it really does happen both ways. The stories in this article are about the surprises that awaited the heroes after their good deeds.

And in the bonus section, you’ll find a story about how people didn’t expect anything in return for their kindness, but somehow got it anyway.

• I worked as a cat sitter. A young man called and brought a cat with all its “dowry.” A week goes by, I call to find out when he’ll pick up the cat. And bummer — the phone number is not available.
  I posted an ad, 2 days later a woman arrives in tears. Turns out she’s the cat’s owner. While she was visiting her relatives in another town, her hubby decided that the cat required too much money and attention.
  So he solved the issue in this terrible way, and lied to her that the cat ran away. Then the man was indignant — why didn’t his wife like it?! He didn’t throw the cat out on the street, but gave it away to a safe place. Long story short, the couple divorced because of it. © Miranda Bush / ADME
• A neighbor asked my mother to look after her cat while they were renovating their new flat. The cat lived with my mom for a month, all was well. Mom even bought him a new bag of litter and then gave it to the neighbor along with the pet.
  So 2 days after Shurshik’s return, the neighbor angrily reprimanded Mom on the phone that the litter was the wrong brand. She was also unhappy about the fact that the cat was eating too much during this month, which she found suspicious. My mother hates scandals, so she hung up the phone.
  2 weeks later, the neighbor’s cat was screaming at her door. Mom sent a message to the owner of the cat that her Shurshik is found, and she can take him back. But the former neighbor was silent. She tried to call her, but apparently she added my mother to the blacklist.
  We didn’t know where her new flat was. Just in case, we posted ads with no luck. The cat lived with my mom for 5 more years. © Svetlana S. / Dzen

• My friend hasn’t been talking to me for a couple of weeks now because I answered her question about her blog honestly. I told her that she has to decide on the subject of content to attract the audience, and most importantly, to write more carefully and proofread what she wrote before posting because there are a lot of typos.
  So, she said that I discouraged her from running this blog, that I don’t know what it’s like, that everyone can offend an artist! And about typos it was brilliant, she said that I should try to write a blog myself while taking care of a 1-year-old child first, and then criticize others! © Anastomus / ADME
• I let my classmate live in my apartment after graduation. So, she made a huge scandal because I spent the night with my future husband and complained to my brother that I was promiscuous.
  Another friend decided that she would live with me permanently after spending a couple of days in my place, and when I said no, she broke off any connections with me. Well, thank God, I reckon. © Tetiana / ADME

• I was driving in spring, and the floods had already started. I approached a bridge across the river, and the water was splashing over the top of the bridge. I looked back and saw that downstream children were hanging on the bushes.
  As they said later, they wanted to cross the bridge, but they were washed away. So I slowly drove the car to the bushes, dragged the kids into the cabin and slowly backed up. And there were already people on motorbikes, thinking whether it was worth the risk.
  I just gave them the kids, and then the father showed up. And he immediately dumbfounded me with a complaint, “Where’s the new bike?” I thought I’d just get a “Thank You”. We all told him to get lost. © Kuznetsov-Mikhail Kuznetsov / Dzen
• I cycle from school, and on the way home there is a bus stop where my best friends wait for the bus. So, sometimes they asked me if they could ride my bike. I kept saying yes, because how can I say no to my best friends.
  So, now they “book” my bike for tomorrow or next week. Once they even almost fought over who would be the first to ride my (!) bike. And they are not 5 years old, but 14... Sometimes they just grab it out of my hands or start riding without my permission. I pay for my kindness. © 𝕯𝖎𝖒𝖔𝖓ツ/ ADME

• I was once traveling on a bus, and a very sweaty plus-size lady sat down next to me, and she also had a runny nose. So, she wipes the sweat on her neck with her sleeve, then her sleeve moves smoothly to her nose, and then she lowers her hand in that sleeve touching mine.
  I always have a bunch of tissues with me, so I offer her tissues. You can’t imagine what happened next. I was told why she was sweating and how inappropriate I was with my tissues. And all I wanted was to avoid another person from wiping their snot on my clothes.
  Then she even made an angry post on a previously popular website. I wasn’t offended or ashamed. Lady, if you read this, I still offer handkerchiefs and tissues to other people. © nozomi / Dzen
• I was giving away free baby clothes online. One mom asked if I could bring her a jacket. I was headed that way, so we met. But she looked at the jacket and began to yell, “How can you give away such old clothes!”
  So, I threw the jacket right into the trash bin. The lady began to squeal, and then suddenly dashed to the bin to retrieve the jacket, so zealously that she tore her trousers at the back seam. © Dogy Dogy Dogy / Dzen

• I am standing in line at the post office to get my parcel. An old man in front of me gives the receipt to the post officer. And then she starts scolding him that his parcel arrived a month ago, and he hasn’t picked it up, so he’ll have to pay for its storage.
  The man looks like a beaten dog and sluggishly makes excuses for himself, “No, the receipt just came yesterday.” She goes on berating him. And I immediately realized that she mixed up the 10th and 11th months, October with November, and it was October. I felt sorry for the man, he’s being scolded for nothing, and I also wanted to get my parcel as soon as possible.
  So, I said that she was wrong and it was October, not November. They both turned to me, and both (!) yelled at me that I shouldn’t get involved in something I don’t understand. Then the officer scolded him automatically a little bit longer, but, apparently, something clicked in her mind and she silently went to get the parcel. It’s still funny. © Olga Lankina / Dzen
• I bought fresh baguettes and was carrying them home. And then some old lady intercepts me and asks me to sell her a baguette. She can’t travel for them, but she loves them. Naturally, I didn’t sell it, I gave it to her for free.
  So, she caught me a few more times after that. And later even began to berate me for not buying her (!) a baguette. She said I should go and buy it. And if I’ll be in that shop, she needs a lot more.
  I thought, well, no, it’s not my thing. If she wants something, she should go there herself. © Eugenia B / Dzen

• I decided to open my own business, a beauty salon. I’m a beautician. A modest and hardworking girl worked with me, so I offered her to join me. Together we’ll take off faster.
  I also didn’t have enough money for everything. She agreed with difficulty, but she found the right amount. So, we’re working. I took care of the organization, documentation. I prepared documents, ran to the authorities, cleaned, submitted reports to the tax office, saved money.
  A year passed, and we started to earn money. The first scandal happened when she claimed that I am the boss here, and she’s nobody. Second year, communication was very strained. And then she left.
  Now she works at home with the clients of the salon, stating before leaving that she will sell me her part of business and a SIM card with the numbers of clients. I had to do renovations myself and find new clients. © xoroshegodnya / ADME
• A friend was walking his dog and found a bag with documents. He called the owner, who came to meet him with the police, so my friend stayed in the police station for a few days. It’s better not to do anything at all unless asked. © Jurijs Lukijenko / ADME

• At the beginning of winter, I posted an ad on the marketplace, saying that I’m giving away a few warm jackets and coats for free. Naturally, I started getting, “Can you send 100,500 more photos?”, “And where are the shoes to these jackets — do I have to buy them separately?” And the signature question, “I live outside the city, can you bring me all this?” © Liya / ADME
• Once I employed an acquaintance as my assistant. I didn’t know her well, but she was nice and complained that she couldn’t find a job. Pretty soon it became clear that she wasn’t bright, but she was very hardworking. I tried to explain everything to her, sometimes like to a child, I covered her up from the management’s reprimands when she couldn’t do something.
  But after a year, everything got even worse. She was just leeching off me. She could just go for a walk, without thinking that she breaks deadlines and lets me down. Sometimes I had to finish the work for her. And then the last straw.
  For a couple of days, she couldn’t finish a job that other people do in 2 hours. Even though I checked on her constantly and explained every single step to her. So, on my remark that she works too slow, she said that I can’t explain it properly! A year and a half later, she is still puzzled as to why I refuse to work with her. © Natar / ADME
• I used to always volunteer to wash the dishes after get-togethers with friends. I didn’t think much about it, I just did the dishes after any number of guests. At their house, after their parties. I just wanted to help. And then someone told me that they call me a dishwasher behind my back and laugh at me. © Veronica / ADME

• Once I got a job as an HR manager at a company. I worked well and was very well regarded by the manager. At one point, we had a vacancy for the head of housekeeping in our company, and I found nothing “better” than to offer my friend for this position. As a friend, she was good (well, I thought so), but as an employee — not so much.
  And I heard more and more often from the manager, “What a worker you found to us...” It came to the point that in order not to hear these reproaches anymore, I began to correct my friend’s faults myself. She was praised more and more often, and the funny thing is that she took this praise for granted. I even had the impression that she herself believed in what a wonderful worker she had become. It was both funny and upsetting.
  And then I went on maternity leave and my manager retired. Who do you think was appointed to be my replacement? Yes! My friend. She said yes, but she doesn’t know how to do anything.
  So, she started calling me, but I blocked her number. So, she started visiting me, saying, “Do this and that, you know how to do it, and I don’t.” But I was with a baby and didn’t care about her reports.
  One day she was fired. And, you know, as it turned out, it was my fault. © Luna / ADME
• A colleague was always complaining that she was short on money until payday. Indeed, she was supporting her sick brother, it was hard. So, she asked to help her at least with food.
  We brought her everything we could: buckwheat, pasta, bean soups, tinned food, vegetables. She looked into the bag and said, “I don’t need all this, it’s just side dishes, I’d rather have chicken or meat.” No one helped her after that. © Tatiana Lobanova / ADME

Bonus

• We see a girl sobbing in a cafe. She had a date with a guy, but he went to the toilet and disappeared. And the girl has no money. We paid for her. She swears she’ll pay us back. We don’t want it, we just leave.
  And that’s when she makes a “decisive step” — she speeds up, runs past us and leaps into a bus. The bus leaves, and she shows us a finger through the window, but for some reason her index finger. © Unknow author / Pikabu

And here is another bunch of stories that prove kindness can move mountains.