A Stranger’s Kindness

 “Tell me again, why are you working as a low-paid security guard?" my mom asked on the phone.

My dilapidated van creaked as I sped to work. It was nearly 11 p.m., and I didn't want to be late for my grave shift. "Something symbolic happened! Remember my dream about a bonsai tree? Well, when the manager offered me the job, she had a bonsai tree on her desk." 

    

Silence…. Then, "Elisa, you were offered a job paying twice as much downtown."

    

“THAT manager didn't have a bonsai tree on her desk."

   

We said our “I love you’s” and hung up after I got to work. As I sat there, I suddenly wondered over the strange events from the previous summer.

    

One week I'd been on TV, talking about my bestselling memoir, “The Golden Sky,” the next, a tragic event landed me and my children in a women's shelter. It was a nasty place really. I spent half a month there, sleeping on the floor while my kids slept on bunkbeds—and somehow my kids found the good in things...that was life-changing. 

    

The grave shift wasn't the best thing ever, except for the people. Folks kept coming up to the front desk where I sat "guarding." Employees simply couldn't believe I was the new guard: a twig with bright-red hair and lipstick. I looked anything but intimidating. 

    

It seemed monotonous, but I kept glancing at the camera, saving everyone's lives by visually patrolling the facility. That’s when I spotted a man in the breakroom. I remember because I noticed his smile. Who knew that a simple dream about a bonsai tree would change my life—and the lives of my children—forever?

    

To hear the audiobook “A Stranger’s Kindness,” based on how I fell in love with Mike Magagna, you can find that here:

“A Stranger’s Kindness.”

Courtney Parker is an AMAZING narrator, and I’m so fortunate that she took on this project! 🤗

P. S. For Valentine’s Day, Ruby tattooed a bonsai tree on Mike. 🥰 Honestly, it brings back so many amazing memories. I’m so grateful—I am the luckiest.