The business class cabin was my domain as a young flight attendant, but nothing prepared me for the day I’d save a life – only to have her save mine years later. When Mrs. Peterson began choking mid-flight, my quick response with the Heimlich maneuver created a bond neither of us anticipated.
Two years later, drowning in grief after losing my mother to cancer, I’d forgotten that brief connection. I’d sold everything, including Mom’s precious paintings, to pay medical bills. Alone in my dreary apartment that first Christmas without her, I nearly didn’t answer the mysterious knock at my door.
The delivery contained a miracle – Mom’s final watercolor returned to me with an invitation. Following it led to Mrs. Peterson’s glowing mansion, where she revealed she’d been the anonymous buyer of Mom’s artwork. Seeing my mother’s painting of me had reminded her of her own daughter, lost too soon.
That evening, surrounded by twinkling lights, we shared stories and tears. The woman I’d saved from choking had, in turn, saved me from complete despair. Life has a way of bringing kindness full circle when we least expect it but need it most.
