I first noticed the folding table on my walk to the library—a handmade sign read, “FREE LUNCH FOR ANYONE WHO NEEDS.” I didn’t think much of it until,

one day, broke and hungry, I grabbed a bag. Inside: a peanut butter sandwich, apple slices, a granola bar—and later, a note.

“If you’re reading this, I think we’re connected in more ways than you know.”

More notes followed, each strangely personal. One read, “You used to live on Linden St, didn’t you?”

That’s where I grew up. Then: “Tomorrow. Come back early. I’ll be there.”

That morning, I met Clara—kind, nervous, and familiar. She revealed she’d been my mom’s best friend.

Before my mom passed, she asked Clara to look out for me.

“I didn’t want to intrude,” she said. “So I started with lunch.”

Clara gave me a letter from my mom and a key. At the storage unit, I found a chest full of keepsakes—our memories, her love.

In the weeks that followed, Clara and I grew close. She introduced me to a small community of people giving back through that table. And slowly, I found peace.

My mom may be gone, but her love lives on—in notes, in memories, in people like Clara.

Now, I help run the lunch table. Because love doesn’t end. It passes on.

So here’s my ask: be the note, the lunch, the sign someone’s looking for.
You never know who’s just waiting for a reason to believe in kindness again.