A Note From a Stranger

I sat crying in a Nashville emergency room, more than 9,000 miles from my Australian home. I was having a bad reaction to a medication. A gray-haired woman across the room looked at me with kind eyes. As the nurse escorted her to another room, she handed me a note that said, “You are not alone.” Later, she returned, and asked if I was all right. I learned she was dying of lung cancer. How unexpected and moving — that toward the end of her life, she was thinking of me, a stranger in a waiting room. — Kate Cowling

Our Long-Distance Trick

After a month of texting from opposite coasts, we mailed each other dirty T-shirts because I wanted to know what Sami smelled like. “Enjoy the pheromones,” she wrote. Her shirt smelled sweet and familiar. I slept with it by my pillow until it lost her scent. When we finally met in person, kissing for the first time on my bed, I felt like Sami had been there for weeks. Now, two years later, Sami has a drawer in my dresser. When she’s not here and I miss her, I pull out one of her T-shirts and take it to bed. — Ella Hormel

We Had to Leave the Bank

We were college students, working next to each other as bank tellers. Eileen thought I was an obnoxious loudmouth. I thought she was stuck up, never responding to my jokes. One day, I overheard her talking to another co-worker about picking up school supplies for the upcoming semester. I invited myself along. Outside of the bank, we were able to see each other in a new light. Eileen was reserved, not rude. I wasn’t always a flippant buffoon. We laughed and bonded over our Dominican heritage. Eighteen years later, we now visit the bank together, along with three beautiful girls. — Henry Suarez

Reflecting at Our Daughter’s Wedding

I saw my ex-husband recently at our daughter’s wedding. Our children watched us closely, waiting to see how our greeting would unfold. He leaned in for a hug; I hugged him back. My children told me they were worried. They mostly remembered animosity between us. I smiled inwardly. No, no. Not anymore. If anything, I am grateful to this man who shattered my life, freeing me to experience another. Had our marriage not ended, I would never have met the love of my life, and become the person I am today. — Leslie Cohen

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