One Tangerine, One Conversation, and a Lesson I’ll Never Forget | by Joshua Kelechi | Aug, 2025

Sometimes, it’s the smallest gesture from a stranger that stays with you forever.

It was a rainy Tuesday evening, and I was sitting on the last bus home.
The kind of rain that makes the streets shine like glass was pouring outside, blurring the city lights into a watery mess.

I wasn’t in a good place.
Life had been kicking me from all directions — bills piling up, job applications disappearing into the void, and a constant feeling that I was stuck in the wrong life.

The bus was almost empty. I sat near the back, scrolling mindlessly on my phone, trying to ignore the weight in my chest.

Then, an old man with a weathered coat and a soaked hat climbed on. He walked slowly, like every step carried years. He sat across from me, placed a small paper bag on his lap, and just… smiled.

I nodded politely, but he kept smiling like he could see straight through me.
Finally, he said, “You look like you’re carrying something heavy.”

I froze. I hadn’t said a word to him.

Before I could answer, he reached into the paper bag and pulled out a single tangerine.
He held it out to me and said, “Sweet things make the bitter days easier.”

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
I took the tangerine, thanked him, and we sat in silence for the rest of the ride.

When my stop came, I turned back to say goodbye — but the seat was empty. He was gone.

That night, I peeled the tangerine slowly. The scent filled my room, fresh and sharp, cutting through the heaviness I had been carrying all day.

It was just a fruit. But it was also more than that.
It was proof that kindness can come out of nowhere, and sometimes, that’s exactly what saves us.

I never saw him again. But every time life feels heavy now, I buy a bag of tangerines — and I give at least one away.