The notice was posted next to the mailboxes in the apartment building I had just moved into. “A Mitzvah (善行) for Mrs. Green,” it read, “Sign up to drive Mrs. Green in 3B home from her chemotherapy (化疗) treatments twice a month.”

Since I wasn’t a driver, I couldn’t add my name, but the word “mitzvah” was always wandering in my thoughts after I went upstairs. It’s a Hebrew word that means “to do a good deed”. But according to my grandma, it also had another meaning. This was the one she was always pointing out to me because she noticed that I thought it a shame to let people do things for me. “Linda, it’s a blessing to do a mitzvah for someone else, but sometimes it’s a blessing to let another person do something for you.”

One evening, snowflakes had been falling past my window for several hours when the time to leave for class came. I labored to the bus stop, reaching it just as a bus went by. For an hour, I prayed desperately that a bus would come. Then I gave up. The wind at my back pushed me towards home. Even if I wanted to ask someone for a good deed, which I did not, there wasn’t a soul on the street.

But as I pushed the door of my apartment open, I found myself face to face with a woman at the mailbox with a set of keys in her hand. Obviously she had a car and was going out. In that split second, desperation overcame my pride and I blurted (脱口而出), “Could you possibly give me a lift?” An odd look crossed her face and she agreed without hesitation.

On our way to my school, she spoke so warmly that I felt comfortable. “You remind me of my grandmother.” I said. A slight smile crossed her lips. “Just call me Grandma Alice as my grandchildren do.” When she dropped me off, I thanked her again and again.

Back home I heard a neighbor saying “Good night, Mrs Green.” to Grandma Alice on the stairs.

Mrs. Green visited me later and said, “May I tell you something?”

Phil was a successful businessman. One day, he went for a lunch at a new restaurant. While waiting or his meal, Phil looked at the people in the park. Suddenly, a young boy’s face caught his attention.

“Wait, do I know him?” he wondered. He walked out of the restaurant. When he approached the little boy, he saw the boy begging for money. When Phil saw the boy turn towards him, “Yes, I know him!” Phil thought. Phil knew the boy and his mother very well.

Phil was in his senior year when Melissa, the boy’s mother, joined the university as a teaching assistant. She met Phil when his teachers wanted to make him leave the university because of his poor performance. Melissa stood up for him and asked his teachers to give him one last chance.

Phil agreed to study under Melissa’s guidance and was amazed to see how she taught him the knowledge he couldn’t follow earlier. He considered her as his mentor (导师) and respected her a lot.

After graduating, Phil set up his company and applied the knowledge that Melissa had taught him. He quickly made huge profits and was always grateful to Melissa.

“Hey! What happened to your mom?” Phil asked the boy.

“She hasn’t been feeling well for the past year,” the boy replied while he tried to recognize Phil. “The doctors says she needs immediate surgery (外科手术), but we can’t afford it.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Phil said.

“We sold everything we owned,” the boy said. “We paid for her first operation, but now we have nothing. She needs another surgery as soon as possible.”

“I can’t believe this,” Phil said while holding back his tears. “Can you take me to the hospital? I want to meet your mother.”

The boy agreed and jumped into Phil’s car.

Phil sat in the waiting room beside the boy while the doctors performed Melissa’s surgery.