Stories of Kindness from Around the World

My Enemy Named Fred


--by klort73, posted Jul 5, 2011

When I was thirteen years old, I had an enemy. Not a wanted enemy, mind you, but an evil one!

His name was Fred, and boy, was he mean. He took advantage of all my short-comings. My mother passed away when I was ten, and he wouldn't even let up about that!

One day, he and a few of his friends dumped mustard all over my new shirt which I'd begged my aunt for hours to let me have.

A few weeks before school was out, Fred stopped coming to school. Curious, I asked around only to discover that his mother had passed away the week before.

I felt terrible for him! Mind you, he had never been a sweetheart or anything, but I knew how terrible it was to lose a parent as a kid.

I checked the school directory for his address and mailed him a long, anonymous letter about how I coped with losing my mom, and things I'd learned from it. And mostly, I told him how sorry I was for his loss.

A few weeks later, when he returned to school, he still made fun of me, but I felt much better about the situation.  My letter hadn't changed him, but I think it changed me!

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Readers Comments

upasaka wrote: You may not have seen it, but you definitely had an impact. He had built a tough guy image that was hard to let go of, but at a much deeper level you melted some of that toughness away.
erinvictoria wrote: I'm glad it changed you for the better, and hopefully it helped him in the long run. The girl that bullied me when i was young is on facebook and she asked me if i grew up in her neighborhood. It made me wonder, did she really not remember me? I was bullied by her everyday, how could she not remember me? What i can say is that she is a nice person now, and i don't think she had an easy life growing up. I think that she was afraid, and is why she bullied me. I'm glad i got to know her all these years later, it made me able to forgive her. "fred" reminds me of her. I hope he grew up to be a nicer person, too.
annonomyss wrote: That was a great story thanks for shareing! Love
Joy wrote: Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by gandhi "be the change you want to see in the world. " thanks for sharing and teaching grace, compassion and forgiveness.
annjav wrote: That's a great example of the way that our own actions can change us. I hope fred grew up at some point, but nobody has control over fred except himself. You showed wonderful control over you.
nidhi wrote: Very nice
laughalot wrote: WWJD? what a great story.. I've been there and agree with you...
It was me that was changed!
Keep your chin up! Great Choices with quiet forgiveness.
brie wrote: If only all children could be a little bit more like you were!
cindy wrote: no you were always kind. Some folks never get it!!!!!
butterfly wrote: you are an angel. how wonderful that you felt such compassion for him. i love to hear stories like yours. you are an inspiration. love and light xx

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