Inside the envelope was a handwritten note. Margaret thanked me for helping her without demanding explanations or making her feel ashamed. She admitted she had wanted to tell me everything, but she feared I would stop helping once I knew how desperate her situation had become. She also asked me to consider volunteering at the center. She believed I had the patience and compassion needed to help others who were too frightened to ask for assistance.

At the bottom of the letter, she had written something that stayed with me: “Please don’t remember me as the woman who borrowed money and disappeared. Remember me as someone who learned that one person’s kindness can make another person’s tomorrow possible.” I folded the letter carefully. I had spent months believing Margaret had stolen from me, but now I understood that I had never really known what she was going through.