Then I finally asked the question that had haunted me for over a year.
“Why did you do it?”
Claire looked down at her hands.
“My son needed a transplant when he was six,” she said softly. “We waited forever. Then one day a stranger donated.”
She smiled faintly.
“That person saved my little boy’s life. I never got the chance to repay them.”
Her eyes met Ethan’s.
“So I promised myself that someday, if I ever could… I would.”
My wife offered her money.
She refused.
We offered to help with her rent.
She refused that too.
The only thing she accepted was a phone call from Ethan a few days later after we returned home.
I listened quietly from the kitchen while he spoke to her.
“Thank you,” he said, voice shaking.
There was a pause before she answered.
“Now we’re even with the universe.”
Note: This story is a work of fiction inspired by real events. Names, characters, and details have been altered. Any resemblance is coincidental. The author and publisher disclaim accuracy, liability, and responsibility for interpretations or reliance. All images are for illustration purposes only.
