October 2026's Act of Kindness

While taking care of my night shift duties, an older gentleman staying at our hotel came to the reception desk. He had been staying with us for about a week already and, as usual, was heading out for his nightly cigarette. During his stay, he had mentioned that he was having trouble sleeping.

That night, he asked me if it might still be possible to get a cup of coffee from somewhere. I had actually been thinking about making some coffee myself, so I replied:

"Sure, I can brew a pot of coffee."

The guest responded in a characteristically Finnish way:

"Well, then I suppose I can have a cup too, if you're having one as well."

I put the coffee on to brew and invited him to sit down on the sofa while we waited. Once it was ready, I served our late-night coffees in Moomin mugs. We sat together for a while, chatting about dogs and life in retirement.

The gentleman enjoyed his coffee slowly and contentedly, with no rush at all. After we had spent some time talking, he thanked me warmly for the company. I, too, made the most of the moment and didn't hurry back to the tasks that were waiting for me. I knew there would still be time to get everything done.

Eventually, he stood up and returned to his room to see whether sleep might come a little more easily now. And with that, we both went back to our own nighttime routines.