A little background: I am a 19F. My father passed away when I was 15 from brain cancer. He was the most loving, kind, selfless, passionate person i'd ever known and probably will ever know. He lived by one thing. The saying "always practice random acts of kindness". He preached it. He always reminded my mom, brother, and I, that was the only thing that mattered; serving others. We put the saying on his tombstone, and even his programs for his funeral. It was his thing, and his goal in life, his saying.

About a year ago I woke up one morning in a frenzy. I missed my alarm to get up for a class that I had a very important exam in, & slept in an extra 30 minutes accidentally. I threw my covers off, flew up and started freaking out because I knew the chances of me being on time for the class were slim to none. I grabbed my keys and backpack and sprinted out the door getting in my car, and turning it on only to realize I was out of gas. At that moment I knew I had no luck of making it on time. Reluctantly, I turned the key and started heading to the nearest gas station. On the way there I began to uncontrollably sob and hyperventilate. Leading up to this morning I had been in a pit of depression. I was unhappy with my job, unhappy with my long term relationship with my boyfriend, and all around just extremely unhappy with life. I was shaking and filled with anger and hatred toward however created and made my life this way. I arrived at the gas station with tears running down my face and got out to fill my tank and from the corner of my eye see a man in a black t-shirt and bandages on the side of his head and a coffee in his hand begin walk towards me.

He approaches me and begins to talk. He first asked me if I was okay (noticing I had been crying). I was a teenage girl, so I was nervous that a middle aged man began to talk to me at a gas station at 7 in the morning. I said yes to be polite and was nervously trying to fill my tank. He then proceeded to ask me if I wanted the coffee he just had bought. I said no because stranger danger. He then very politely began to say "oh thats okay, I just wanted to offer because I got brain surgery recently and wanted to practice a random act of kindness". He then smiled with the kindest radiance, told me to have a beautiful day and then began to walk away. Freaking out, I put the pump back in the holder and in 2 seconds from when he stopped talking and started walking away he vanished. No sight of him, his car was gone and no trace was left behind. I fell to my knees and started to uncontrollably cry. I felt a circle of comfort embrace me and I started slowly getting in my car.

I think about this everyday. I don't believe in fate, or any weird coincidences, but I know that, that man was my father. I know that, that was him giving me a sign he is always with me by my side even in my darkest moments of life. Dad, my heart. I love you, I miss you, I think about you everyday.