— “Break a rule?” — he held my gaze for a second, and I thought something terrible was coming. — “On the contrary… you saved the situation.”

I didn’t understand at first.
— “Last night the girl’s condition worsened,” he continued more gently. — “But the syrup worked, her fever went down, and the doctors said that any delay could have resulted in hospitalization.”

My knees nearly gave out, and I grabbed the edge of the counter.
— “Her grandmother came to the station this morning. She didn’t know your name, only the pharmacy and that ‘a kind woman at the register helped.’ She was crying… asking us to find you.”

At that moment, the door quietly opened again. The same elderly woman stood at the entrance, holding the hand of a girl who already looked much livelier.

— “There she is…” the grandmother whispered as she approached me. — “You didn’t just give us medicine. You gave us a night without fear.”

She placed carefully folded money into my palm and a small note from her granddaughter written in crooked letters: “Thank you for helping me not be sick.”

I felt a burning rise behind my eyes. For so many years, work had been just work…
But that morning, I understood clearly for the first time: sometimes a quiet “take it” spoken from behind a pharmacy counter can change someone’s entire life.