People will do anything for those they love. Romance has been placed on a pedestal. Telling stories of people who have jumped through fire to save their partner. Or, walked for miles in the rain after having a nearly fatal car accident to find help for their love who was hurt really bad. It is remarkable when someone will go to great lengths for another. But, when that person is a complete stranger, that is something else altogether. Just like the woman in our story today, which was inspired by the readers at Amomama. Margret thorn is one of those heroines. The kind who seeks no reward for helping someone in need. Even if it meant losing her job in the process.
Margret Thorne
Margret had grown up on a farm in Georgia. She had fond memories of her youth, and all the freedom she got to enjoy in the countryside. Her mother was an amazing woman, who had raised her to always take other people into consideration before you act. Margret loved her mother dearly. She called her almost every night to absorb the great advice that she had to offer. She was brave, and always defended those who were downtrodden, Margret admired her for that.
As she grew, Margret had dreams of becoming a journalist so that she could write inspiring stories for people in the hopes it would change their lives. She got into a great university, and she was in her last trimester before she would graduate. Most people would be excited about this. But, all Margret could think of was her massive student loan that needed paying off. She had done the research. Margret knew that jobs were not easy to come by when you are fresh out of university. She had taken a job at a gas station where she worked long hours, usually through the night. The gas station paid poorly. It was far from the dream job that Margret had imagined. But, it was better than nothing.
A Dark and Stormy Night
On a Tuesday night, Margret was asked to do the night shift for the fifth time in a row. She was exhausted. But, her manager had no patience for any complaints and would shout if she asked for a different shift. This night was like most nights. She was behind the till studying while the manager was in his office. She would hide her textbook when he came out. Outside there was a terrible storm starting. With lightning lighting up the night sky. Rain was falling almost horizontally from the force of the wind. The occasional clap of thunder would break through the roar of the storm.
The door to the store blew open, the bell clanging loudly telling Margret that a customer had come. Surprised, Margret closed her book. She wondered to herself why on earth anyone would be out in this weather. A dark figure stumbled through the doorway, the wind pretty much blew her inside. Margret realized the person was an elderly woman, who looked completely worn out. Her makeup had smeared across her face, she was covered in mud and rainwater, The sleeve of her jacket had been ripped, and she was cradling her right arm with her left. Margret thought for a moment that she saw blood, but then the back door to the manager’s office banged open, and Paul barged out with a mean glint in his eyes.
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Margret Made a Decision
Paul demanded to know why the woman was in the store. The lady opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off again saying they get too many bums coming around asking for free stuff, and he was sick of it. The lady tried to protest, she seemed like she was crying, and Margret realized something had happened. She put her hand on the lady’s shoulder and asked her what happened to her.
The lady started sobbing and explained that she and her husband had a car accident five miles down the road and her husband was hurt really bad. The storm was blocking the signal to their phones, so she had to walk to find some help. Paul wasn’t buying it, he leered at her and said she probably was looking for some money or free gas. The woman cried even louder and begged them to let him make a phone call.
Margret knew the woman was telling the truth. She took her phone out and saw that she also had no signal. She reached for the landline, and Paul started shouting that she was not allowed to make personal calls on the job. It was no use, however, the phone lines were also down. She thought for a moment, but it didn’t take long before she was reaching for her car keys. She told the woman she would drive her and her husband to the hospital herself. Paul looked enraged. He yelled that she would lose her job if she left now. Margret ignored him, this job was not worth someone losing their life, and she had been raised better than to ignore a woman in need.
She Saved Their Lives
The woman looked so relieved, that she sniffed and wiped her nose with a soaking wet handkerchief. She thanked the whole way from the gas station to where her husband was lying. From there Margret realized how dire his condition was and she raced him to the hospital after they struggled to get him into her car. The woman’s arm appeared to be broken, so Margret did most of the work. They arrived at the hospital and the doctors and nurses whisked him off for emergency surgery.
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Margret came back the next day to see how the couple was doing. The doctor told her that the man had internal bleeding and if they had arrived 20 minutes later, then he would not have made it. He called her a hero, but Margret refused to accept the compliment, saying that the woman had walked through that storm alone and injured to find help for her husband, in her mind, she was the real heroine.
Compassion Pays Off
The doctor guided her to the ward the man was admitted to. As she walked into the room, she saw a surname written on the door that she recognized. It turns out, the man she had saved was the owner of a local news station that Margret had applied to work at a while back. They had told her she need more experience, otherwise, she was a great candidate. The man told her how grateful she saved his life because he didn’t want to leave his wife alone so tragically. He told her that he found out she was studying. He wanted to pay off her student loan as a token of his appreciation.
Margret was dumbstruck and wondered if he was being serious. He then offered her a job when she graduated. One that definitely paid a lot more than her job at the gas station. She could not believe her luck! All of her worries had been resolved, and her future was suddenly looking a lot brighter. He thanked the man profusely, resisting the urge to give him a huge hug. She took his hand instead and shook it eagerly. The man reminded her that had she not risked her job to save his life, he would not be here today.
Luck was on her side
The news station ended up doing a story on how the girl had saved his life. Paul, the manager of the gas station, was fired from his job because he made the station look bad. It really does pay off to be compassionate. There is always something to benefit from helping those in need. Even if it is simply knowing you did the right thing.
This story was inspired by an original piece of fiction that first appeared on AmoMama. Any similarities between this story and actual people is purely coincidental
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