There are many people out there that are suffering and we don’t even realize it. Everyone is trying to hide it some way, clinging to the smallest good things just to get by through the day. Sometimes you need that little bit of help to get through the hard times. Usually, it comes from your family, but sometimes it comes from where you least expect it. That is what happened to the people of our story today. Klynn Scales is the protagonist of our story.
She was a young girl that was living with her family in Kansas City. You can’t say that everything was going smoothly for this family. Klynn’s parents had taken divorce and Klynn stayed with her mother and brother together. Klynn’s mother was the only provider in the family making minimum wage. That meant only one thing for the family.
There never seemed to be enough money. We are not talking about enough money to have a luxurious life or anything like that. It was hard for them to get by day today.
The bills were piling up and there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel. Everything seemed bleak in this young girl's life. Well, almost everything.
There was one thing that she still had that kept her going through the day. She didn’t have a lot of pleasures in her but there was at least a ray of light in this dark world. Something so simple and easy to do, but so overlooked in our society nowadays.
A gesture from a stranger was all she needed to feel happy again. To get some hope about this hopeless situation.
Every day a police officer would do his normal patrolling through the neighborhood. He was looking around for anything suspicious happening. It was a “bad” neighborhood after all.
He had to be on high alert all the time. Anything could happen from moment to moment. And it is true, something that he didn’t expect to happen one day.
He saw a little girl looking at him. She seemed amazed by the sight of the police car passing in front of her. Many kids get excited by the vehicle but this time it was different.
It appeared as Klynn was looking at the car with a kind of admiration. The officer couldn’t ignore this little girl's look, so he waved at her. There was a small hesitation before Klynn answered the cop.
That was the gesture that was brightening Klynn’s day. A simple wave from a police officer. She waved back to the police officer excitedly.
She had made a connection at this moment with a person that she didn’t know. None of them realized at the moment, but that was the wave that triggered the events that saved a person’s life.
The next day after this first encounter, the same thing happened. The police officer passed by, and Klynn was there looking at him, he waved at her and she waved back excitedly. It was the beginning of a tradition.
Everyday the car came around, Klynn was there waiting to say hello to it. Without skipping a day this became a habit for both of them.
The police officer at the beginning didn’t think a lot about this. It wasn’t uncommon for him to wave at kids, but this was the only case that it became something of a habit. He was looking forward to seeing that little girl there, waiting to say hello to him.
It was a nice moment in his day. To Klynn, this meant much more than the police officer could imagine.
Unfortunately, things hadn’t taken a good turn for the Scales family. Klynn’s mother had tried all this time to find a stable job that was going to give her family some security and a feeling of safety, but it didn’t work. All the times she got rejected from job interviews were starting to get to her.
She was feeling left out by society, and an outsider. The worst thing that was weighing on her consciousness was something different.
Klynn’s mother was feeling guilty that she couldn’t provide for her children. She could see that her kids were suffering. There were many nights that they had to go to bed hungry since there wasn’t anything for them to eat.
Her mental state was getting unstable and she was feeling the need to escape from reality. She couldn’t take it anymore. Unfortunately, she found the worst way to deal with this issue.
She stopped looking for employment and just focused on finding ways to get away from reality. It was devastating for the family. Klynn and her brothers were left alone to fend for themselves.
Klynn felt that she was the one responsible for her brothers, so she had to do anything she could to support them. A very terrifying life for a young girl like her.
One of the things she had to do to support her brothers was to steal from a 7-11. She obviously knew that stealing was wrong but there was nothing else she could do. At least nothing else she could think about.
She was feeling very guilty for what she had done, but it was a necessary evil. Through these hard times, there was one thing that kept her going.
Waving at the police officer was giving her hope and joy. It had become a part of her day. Her favorite part of the day actually. Day after day Klynn was there to greet her favorite police officer.
They got to know each other after they talked once or twice. Jeff Colvin was the police officer's name. Sometimes Jeff would escort her to her house, so they created a special bond. It was that bond that saved Klynn’s life.
Jeff had turned out to be something of a role model for Klynn. She could always count that he would pass by, at the same time every day. It looked like it was the only persona that Klynn could rely on.
At these dark times, it was this small gesture that reminded her that not everything is bad in life. Some things will brighten your day. And that was one of them.
Jeff enjoyed the company of the little girl, and it made the routine check a little bit more tolerable. He was looking forward to checking this specific part of the neighborhood because he knew that he had his friend waiting for him right there.
Everything was going well for many days. But it all goes well until it doesn’t.
As Jeff was doing his normal patrol of the neighborhood, he noticed that something was different one day. His friend was missing. In the beginning, he tried to rationalize this thing.
There were a million things that Klynn could be doing instead of just waiting there to wave to a police officer. It makes sense that she wasn’t there.
He thought that she might have an appointment with the doctor. This wouldn’t be so crazy. Or she even went out to hang out with her friends. Girls at her age should hang out with their peers.
Who knows, she might even just forgot what time it was so she is running late. There are a lot of simple explanations that would make sense of this situation. He parked the car there to wait for a little bit. As he was there he thought a bit more.
One thought that was a bit hard on him but he didn’t want to admit it was that she might just have got bored of this “ritual”. He was thinking that she could just be bored of going every day out to wave at him every. It would make him a bit sad if that was the case but there wasn’t anything he could do. It was logical anyway.
What could she be getting out of this? He had no idea how much it meant to Klynn. But then he started realizing what he was thinking.
Klynn was there every day without skipping a day. No matter if it rained, snowed, she was there. Also, he had noticed the smile on her face after he waved back.
This thing was worth to her more than she had realized until now. It was a moment of happiness followed by a moment of fear. He thought of what this meant for his little friend.
If she wasn’t there and it truly meant so much for her, this means that something might be wrong. He didn’t want to be intrusive but he was afraid that her life might be in danger. He took a moment to relax and think rationally. Was this really a thing to be worried about?
Did he have any basis for his fears? His rational side was telling him no. But his gut was telling him that something was wrong. In the end, he made his decision.
He was going to follow his gut. He knew that people might call him crazy, that Klynn or her mother might be surprised for seeing him, but he was determined that this was a price he was willing to pay. He preferred to risk being called weird if it meant making sure that your friend is okay.
He was a police officer after all. His job is to help and protect the people, and that was what he was going to do. Help his friend.
He quickly started the engine again and drove in the direction of her house. Thankfully, one of the times that he escorted her she showed him where she lived. Jeff had memorized this location since his little friend was staying there.
It was important for him. Thanks to that small event, he managed to remember the address and got there pretty quickly. He was about to enter the house where he would find something that shocked him.
He decided to stay outside for a few moments. He might even manage to see her from there. If he could just see her through the windows he would feel relieved. He would have been worried for nothing. The moments passed and he was noticing no movement in the house.
It seemed like no one was there. Maybe they went on a trip? Either way, he was going to check. He walked to the door.
He rang the doorbell of the house. It didn’t seem to be working, so he just knocked on the door with his hand. No answer. He knocked for a second time. Again no answer. Third time. No answer.
Jeff was getting seriously worried. He turned the door handle and the door opened. While still staying at the entrance, he called if anyone was there. But there was no answer. Time to get inside. Time to find her.
As he was walking into the house, he noticed a corridor. There on the floor, he saw Klynn. He ran towards her trying to see if she is ok. He checked for her pulse.
Thankfully, it appeared that her heart was still beating. She was also breathing even if it was faintly. She was alive. He had no idea what had happened to her, but he wasn’t going to waste any time finding out.
She took her immediately to the hospital. He left a note in the door of the house, although he knew that if a girl just collapsed like that and nobody was around, it meant that something was wrong in the family.
At the hospital they managed to stabilize her condition and her life was not in danger. It was a bit later that Klynn was diagnosed with severe malnourishment.
The doctors said that if she had been brought in one day later, it might have been too late for this young girl. Officer Colvin was seen as a hero by the local media but also by the police. Although the one that he cared about was Klynn.
She could use any words to describe her gratitude to this man. Although one thing happened that day. She got inspired to become a police officer herself.
Many years later when Klynn grew up, she devoted her life to helping people. She passed her exams and became a police officer. In the graduation ceremony officer, Colvin was invited.
She wanted him to be there since that day was possible thanks to him. She knew that probably he wouldn’t even remember her, but she decided to invite him anyway. Much to her surprise, his memory of her was still quite strong.
Officer Colvin went to the ceremony and took a few pictures with Klynn. Actually, Officer Klynn. A moment like that was special for Jeff. It is often that you get such a huge compliment.
Klynn was inspired by him, which meant that he did his job well. Being a police officer is a thankless job. Jeff was very proud of Klynn.
With such a simple gesture, the life of a person completely changed. If it wasn’t for that, Klynn would have probably been dead now. It’s a very powerful message that simple gestures can make all the difference.
It’s ok to ask your neighbor if he is ok. You never know how much they might need your help.