About POP!

POP! is INQUIRER.net’s premier pop culture channel, delivering the latest news in the realm of pop culture, internet culture, social issues, and everything fun, weird, and wired. It is also home to POP! Sessions and POP! Hangout,
OG online entertainment programs in the
Philippines (streaming since 2015).

As the go-to destination for all things ‘in the now’, POP! features and curates the best relevant content for its young audience. It is also a strong advocate of fairness and truth in storytelling.

POP! is operated by INQUIRER.net’s award-winning native advertising team, BrandRoom.

Contact Us

Email us at [email protected]

Address

MRP Building, Mola Corner Pasong Tirad Streets, Brgy La Paz, Makati City

Girl in a jacket

Man buys a new pair of shoes for a boy he saw walking barefoot

In fairy tales, Prince Charming would search a whole town just to give a missing shoe to a woman he only met once. In real life, this guy — a stranger — saw a kid walking barefoot and bought him a new pair of shoes. He may not be a prince, but god knows his good deed probably meant more to that kid than the most precious pair of glass slippers.

According to Ahyan Yerro’s Facebook post, the foreigner, named Kris Carroll, came to the shoe store she’s working at with the kid. Upon inquiry, Kris told her that he saw the kid barefoot selling sampaguita outside a mall in Mandaluyong.

InqPOP! spoke with Raymond Seneca, the guy who “assisted them well like VIP” according to Ahyan’s post, and he said that in his four years of working at the shoe store, it was his first time to witness such a gesture in that store.

via Ahyan Yerro
via Ahyan Yerro

He admitted that he was surprised to see the two when they entered the store. “Nagulat ako pero inisip ko na balak nya talaga ibili ng shoes ung bata. Ang daming nagsisunuran kasi ‘yung mga nakakita mismo nagulat din.

But for Raymond, they were still customers to be treated the same way he treats others — especially the boy who, according to him, couldn’t believe he’s inside the store and about to get a new pair of shoes.

Raymond Seneca, the boy, and Kris Carroll. | Photo via Ahyan Yerro
Raymond Seneca, the boy, and Kris Carroll. | Photo via Ahyan Yerro

He noticed that the boy didn’t know how to tie his shoelaces. He learned that it was his first time to have a pair of shoes. The boy would even lose balance while walking since he’s not used to wearing shoes, Raymond added.

Ahyan, who was also tending to the two, was so happy for the boy and told him to take care of his shoes and to thank Kris for giving it to him. During the transaction, Kris asked her where he could buy clothes for the kid and Ahyan said she admired him more for the gesture.

In return for the shoes, the boy gave all the sampaguita he was selling to the foreigner. | Photo via Ahyan Yerro
In return for the shoes, the boy gave all of his sampaguita to the foreigner. | Photo via Ahyan Yerro

Our parents would always tell us not to talk to strangers, but if you think about it, some of the most important people in our lives were once strangers. There will always be that one stranger who will have an impact in our lives and change it in an instant.

Kris Carroll could’ve just walked past the barefoot kid. Instead he decided to stop and show compassion. It may just be a pair of shoes for some, but it’s Kris Carroll’s kindness that the boy will remember with every step he takes in life.

 

*slowly takes a box of tissues*

giphy

About Author

Related Stories

Popping on POP!