Once upon a time, there was a man who was quite happy with his life. He had everything he wanted and was getting married to the love of his life the next day. Now some might say that’s a reason to be worried, not happy, but we’re romantics and we believe in happily ever after, so we say he was content. He got married without a hitch too, apart from the usual old uncles dancing like crazy, and the aunties eyeing the bridesmaids for proposals After a few days, he found a mysterious package waiting for him there. He opened it up to reveal that somebody had sent him money! Being the careful sort, he and saved it.

More time went by, and the man and his wife had their first child. When the child was born, he once again received a mysterious package. Now, feeling his added responsibility as a father, he in a savings account for the kid.

Kids will be kids, and there came a day when much to his horror, he found that his daughter had met with an accident while playing and needed surgery. They rushed her to the hospital, and when she was recovering and they had stopped worrying about her and started worrying about bills, they found out that someone had come along and paid their hospital bill (the kid was fine, by the way, she even had a cool scar to brag about).

More time passed. The man grew a bit older, and one day, he discovered that his eyesight was getting worse. He got it checked out and found out that he needed to have cataract surgery. His daughter was grown up by now, but he didn’t want to be a burden, so he was reluctant to go ahead. But in the end, it was either do the surgery or be more trouble because he couldn’t see, so he went and got the operation done – and when it was over, guess what? He found that someone, once again had paid the bill!

So, with his much-improved eyesight, the man went on to live a long, happy life. When he turned sixty his mysterious friend once more sent him a gift of a wristwatch, that he wore proudly in memory of all the good things that had come from this friend. The story was passed down through his family, and they found that whenever they had momentous occasions in their lives, this friend came to their aid, or helped them celebrate.

Now you must be thinking, if only that were real – stuff like that never happens to me! Well, let’s try solving the mystery and see if that helps you too.

Who do you think the mysterious friend was?

• Someone who was passing on random acts of kindness
• A fairy godmother
• Seylan Bank ;)