small acts

On my way home from school, I saw someone drop a piece of paper (probably their EAF) while running. A street kid saw what happened and picked it up, and ran after the guy to return it. When the kid returned the piece of paper, the guy didn't even say thank you and went on his way. The kid just looked at him, and went back to what he was doing.

By the time the kid gave the paper to the guy, the guy wasn't running anymore. So there's no reason for the guy to not say thank you to the kid. I am deeply affected by this because what if the kid decides in the future to not return things that strangers drop? I mean, he can't even get a simple thank you then why should he even do it?

Maybe the scenario would have been a little different if the guy dropped his wallet instead of that piece of paper. Maybe he'd say thank you this time, or he'd say byebye to his wallet. I don't know.