Something for Nothing

Early last Saturday morning, I walked into the centre of Auckland to go to the weekly Farmers’ Market. The city was very quiet.

I was walking down High Street near to my favourite book shop, Unity Books. As I said, it was early and all the shops were still shut, but as I was passing the book store, I saw a woman inside through the glass door, and she had something in her arms.

She opened the door and she set it down on the step outside. It was a small box of books, and the notice said FREE! She went back inside and locked the door behind her.

I looked at the books, picked one up and flicked through it. I liked what I read, so I put it in my backpack. This is it.

Before I walked away, I tapped the door, and the woman looked my way. I smiled at her, held up my free book, and gave her the thumbs up sign to say thanks. She smiled back at me. It was a good start to the day.