The Bittersweet Kindness of Chocolate and Trying Again

Daily writing prompt

Write about a random act of kindness you’ve done for someone.

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So let me tell you about mine. Or rather… my (many). Plural. Because it didn’t stop at one. Not even after it stung a little.

Every year since my second year at my current job, I’ve made it a point to buy chocolates—not for family, not for close friends, but for the people I spend most of my waking hours with: my coworkers. Line-mates, logistics, people I see more than I see my own reflection on some days. I go to Schakolad Chocolate Factory, a local shop, and handpick Christmas treats. Because why not bring a little sweetness to a place where stress, steel-toes, and machine malfunctions often steal the spotlight?

The first time I did it, no one really noticed. No thank-you, no “Hey, that was thoughtful.” Just… silence. And honestly? That stung. I almost didn’t do it again.

But I did. Because the point wasn’t applause—it was kindness.

One Halloween, I brought in festive hot chocolate bombs. Turns out, the shift I bought them for didn’t like sweets. (Plot twist: that may have hurt more than the silence.) But again, the point wasn’t perfection. It was showing up.

This past Christmas, I went a little bigger. Small gift bags for everyone: a four-piece box of chocolates for the guys and travel-size Bath & Body Works goodies for the girls. Not exactly an equal trade, I know, but when one guy gets dark chocolate raspberry truffles and another girl lights up over a tiny Vanilla Bean body wash like it’s Chanel No. 5… it feels like it all evens out.

I call these my random acts of kindness. Not because they’re random to me, but because they often land without fanfare, like tossing a note in a bottle and hoping it reaches someone’s shore.

Here’s the thing. Sometimes kindness goes unnoticed. Sometimes it backfires, or falls flat, or makes you wonder why you bother. But every so often, someone smiles. Someone thanks you weeks later. Someone tells you they still have the ribbon you tied their gift bag with.

And those moments? They’re everything.

So my advice—if you love doing it, don’t give up. Don’t let the silence keep you from making noise in someone’s life. You never know what tiny kindness will stick.

Even if it’s just a piece of chocolate wrapped in gold foil.