There's a boy of about ten, possibly twelve, who follows his mum to the gym. The boy, who is quite short is very fat, obese in fact. Every day, comments are made, either to him or behind his back, or looks shared over his size. Usually he follows his mum around, hangs his head and looks a bit sheepish, moody, knowing that if he meets someone's gaze, they could easily tell him loudly, "if you want to lose some of the weight, don't just stand there, get on the machine!".
But today, there was a change. One of the fittest and most popular guys at the gym took the boy under his wing, saying "come, let's try running outside". When the boy was getting tired and slowed down, he took his hand, it was the sweetest picture, seeing them running hand in hand. And when he really was too tired, they both stopped, rested and chatted. Both of them even took part in the sit-ups competition (which I took part in and won!), amidst laughs and jibes.
I have never seen that boy work so hard, and yet I have never ever seen him that happy before. It's amazing what a little support and kind words can do.
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