Photo/Illutration “It’s like an amulet,” said the woman, impressed by a stranger's largesse. She always keeps one of the masks he gave her in her bag. The photo was taken in Fujimino, Saitama Prefecture, in March. (Yusuke Saito)

FUJIMINO, Saitama Prefecture--A stranger's kindness transformed a woman's quest to purchase hard-to-find face masks in early March.

The 42-year-old woman, a local resident, was waiting outside her neighborhood drug store on a bitterly cold morning around 5:30 a.m.

The woman was trying to keep warm by rubbing her numbing hands together when she noticed a middle-aged man looking at her while he smoked in front of the shop.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“I want to buy masks because I have a terrible pollen allergy,” she replied.

“I am so sorry,” he said.

Then, he left.

She had been struggling to find masks for days, but panic buying had emptied stocks at all the outlets she tried due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Some days, she ventured from her home early in the morning to search for face masks at three drug stores nearby. Other times, she ran to a convenience store at midnight, after hearing the outlet had stocks.

Not striking any luck, the itching in her nose and eyes was getting worse.

About an hour passed since the man left.

She had hunkered down there as time stretched on.

Suddenly, the man appeared again.

“Just a small amount,” he said, handing her a plastic supermarket bag.

“Thank you,” she automatically replied, and opened the bag.

There were six masks, neatly folded.

The man had already begun to leave, so she said loudly to his back, “Thank you very much!”

One month passed, and it is still hard to find masks.

But she quit joining lines and desperately waiting around all day to find them.

She created new masks made of handkerchiefs.

After she uses them, she disinfects them and then reuses them many times over. She took charge of the situation.

She never saw the man again. She forgot his face and used most of the masks he gave her.

But she always carries one unused mask around in her bag, so she does not forget how grateful she was that day for the stranger’s gift.

“It’s like an amulet,” she said.

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