At a pharmacy picking up my Rx, woman starts talking to me unprompted. I am a raging introvert, this makes me uncomfortable. Within 30 seconds, I know what she pays in rent, how much she has to put up front to move in, that her HVAC is busted and that her friend is in the hospital with heart failure. JFC. I have to kinda just cut her off and move away bc it’s my turn. Her last words were how she can’t deal with the problem at her apartment bc she has to go to the hospital to visit this friend, and she says it like she’s at her mental limit or something. Which is understandable, right??

As I finish my transaction, the ACTUAL empathetic person in me feels like I can’t just walk away, so as I go, I turn and say, as sincerely as I can manage in this two second interaction, “good luck to your friend.” Yes, it’s almost nothing but it’s me, a stranger, trying to let her know I care about her, a stranger, and her friend, a stranger. 

She doesn’t even say “thank you,” let alone any sort of like sincere acknowledgement of my gesture. She says, almost in a fucking joyful voice, “oh, she’ll be fine, god is good!” while stepping up to the counter for her turn.

WTF. THEN GO HANDLE YOUR HVAC IF THERE IS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT! Don’t tell some stranger you’re so stressed about it then!  And by all means, go tell your maybe-dying friend it’s all good! Go have a party at her bedside bc life is so worry-free!!!

/rant