Teen plays guitar in shop, unaware he's being watched — walks out with something he never expected
Receiving an unexpected gift from a stranger can be a thrilling feeling. A teenager who was playing the guitar at a store where he went to buy one experienced something similar when he received a special gift from an unknown person. 16-year-old Evan Sterling had started playing the instrument a few months ago and liked to play it at all times. So when a stranger heard him play in a store, the man decided to do something special for him, per WITN News. Evan, who went to upgrade his old guitar, found something much more.
Evan had been playing the guitar for around 5 months when the incident happened. He likes playing songs from his favorite bands and artists, such as Jimi Hendricks, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, the Blue Öyster Cult and more. Evan started playing when his dad, Gary Sterling, gifted him his first electric guitar for Christmas. "From that point on, I played every day, all the time and couldn't put it down," Evan pointed out. He played that guitar for two months and felt that he needed an upgrade, so he decided to look for one with his dad. They went to Guitars Etc in Havelock, Craven County and were testing out a few guitars when a stranger approached them.
"He's listening to me play and said it sounded pretty good. I think nothing of it because he walked out, and I don't see the guy again for a minute," Evan recounted. The stranger returned with a guitar case that had a Fender Telecaster worth $1500. "And he says it's yours. Just straight up. He then walks out. He also says the paperwork and everything are in the case. Just take it. It's yours." The dad and the son were in complete shock as the man walked out. "I was waiting for the 'All you have to do is pay this amount of money and it's up here,' but when he walked out and the owner mentioned, 'No, he's serious. That guitar is yours. I've seen him do things like this before.' I was just in disbelief," Gary mentioned.
Gary pointed out that his son had shared his baptism testimony at a conference a few weeks ago, and the guitar might be more than just a special gift. "Someday in the future, I want to pay it forward. Maybe buy a super expensive guitar and give it to some kid at a guitar center or in just some way," Evan went on. The boy now plans to continue playing the guitar and start touring at some point. The father-son duo was completely speechless when the man walked away like that. "There has got to be a catch. It took a few minutes for both of us to register what had happened. There's something that I am not seeing here," the dad went on.
In another similar story, a bride who couldn't afford a wedding gown was given one by a stranger, per Nice News. The bride, Margaret Hyde, had decided that she would make her gown herself when she found out that she couldn't afford it. At that time, another woman named Gwendolyn Stulgis had decided to donate a dream gown to one recipient. "I want it to go to a woman who deserves to have the dress of her dreams, but can’t afford one or settle for something more than her price range. I felt gorgeous in it and want someone else to feel how I felt," Stulgis shared in a post. Stulgis's only wish was that the wedding would happen in 3 months and the bride would pass on the dress to another deserving woman. When Hyde came across the post, she explained to Stulgis why the gown should be passed on to her. After being successfully convinced, Stulgis picked Hyde as the lucky winner.