Vivian Ip, a realtor based in Toronto, Canada, recently shared with AsianFeed the heartwarming story of how she was able to help a 90-year-old grandmother get home safely.

Vivian described the encounter as the following, “An elderly woman nearly a century old captured my attention when she flailed her arms in a half-moon motion towards my moving vehicle. Immediately, I rolled down my window and asked, ‘How are you?’ She asked, ‘Could you drive me to my condo? It’s too cold, I don’t want to walk anymore.’ I grabbed her grocery buggy, and directed her to hop in the passenger’s seat.”

“The woman, Lady Cheung, mentioned something about ‘bye sun,’ to celebrate the two weeks long Lunar New Year celebration. She sounded interested in stopping at the ‘bye-sun’ shop, so we browsed around together. Everyone [at the shop] thought that I was her great-granddaughter only to discover that we’re actually strangers. Lady Cheung told every person that we bumped into, that her and I met 10 minutes ago, and I was driving her home.”

“She is 90 years young. Her husband is 88 years old. My family always raised me not to pick up any hitchhikers, but Lady Cheung is my first ❤️.”

When we asked Vivian what made her stop for Lady Cheung, she responded, “I stopped for her because she was literally straddled between the sidewalk and a busy intersection near North America’s largest shopping center, Pacific Mall. It was also extremely cold that day and it was odd to see an elderly lady walking out in the cold alone. I couldn’t not stop because if this were my grandparents, I would hope someone would do the same for them too. She also kept trying to pay me a fare for the ride, but I couldn’t accept. I felt that if I wanted to offer, then why should I gain anything in return. It came from the heart.”

Vivian continued, “I was raised by my family, my grandparents in particular, to help others. I believe that friendship is a gift because she brought back memories of my grandpa. Life gets so busy as we get older. It’s a good reminder that the most precious things in life are not physical items. Our one true purpose on Earth is to ultimately help each other to the best of our ability.”

Vivian can be found on Instagram @vivianteddygroup.