NPR-Inspired Homework Leads Teen to Find Hidden Message a Decade After a Stranger’s Kindness.
Rika Matsuda, 17, unfolded an origami crane a stranger gave her after a bike crash at age 7 and found a handwritten message, prompted by an English class assignment from her teacher.
Rika Matsuda, now 17, found a handwritten message hidden inside an origami crane that a stranger gave her 10 years ago. An English class assignment led her to look for it. She told her story through an interpreter in her native Japanese.
The episode began when Matsuda was 7 and received a new bike. She rode it to a park, but when she tried the brakes, nothing happened, and she hit a wall. Her foot hurt and turned purple, and she had to sit down. A few minutes later, a man in his 20s walked toward her. She remembered him as large and muscular and wearing a suit. Because he was a stranger, she was unsure whether to trust him.
She said his kind and gentle voice settled the question when he asked if she was all right. He helped her wash her foot at a water fountain and let her use his phone to call her grandfather. While they waited, he took a piece of paper from his bag and showed her how to fold a crane. Matsuda said she wondered whether he wanted her to think about the paper instead of her foot. When her grandfather arrived, the man helped get her and the bike home. He said nothing as they parted, she recalled, and simply smiled and handed her the crane.
Matsuda kept the crane in her desk and thought of the man's kindness whenever she saw it. Ten years later, her English teacher, Benjamin Johnson, introduced the class to My Unsung Hero and had students write their own stories. She chose the bike crash and tried to recall every detail. She thought the man might have written something on the paper while she was on the phone with her grandfather.
She hurried home from school and unfolded the crane. Inside was a well-known Japanese expression about how every encounter is precious. Roughly translated, it means that people should treasure each time they cross paths with someone because it might never happen again, or more simply, "cherish the moment." Matsuda said the discovery made her realize even more how kind the man was. "He's really my unsung hero," she said.
Note: The page says the teacher introduced the My Unsung Hero project and had students write stories; it does not describe the assignment as homework or say it was inspired by NPR.
At a Glance
- Matsuda was 7 when her new bike's brakes failed and she hit a wall at a park.
- The stranger, a man in his 20s, helped her wash her foot and let her call her grandfather.
- Teacher Benjamin Johnson introduced the My Unsung Hero project in her English class 10 years later.
- The message inside the crane is a Japanese expression roughly meaning "cherish the moment."
Sources
This brief was written by Brightside Report from the reporting linked above. Spot an error? Request a correction.