What started as a random act of kindness has blossomed into a close friendship between a young woman and a lonely man who was feeling down on his luck.

Mackenzie Mauller paid for the woman in front of her in line at a Starbucks in Ohio earlier this week on a whim.

In fact, she didn’t give her good action any thought as she walked out of the store. But when she checked her mailbox later that day, she discovered a touching letter.

Nicole Clawson, a woman who had fallen on hard times and who, by chance, lived next door to Mauller, wrote the letter.

Please accept my gratitude for the coffee. Clawson’s letter authorship. I don’t often buy myself a Starbucks beverage, but things have been tough for the past few months.

“My dad was also my babysitter, and he passed away recently. It’s been a terribly challenging period for my family and our kids.

My babysitter called in sick this morning, so I couldn’t go to work. Since I’m going to be a stay-at-home parent for a time, I decided to buy my kids breakfast and treat myself to a cup of coffee despite feeling terrible about it.

Since this was not the direction I had intended my life to take, I was not mentally or monetarily ready to leave my job. When I realized how kind you were to buy my coffee, I burst into tears.

Further, Clawson explained that she was “thrilled” to see Mauller pull into a driveway just a few houses down from her own, prompting her to write the heartfelt note and drop it off in the mailbox.

“I wanted you to know that what you did for me was more than simply a coffee,” she continued. “It was something that completely changed my mood, made me cry and smile all at once.”

Thousands of people have liked and retweeted photographs that Mauller posted to Twitter of the note. Following this, she wrote her own touching card and delivered it to Clawson’s home, where she also extended an offer to babysit.

Incredulous and overjoyed by the young woman’s generosity, Clawson decided to thank Mauller publicly by starting a Twitter account.

Clawson remarked that her children had learned a lot about kindness and compassion from the experience. They can’t wait to do the right thing by others and spread good vibes.