A young man was shopping in a supermarket when he noticed an elderly woman following him around.

If he stopped, she stopped. If he looked at something, she seemed to do the same. She kept glancing at him repeatedly.

Finally, at the checkout, she got ahead of him in line, turned to him, and said:

“I hope I haven’t made you uncomfortable. It’s just that… you look so much like my late son.”

He smiled gently and replied,

“That’s okay, ma’am.”

She nodded, holding back tears, and said:

“I know it’s silly, but… would you mind saying, ‘Goodbye, Mom’ when I leave? It would mean so much to me.”

He was touched. “Of course,” he said.

As she walked out of the store with her bags, he waved and called out,

“Goodbye, Mom!”

She turned, smiled warmly, and waved back. He felt good — like he had helped someone through a hard moment.

But then…

The cashier finished scanning his items and said:

“That’ll be $257.43.”

He blinked. “Wait, what?! I only bought a few things.”

The cashier replied,

“Your mom said you’d pay for her groceries.”