A photograph of two strangers sharing a meal at an Indiana area fast food restaurant has hearts melting across the Internet.
While having lunch with coworkers at a McDonald’s in Noblesville on November 8, Amanda Craft noticed an elderly woman eating alone after ordering her food. But she wouldn’t be lonely for long.
Craft watched as the woman walked over to a young man who was also eating by himself, and asked if she could join him. The man — who Craft would later discover was 28-year-old Eric Haralson — immediately agreed.
Craft discreetly snapped a picture of the pair sharing a conversation and posted it to Facebook.
“Shout out to this guy! This elderly lady (seemed to be a little lonely) came up to him and asked if she could sit with him,” Craft wrote in the post. “Without hesitation, this guy said ‘of course.’ My friends and I watched him introduce himself and shake her hand. They talked and laughed together like they were friends.”
Craft said she and her colleagues looked on, inspired by a simple act as two strangers — decades apart in age — enjoyed each other’s company.
“They didn’t know each other, and they couldn’t be more different,” she continued. “But today they shared a meal together and it touched our hearts.”
The image — which shows Haralson laughing with the 70-year-old, who said her name was “Jan” — quickly went viral, garnering thousands of likes and shares on the social media platform. Haralson only learned that he had quickly become a social media darling when his friends saw the post on Craft’s page and tagged him in it.
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“Honestly it was a humbling experience. The impact it has made all over the world but most importantly the impact it made on her,” Haralson tells PEOPLE of the response the picture has received. “She didn’t have to sit and eat with me, there were many people there, but she decided she wanted to spend that hour and a half of her day with me, and likewise.”
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Turns out, Jan had tried to speak with a group of teenagers before approaching Haralson, but they didn’t seem to be up for a conversation. Haralson, who is a father living Noblesville, told ABC that he and Jan bonded over their faith, and since they exchanged numbers, he plans to keep in contact with her.
“I’ve had many conversations with strangers but they weren’t the length of time Jan I spent talking,” Haralson tells PEOPLE. “She is a wonderful woman and I wish nothing but the best for her!”