The best friendships sometimes come from the most unusual relationships.
Fion and Gilnet
In this case, a great friendship has grown between a 6-year-old little girl, Fiona, and a store employee at their family’s local Publix grocery, Gilnet Sainvil.
Fiona’s mom, Rachel Smith, shared that they’ve been frequenting the local Publix store where Gilnet works even before Fiona was born.
She always went there because everyone was always so kind.
When Fiona was born, they still went to the same Publix store, which Fiona loved. There was one person who went out of his way to greet Fiona.
That was Gilnet.
Or “High Five,” as Fiona called him.
“From the moment I first brought her to the store, Gilnet was always excited to see her. I noticed her beginning to recognize him, and then eventually going out of her way to look for him,” Rachel Smith said. “One of their first interactions was him trying to teach her a high five. For a while, she couldn’t pick it up. But then one day, she figured it out. Then she started referring to him as ‘High Five.’ We’d show up at the store, and she’d sputter out an excited, ‘hi fi’ and tear off looking for him.”
She was still two years old at this time. And every time they’d go to Publix every week, Fiona would receive the same greeting from Gilnet.
Unquantifiable joy
Rachel said Gilnet’s greeting and friendship have given Fiona “unquantifiable joy.”
Their friendship reached a higher level when Gilnet surprised Fiona with a wonderful gift for her third birthday.
Gilnet lived in the same area they did and on her birthday, he delivered a big box especially for Fiona while explaining that he hoped he wasn’t overstepping.
“It was wrapped up in a box, so we didn’t have a clue what it was until they brought it over to my house on her birthday,” Rachel recalled. “[Fiona] eagerly ripped it open and realized it was her very first bicycle. She loved it so much and wanted to say thanks to him by giving him some pictures of her riding it.”
Fiona wanted to thank him with a card so she rushed to Publix with her mom to find him.
She had trouble finding him at first but when she did, she ran to give him the card and a big hug.
Rachel filmed the interaction and uploaded it on her TikTok account, where it went viral.
Giving and receiving
Rachel took this as an opportunity to give back to Gilnet.
“We need to pay it forward. We need to give gratitude,” Rachel told Inside Edition. “We need to become a culture of gratitude and thankfulness. And if people are compelled to give, then by all means.”
Rachel started a GoFundMe for Gilnet.
She started the online fundraiser so she can give something tangible to the man who has given her daughter so much joy.
And people were so inspired by Fiona and Gilnet’s friendship that they were able to raise $10,000 for him.
When they presented the check, Gilnet didn’t even read the amount on the check. He just swooped in and gave Fiona a hug because he was so happy.
See this special moment between Gilnet and Fiona in the video below!
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