'I believe in karma': Stranger pays couple's wedding anniversary bill

"It’s just nice to be nice."

That's what a good samaritan said on Monday after settling the bill for a couple celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary on Saturday evening.

"Trust me, I’m a firm believer in karma. My life is really blessed, so I’m sure in time when I need something, someone will help me," said "Fred" from Johannesburg, who wanted his surname to remain a secret.

Nerissa Card said she was celebrating her parents’ wedding anniversary at the Nottingham Road Hotel in the KZN Midlands on Saturday evening.

She went outside for a cigarette and met two women who were part of a big group sitting next to their table inside. They asked each other what they were celebrating. The big group were in town for the Midmar Mile open water swimming event that took place at Howick on Saturday and Sunday.

"Eventually their table got up to leave. On their way out, one of the men in the group stopped briefly, shook my father’s hand and congratulated him and my mother on their milestone," said Card.

"When it was time for us to leave, the waitress told us that our bill had been settled by the man who had greeted us.

"We were totally taken aback. Not wanting to bang on every door in the hotel to find him, we left our contact details with the waitress and asked her to pass them on."

Card later encountered someone else from the group and asked her who the man was. "She told me that his name was Fred and that he owned Fred’s Autobody in Jozi. Ironically, my father's name is also Fred."

When Card tried to reach Fred telephonically with the help of the woman, "he told her to tell me that there was no need to thank him and that I should just 'pay it forward' in my own way some day".

Fred said he has done similar good deeds before. "If someone is not asking for money, they’re just asking for help," he said. "You help them out, that’s all."