Salena's neighbor had been the first to approach her with a polite but heartfelt request. He explained the situation in a calm voice, saying, “Hey, I know you’re celebrating Halloween. My dad just got diagnosed with lung cancer, and he’s been struggling with the idea of things looking too spooky. He thinks some of your decorations are a little too scary for him, especially the graveyard scene.” He pointed toward the casket with a slight sigh, then gently added, “Would you mind taking just that out for now? It’s a lot for him to look at.”

Salena immediately understood the depth of the request. Not only did she empathize with her neighbor's father, who was clearly going through a difficult time, but she also knew that his garage—where he spent a lot of time—faced her front yard. The last thing she wanted was to add extra stress to someone already dealing with so much.

“I just wanted to do what was right,” Salena shared in a later interview. “When I heard about his cancer diagnosis, I couldn’t imagine what it must be like for him to look outside and see something that reminded him of death, especially when he's already fighting for his life.”

So, Salena made the decision to remove the casket. She also thought it might be fun to tweak the decorations a bit to make them more playful instead of grim. She gave the skeletons badminton rackets and moved the scarier parts of the display to her backyard, making sure the yard still felt festive, but a little less intimidating. "It wasn’t the end of the world for me to take it down," Salena wrote in the caption of her TikTok post. "But I knew it might make a difference for my neighbor's dad, and that's all that mattered.”

Although she felt a slight pang of sadness at first—after all, Halloween was her favorite time of year and those decorations had taken some effort to set up—she quickly realized that small acts of kindness, like this one, didn’t cost a thing. "It was a simple way to show compassion, and I figured it wouldn’t hurt me, but it could mean the world to him."

Her TikTok video, which showed the process of removing the casket and the playful changes to her yard, quickly went viral. People from all over praised Salena for her empathy and understanding, applauding her willingness to make a small sacrifice for someone else’s peace of mind.

"Now this is what being a good neighbor is all about," one comment read. "Kindness doesn’t cost anything, and it makes the world a better place. Thank you, Salena!"

Others shared similar sentiments, calling her actions beautiful and inspiring. "This was beautifully handled. The world needs more people like you!" one follower said. "God bless you for your kindness!"

Salena’s neighbor, too, was deeply appreciative. A few days after the decorations were adjusted, Salena brought over a heartfelt card and some balloons, as a small gesture of support. Though there was a language barrier between them, she could tell he was moved by the kindness. He smiled at her warmly, saying, "You’re good people." His words spoke volumes, and Salena felt that, in that moment, the small sacrifice she made had brought them closer as neighbors and human beings.

It wasn’t just the decorations that had changed, but the connection between two people who had only known each other from a distance before. In the end, it was a reminder that even in small, everyday acts, we have the power to make a difference in each other's lives.