Here’s an interesting story from South Africa. Two complete strangers have formed a strong bond because of a missing diamond ring.

Rene Walters lost her wedding ring at the Centurion Mall. She quickly gave up hope of recovering the precious gem which she had for 18 years.

However, by sheer good fortune, she received a phone call from Johanna Nantsho, who had found the ring.

Nantsho found Walters’ ring after she spotted notices at the mall's toilet doors offering a reward to whoever had the ring.

Johanna was not even meant to be at the mall that day, but a last-minute phone call from her daughter asking her to buy some items prompted her to go.

“We usually get taxis from Centurion when it is late, and that day I was not even meant to go inside the mall. I decided to use a toilet while I was there and I found a diamond ring on the floor. There was a cleaner inside the toilet but I was reluctant to give her the ring, so I kept it and hoped that somehow I would eventually find the owner. It was only on the next Friday when I went to the mall again that I saw notices with the phone numbers of the woman who had lost her ring,” said Nantsho.

She said some of her colleagues told her to keep the ring for herself or to sell it, but she refused.

“My four-year-old son fell in love with the ring and wanted to keep it for himself. I actually tried it on but it did not suit me. Besides, in principle it was not good to keep the ring because it was not mine and I knew that someone out there was crying because it had been lost,” she said.

An ecstatic Walters said she was hopeful that there were people like Nantsho out there since she had given up all hope of recovering the ring.

“I figured that the ring might have fallen when I washed my hands in the basin but we searched everywhere in any case. I cannot explain how relieved and happy I was when Nantsho called me. I have owned this ring for 18 years and to part with it broke my heart. I am relieved that the loss was only temporary," she exclaimed.

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