3 Amazing Stories of Instant Karma Spotted in Real Life

Instant karma doesn’t wait for the guilty to escape unscathed. These three stories show how people who thought they could get away with wrongdoing were served poetic justice on the spot.

In a world where bad behavior often seems to go unchecked, there are moments when karma strikes swiftly and undeniably.

These three stories highlight instances where dishonesty, arrogance, and judgment were met with immediate consequences, proving that sometimes justice doesn’t wait for the courts.

For illustration purposes only | Source: Midjourney

1. My Manager Forced Me to Serve Leftovers to a Foreign Customer, but Life Taught Him a Lesson Immediately

The dinner rush at Sizzling Steak was in full swing, and I was rushing between tables, trying to keep up.

Being a new hire, I was still finding my rhythm. That’s when I noticed a middle-aged man in a kimono and overcoat walk in. He smiled warmly as I approached.

“Steak, with rice… rice bowl!” he said in broken English, pointing to the menu.

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He seemed nice, but I had to tell him we didn’t serve rice.

“Fries instead?” I suggested, and he nodded happily.

I took his order and walked back to the counter. I found a half-eaten cold steak over there, so I quickly picked it up to throw it.

But my manager, Andy, stopped me.

“Why waste good food?” he said, grabbing the plate. “Serve it to him.”

I was horrified.

“We can’t do that! It’s cold and it’s been eaten!” I protested.

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But Andy waved me off, laughing.

“He’s just a tourist. He won’t know the difference,” he said, smirking.

I knew it was wrong, but I felt trapped. I was afraid of losing my job.

I reluctantly served the cold steak to the man, whose name I later learned was Higashi.

“This isn’t what I ordered,” he said, pointing to the plate.

I tried to explain, but Andy stepped in.

“Hold on a second, Jackie Chan,” he barked at Higashi. “This is your order, right? Eat it!”

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Higashi had no idea what was going on. Feeling confused, he stood up to leave.

That’s when a wad of cash fell from his wallet. He had hundreds of dollars in there.

I could see how Andy’s eyes lit up and he was suddenly smiling. I watched as he quickly apologized to Higashi and promised him a “luxurious experience.”

He even shoved a $100 bill into my hand to make me go along with his scheme.

In no time, Andy replaced the cold steak with a fancy meal of grilled salmon, teriyaki chicken, and sake.

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“It’s on the house!” he exclaimed, but his fake hospitality couldn’t hide his greed.

“Free?” Higashi asked.

“Absolutely!” Andy boomed. “Not a penny out of your pocket, my friend.”

As Andy grabbed a delicate sake cup to pour, his hand twitched, sending a splash of rice wine spraying across Higashi’s pristine overcoat.

Andy immediately apologized and grabbed the opportunity to take the man’s expensive coat to “clean it.”

Higashi looked uneasy, but Andy took the coat anyway.

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I followed Andy into the back room, and what I saw made my heart skip a beat. Andy was emptying the coat’s pockets, pulling out wads of cash.

“What are you doing?” I confronted him. “You can’t steal his money!”

“He’ll never know,” Andy said, trying to convince me to take the money.

I couldn’t let him do this. I took the money from him, pretending to go along with it, but my plan was to return it to Higashi.

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I waited for Andy to get busy so I could open his locker and take out all the money. I quickly hid all the cash in my pockets and walked out of the back room.

Once I was sure Andy wasn’t around, I rushed to Higashi’s table and handed him the cash.

“This is your money,” I said, trying to make him understand.

At first, he seemed confused, but then I used a translator app to explain everything. His face changed as he realized what had happened.

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Just then, a police officer walked into the restaurant, with Andy grinning beside him.

“They stole my money!” Andy claimed, showing the CCTV footage of the time I took out money from his locker.

It made me look like I was the thief, and I had no idea how to defend myself.

But before I could say anything, Higashi spoke up. In perfect English.

“Actually, officer, it’s Andy who stole my money,” Higashi said calmly.

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He pulled out a business card and revealed that he was a journalist, here to write about the restaurant.

The best part was that he had marked the bills with a special chemical that turned blue when it came in contact with water. The officers immersed the bills in water, and the blue marks proved they belonged to him.

I still remember how Andy’s face went pale when the officer handcuffed him. He kept apologizing but it was too late.

Karma had already intervened.

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2. I Mocked a Poor Heavy Woman on a Plane Until I Heard the Captain Speak to Her

From the moment I saw the woman sitting next to me, I knew it was going to be an uncomfortable flight that would have me cramped in my spacious first-class seat.

As she looked for the seatbelt to buckle up, her elbow jabbed at my side.

“Watch it!” I snapped.

“I-I’m so sorry,” she said, looking flustered.

But I wasn’t in a forgiving mood.

“Excuse you? Or excuse the 3,000 doughnuts you ate to get to that size?” I sneered.

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The shock in her eyes only encouraged me to keep going.

“Lady, when you travel, you need to book two seats!”

I could see the tears welling up in her eyes as she turned away, but I wasn’t done. Her cheap clothes and worn shoes annoyed me, and I mocked her for probably spending her entire budget on food instead of an extra seat.

When the flight attendant arrived with the drinks cart, I decided to keep the mood light.

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“Shaken, not stirred!” I joked in my best James Bond voice, then added, “I don’t know what Moby Dick here will drink…”

The flight attendant shot me a disapproving glance and addressed the woman politely, asking if she’d like anything.

“A diet Coke, please,” she whispered, wiping tears off her cheeks.

“A diet Coke?” I scoffed. “Seems a bit late for that, don’t you think?”

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The woman turned to face the window, and the flight attendant ignored me. At that point, I figured I had upset them both enough to feel satisfied.

Dinner was served soon after, and I couldn’t resist another jab.

“Are you sure that will be enough for her?” I asked. “It looks like she’d need a whole village to feed!”

The flight attendant ignored me once again, and I continued eating my meal.

Just when I thought the flight couldn’t get any more frustrating, the flight attendant returned, but this time with a smile.