It could have been the worst moment of Alan Applonie’s stay in Montreal. Instead, it became a lasting memory about goodwill in the big city.

Applonie was returning home from dinner, worrying about the early morning flight set to take him back to his West Coast home in California. In the end, Applonie caught his flight home with all his faculties in place—except for one crucial piece of luggage: his brand new, unlocked iPhone 7.

“I assumed I would never see it again,” Applonie told CTV News from his home in Tracy, California.

Little did he know that thanks to one inconspicuous Montreal cabbie, the trip would take an unexpectedly selfless turn.

“I walk in my door in California. My son says ‘hey Dad, Grandma called and some guy from Montreal says he has your phone,’” Applonie said. “I was like: really? Wow.”

Days later, the phone arrived by mail at Applonie’s home, some 3000 miles from where it was lost. But it doesn’t stop there: the cab driver covered the shipping expenses himself.

The driver, who only wanted to be called Hassan, explained that his decision to return the phone was, in reality, a simple one.

“To be honest, everyone has that temptation: you want a new iPhone, right?” Hassan said. “It would have been a burden on myself if I hadn’t returned it to its rightful owner.

Montreal taxi drivers said that while they routinely find lost items in their cars -- bags, purses, ID – cell phones seem to be the most easily misplaced of a passenger’s belongings.

Hassan, who declined to appear on camera, has yet to accept a reward that Applonie has enthusiastically extended – a $500 donation to a charity of his choice.

Instead, he explains that he prefers to show that people can still be kind to one another.

“He said ‘[this is] my gift to you.’ I’m a complete stranger—it was totally unexpected,” Applonie said.