My mother and I had a tiny tradition of eating breakfast together, which helped to keep our small world constant.
I never knew my father. He’d abandoned my mother when she told him she was pregnant. So my mother was as lonely as I was, so we agreed to live together.
That morning, as I walked down the sidewalk, my sneaker scuffed against something hard. I looked down and saw it—a phone with its screen shattered like a spiderweb, lying in the grass beside the curb.
I flipped it over in my hand and saw an intriguing challenge. “Maybe I can fix it,” I mumbled.
By the time I got home, I pulled out my own and removed its SIM card.
I cautiously slipped it into my backup phone and turned it on. A list of contacts emerged. The majority were hospitals, schools, and emergency services. Only one number was marked as a favorite: “Daughter.”
On instinct, I dialed the number. It rang once. Then twice.
A little, enthusiastic voice ultimately responded. “Mom?!”
“I—no, I’m not your mom. I’m sorry for calling,”
“Where is she?” Her voice wavered slightly.
“Julie. My mom went to the store yesterday and didn’t come back,” she revealed, her voice cracking with emotion.
“I don’t have a dad,” she said softly. “Or a grandma. Just Mom.”
“Okay, Julie, are you okay? Are you alone right now?”
“Yes, I’m okay and alone,” she whispered. “But my legs don’t work. I can’t leave.”
“Julie, listen carefully. My name is Alan, and I’m coming to get you. I’ll be there soon, okay?”
We took a taxi and arrived at the apartment complex in less than 15 minutes.
It was a run-down building with flickering hallway lights and late bills crammed into mailboxes.
I held my breath as I knocked on Apartment Eighteen.
“It’s Alan,” I said. “I spoke to you on the phone.”
She replied, “The door’s open. Come in.”
A little and weak little girl, no older than six or seven, looked up at me from her wheelchair in the makeshift living room. Her hair was disheveled, her face pallid and forlorn, and she stared at me with tired, wide eyes.
“Will you find my mom?” she asked, her voice trembling, tears in her eyes.
“We will, I promise. But first, let’s make sure you’re okay. Do you have food?”
She shook her head. “I ate a sandwich yesterday. That was the last one.”
“Julie, what’s your mom’s name?”
“Victoria,” she said softly. “She never leaves me alone this long.”
That exacerbated my worry.
I recognized this was not a straightforward matter. Something was horribly wrong. Julie’s mother had gone missing, leaving her alone in a wheelchair, unable to move properly, with no one to rely on.
When I returned, my mother promptly prepared supper for the little girl, who ate it eagerly as we sat together. I knew we couldn’t waste time. We needed to find Victoria as quickly as possible.
I pulled out my phone and checked online for news updates, and my stomach fell when I discovered that a woman had been hit by a Ford on Parkova Street yesterday. She was in critical condition at a nearby hospital.
My mother and I felt it would be best to drop Julie off at our apartment while we went to see if the patient at the hospital was actually her mother.
When Helen and I arrived at the hospital, I explained everything to the personnel.
The nurse returned with an optimistic smile. “She’s willing to see you, but please don’t take too long. She needs her rest.”
We entered her room warily.
“My name is Alan, and this is my mother, Helen,” I said gently. “I found your phone, and I spoke to Julie. She’s waiting for you.”
“I was hit on my way to get medicine for Julie. She has a condition… I’ve been trying to save up for surgery, but it’s impossible.”
“I couldn’t afford a car, so I walked everywhere. Last night, I was hurrying home when the accident happened.”
I made a decision right then. “I’ll help you. Julie deserves a chance.”
I contacted several others, and with the help of contributions and a professional, we were able to arrange for Julie to have surgery.
Months later, I watched Julie take her first steps.
We became more than strangers who had crossed paths. Eventually, our relationship evolved into something more.
I had never planned to have a family, but now that I was standing beside the woman I had fallen in love with and married, as well as the little child I had rescued and adopted, I knew I had found one.
