Steve was shocked when he saw a young girl who looked just like his late daughter at school. Little did he know, her mother would show up on his doorstep just days later.
Professor Palmer should have been in his classroom ten minutes ago.
The children tapped their feet excitedly under their desks. They were all ready for class, their drawing books already open to a new, blank page. Their brand-new pack of oil pastel crayons was almost lined up on one side, and each pencil had been perfectly sharpened.
The children all sat with their hands crossed, smiling at their best friends across the classroom, trying to hide their excitement.
Today was the first art class of the year, and they were eager to see what their favorite Professor, Palmer, would teach them.
"Where is Mr. Palmer?"
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Getty Images
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Getty Images
Meanwhile, dear Mr. Palmer was in the staffroom, sitting apart from the swarm of happily chatting teachers. It wasn't that he wanted to be alone. For the past two years, life had made him feel lonely.
He sat at his desk, thinking back to the day he lost his ability to feel joy.
He could smell his wife Sonia's hair as she slept next to him. He could see the patterns of sunlight slipping through the curtains and spilling onto the walls. He smelled the coffee maker and the bowl of freshly cut strawberries his daughter Mindy was enjoying. He could smell the sweetness of Sonia and Mindy's last kiss. He could hear the door close as they left for school and work, singing their favorite song.
Mr. Palmer, or Steve to his colleagues, would have given anything to see their faces and hear their ridiculous chants again. He would surrender to any God to stop the fatal car accident that morning. But most of all, he would have given anything to see the smiling face of his eight-year-old daughter, Mindy, again.
“Hello?” A little girl's voice brought him back to the present.
She waved to him from outside the staff room. And Steve saw his daughter's smile again.
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Getty Images
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Getty Images
“Mr. Palmer!”
Steve stared at him, too confused to answer.
“Mr. Palmer, hello! I'm Maggie Boone from Class 3A. It's art class now—aren't you coming?”
Regarding the teacher trying to recognize her, Maggie replied, “Oh, I’m the new student, Mr. Palmer. My new host family finally allowed me to join the school. Today is my first day!”
Steve realizes he hadn't smiled or responded to the child the entire time.
“Oh, hello…Mindy?”
“It’s Maggie.”
“Hello Maggie, welcome to school. Sure, let me get my books. I'll follow you.”
As Steve walked behind the happily skipping little girl, he wondered if he was dreaming.
The girl's resemblance to his late daughter was uncanny, but her name... Maggie... was a bigger shock.
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Getty Images
It's the name of another daughter Steve lost ten years earlier. Mindy and Maggie are the names Steve and Sonia chose when Sonia was pregnant with twins.
But as fate would have it, Mindy was born alive and well, while Maggie did not survive.
And even though the couple never got over losing Maggie, they turned all that pain into love and showered Mindy with it.
Even on the morning of Sonia and Mindy's accident, Sonia thought about her lost child. “Maggie would have been such a beautiful little girl, wouldn't she?”
Steve couldn't stop thinking about the girl he'd met. In many ways, she was like Mindy. And yet, she also seemed like the girl he never got to have.
Unknowingly, Steve and Maggie became close over the next few weeks. Steve discovered that Maggie had never known what a real home was. She had been placed in foster care before she could even remember.
“They're not really like Mom and Dad. I've never called anyone that.”
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“What about your biological parents?” Steve asked impulsively and immediately bit his tongue.
“They say my mom was lovely but very poor. She had to let me go because she couldn't buy me food or clothes. And I don't know anything about my dad. Maybe I don't have one at all,” Maggie said, covering her face and sobbing.
Steve knew what to do, but after all the despair that had struck his life, he was too afraid to hope.
Expecting the worst, he casually inquired about the possibility of adopting the child. His lawyer told him it would take a few weeks at most.
Yet there was one thing left to do.
During one of their leisurely, destinationless walks after school, Steve finally mustered up the courage to ask her.
“Maggie… do you feel safe and happy with me?”
Maggie nodded with a smile.
“Do you trust me?”
“I love you, Steve! Why do you ask?” Maggie was surprised by this sudden question.
“I was thinking… maybe… you’d like us to live together… permanently?”
Maggie almost tripped when she stopped.
“Like a family?”
“Like family!” Steve stares at her, ready to accept her answer, whatever it may be.
Maggie threw her little arms around him and said, “Yes! I would love that. I would love that, Daddy!”
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Steve melted and cried in the warmth of that familiar embrace. He knew that happiness was there to brighten his life once more.
Steve and Maggie became inseparable, like father and daughter. Maggie didn't want to miss a single opportunity to tell him how much she loved him, and Steve made important career decisions to be more present in his daughter's life.
Three years passed and, on a windy Sunday afternoon, while Maggie was napping, their happy home received an unexpected visitor.
Steve opened the door and wondered again if he was dreaming.
“Sonia…?”
It was as if his wife had come home from work on an ordinary day. The same golden hair, the same tired eyes, and the same subtle smile… How was this possible?
“Hi, Steve. I’m Sarah. I’m Maggie’s mom.”
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Getty Images
How does she know my name?
Still dazed by the woman's uncanny resemblance, Steve invited her in.
“I'm sorry, this is weird. You look a lot like my late wife.”
“Steve, there's something Sonia has been hiding from you. I'm her twin sister.”
“No, Sonia was an only child. She would have told me…”
“She didn't, and she had her reasons. I did a terrible thing. We grew up in an abusive home. We spent our childhoods supporting each other, cleaning up each other's wounds, and helping each other through dark times.
“And one day, when I was 17, I ran away from home. I didn't tell her what I had planned. It felt liberating for a while. But I knew I'd left her alone with our abusive parents.
“She never forgave me. I tried to find her and reached out to her several times over the years, but she never responded.
“And I was also struggling a lot. I wasn't prepared for the freedom I was suddenly exposed to. I fell in with the wrong crowd, and at 19, I was pregnant with a child whose father I didn't know for sure.
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“I had an underweight newborn, no milk to offer him, and I didn't have a single cent in my pocket to buy him food or clean diapers.
“So, I chose to leave Maggie at a daycare I found. I couldn't get out of there any faster.
“I left her there because I wanted to come back for her one day. Not as a poor, defeated girl, but as an independent woman who could afford everything her child would never need.”
“It took me 11 years. And now I'm here, unable to take my baby back. Not because I can't, but because I doubt I deserve his love more than you do.”
“You're her mother. You came back for her. You built yourself for her. Didn't you?” Steve asked Sarah. “Then you deserve her more than anyone.”
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As Sarah and Steve leaned on each other in silence, Maggie ran to her mom and dad. The three of them made a silent promise to each other: not to let their precious second chance at a family slip away.
What does this story teach us?
- Be mindful and kind to each other's pain. We all experience grief and loss differently. If we are kind to one another, we can find ways to ease life's pain. Steve and Maggie found family in each other primarily through their kindness. Steve's kindness made it possible for Sarah to have a family of her own.
- Life always gives you a second chance . Despite his grief, Steve was ready to receive the blessing of a second chance. Even Sarah was brave enough to show up at Steve's door and ask for a second chance at starting a family. Their conviction and willingness to work for it made it possible.
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This story is inspired by the daily lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to real names or places is purely coincidental. All images are used for illustrative purposes only. Share your story with us; it might change someone's life.