They left and never returned

The Little Girl and Teddy Bear Stitch

How would you accept life and how would you feel, when the ones you wait for, no longer come back?

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The toy store lit up her face

Not long ago, I went to visit the daughter of a friend of mine, who had just given birth to a baby girl. But as I am in the habit, I would never go to a house where there are children without bringing them something sweet and a toy. First of all, I stopped by a store in the toy section. Wandering around the store, I was trying to find a suitable toy for my friend’s granddaughter, thinking what she might like. As I was trying to decide on the toy, suddenly, out of the corner of my eye I saw a little girl about 5–6 years old holding a stuffed animal in her arms. She was always stroking it and hugging it carefully against her chest as if it was something so important that she didn’t want it to get lost or for someone to take it away from her. Looking deeply at her I wondered who this stuffed toy could be for.

At one point, the girl turned to a lady sitting next to her and in a very soft but humble voice, asked her:

— Aunt, are you sure I don’t have enough money to buy this stuffed animal?

— Obviously, I’ve already told you that with the money you have, it won’t be enough to buy it! The woman answered in a harsh voice, losing her patience a little as if she didn’t care if the girl’s wish was important.

I couldn’t believe what I saw and heard! I was shocked when I saw the attitude of this adult towards a child. I think there are many ways to act…

After a few minutes, her aunt asked her to sit there and wait for her. Then the woman left in a hurry, and the little girl stayed there, holding the stuffed animal in her hands. At that moment, without thinking more, I walked towards the little girl. I asked her to whom she wanted to give the stuffed animal.

The little girl looked at me for a long time… and finally, she replied:

—This stuffed animal was what my dear brother wanted for Christmas, more than anything else in the world. We are sure that Santa Claus would have brought it to him!

I told her that maybe Santa had already brought it, but the little girl said to me in a very muffled voice and with a lot of pain:

— No! Santa Claus can’t go where my little brother is now! I have to give this stuffed animal to my mother, who will take it to my brother immediately!

As she spoke to me, her voice trembled and her eyes filled with tears.

Suddenly, she held her breath and a couple of tears fell down her cheeks, drowning for a few minutes in silence. And then she continued…

— My brother has gone to meet God! My father says that my mother is also going to meet Lord Jesus Christ, in a very short time. So I thought that my mother could take this stuffed animal that my brother wanted to name Stitch.

I was crying inside and my heart seemed to have stopped.

Then the little girl who had her gaze fixed downward lifted it up, looked at me, and said:

— I asked Daddy to tell Mommy to please not leave right away but to wait for me until I come back from the toy store.

Then she showed me a picture where she was with another stuffed animal in her arms and said:

— I want my mother to take this picture with her, so she won’t forget me! I love my mother so much, I love her with all my heart and I don’t want her to leave me, but my father told me that she must go with my brother.

Then, the girl lowered her gaze, very saddened and distressed, and kept silent.

At that moment I saw an opportunity to help the girl, I took some money out of my purse and asked her:

— Do you want us to count the money together one more time, to be sure how much there is?

— Okay, I agree, but for what I want to buy I need more money and I don’t have that much! And just so you know, my aunt told me the same thing!

Without the girl noticing, I secretly put some money between hers and we started counting. After counting the money between the two of us, there was more than she needed. Then I heard the girl whisper:

Thank you, my Lord, thank you dear Lord Jesus for giving me enough money!

I saw her face light up, and looking at me, she said:

— I asked my Lord Jesus to do something so that I would have enough money to buy a stuffed animal for my mother to take to my little brother. Now I see that HE heard my prayer. In my heart, I would have liked to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mother, but I didn’t dare to ask for it. But, you see, HE gave me enough money for both, the stuffed animal and a white rose. Now, you know: my mother likes white roses a lot!

After finishing this conversation, a few minutes passed, and her aunt returned. Then I walked away with my cart to continue shopping. I finished my shopping with a very strange feeling, very different from the one I started with. Then I went home, but I couldn’t get the girl’s face out of my mind.

White roses and a heart broken into a thousand pieces

In the evening, at dinner time, I turned on the TV to listen to the news. Not more than five minutes later, very sad news was announced: a few days ago a drunk driver jumped the traffic light and crashed into a cab, in which a young woman with a child had just got in. The child died on the spot, and the mother was seriously injured and was admitted to the ICU.

I wondered: could it be the family of the little girl with the stuffed animal?

Three days later they announced on the TV news that the young woman who was in the ICU had passed away. I became very sad.

Then I couldn’t help but go buy a bouquet of white roses and take them to the cemetery where her lifeless body rested. There I found the grave of the little girl’s mother. On the cross hung a stuffed animal …. a white rose and a picture of the little girl from the toy store.

I came out of there crying and shattered. I felt that my life had changed forever and my heart had been broken into a thousand pieces………

I have realized that the love of that little girl for her mother and her little brother was so, so great, but in the blink of an eye, a drunk driver took them so far away …. so far away… that the sweet and sad look of the little girl I found in the toy store will never see them again…

Dear drivers, I urge you, if you don’t care about your own life while driving under the influence of alcohol, at least think about other people’s lives!

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