Flight attendant Leslie was scared stiff when she heard a strange noise coming from the toilet during an international flight. Little did she know, the child inside would change her life forever.
Leslie rubbed her temple with one hand as she walked toward the plane. A throbbing headache reminded her of the night she’d spent partying at one of Atlanta’s hottest clubs.
“Amy!” Leslie called to her fellow flight attendant. “Tell me you have headache pills.”
Amy looked at Leslie and rolled her eyes. “Of course I do, but you should know better than to party the night before a flight.”
“What else am I supposed to do, visit museums?” Leslie sighed. “At least partying keeps me distracted.”
Amy gave Leslie a friendly handshake and the two women boarded the plane together.
“One day everything will be better for you, Leslie,” Amy said. “You just have to have faith.”
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Leslie and Amy immediately set to work preparing for passenger boarding, then conducting the safety demonstration and ensuring all passengers were settled. After that, Leslie went to the galley and took her headache pills.
“I wonder if Amy would be okay with me lying down in the break room for a bit,” Leslie said. She was about to speak to her colleague when a strange noise stopped her in her tracks.
Leslie paused to listen. A moment later, she realized she must have been daydreaming. Maybe Amy was right about partying too hard. She’d already planned to hit several clubs when they got to LA, but maybe she should calm down and skip a few.
As Leslie walked past the bathroom door, she heard another high-pitched meow. There was no way there was a cat on the plane, so it had to be a child crying.
Amy knocked on the bathroom door. When no one answered, she opened the door and peered inside. A second later, she screamed.
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Soon after, Leslie realized that the noise that had frightened her was a young boy. He was crying and looking at her with tear-filled eyes.
“Don’t ever do that again!” Leslie told the boy who surprised her.
“What are you doing here?”
The boy huddled against her knees and began to cry again. After recovering from the shock, Leslie took pity on the boy. She then crouched down in front of him.
“I’m sorry I yelled,” said Leslie. “You scared me. My name is Leslie, what’s your name?”
The boy replied, “My name is Ben.”
Leslie helped the boy up. She let him sit in one of the crew seats while she looked for his name on the passenger list. This was probably the boy’s first time on a plane, and he didn’t seem to be enjoying it.
Leslie frowned. She checked the passenger list again, but the boy’s name wasn’t there!
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It had been far too long since Leslie had had to comfort a child. The thought made her want to go home, but now wasn’t the time. She sat down next to Ben and placed her hand on his arm.
“Well, honey, are you lost? I could help you if you told me where to find your family.”
Ben let out a sob. He was clutching a paper bag to his chest, and Leslie noticed. It put her on edge because of all the horror stories she’d heard about substances brought on airplanes.
“What’s in this bag, Ben?” asked Leslie.
“It’s Grandma’s medicine,” the boy replied. “She’ll die without it, and it will be my fault!”
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Over the next few hours, Leslie interrogated the boy to tell the whole story. He did. According to his account, Ben was the youngest in a large family. While his older brothers spent most of their time playing sports and fighting, Ben dreamed of becoming a scientist.
His mother didn’t appreciate the consequences of Ben’s quest to discover a cure for all diseases. He had hoped she would be proud of him and hug him, but instead, she made him sit in a corner.
“I just want her to look at me with the same love and pride she gives my older brothers when they succeed.”
Ben sobbed. “That’s why I stole my grandmother’s medicine bag.”
When Ben’s grandmother fell ill, the family decided to visit her in Seattle and bring her medicine. Ben had been separated from his family at the airport. He eventually found his mother and followed her on the plane.
“But she wasn’t my mom,” Ben lamented. “And now I’m on the wrong plane. I wanted to be the hero who gave Grandma her medicine, but now I’m the villain. She’s going to die because of me.”
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Leslie alerted the proper authorities when the plane landed in Los Angeles. She felt terrible for Ben, but was ready to move on. So, when she discovered the airline’s arrangements for Ben, Leslie was shocked.
She stared at the boy she was now forced to take care of and share her hotel room with. She had made a list of clubs to visit in Los Angeles, but now she had to babysit.
“This is the best gift I’ve ever received. I just hope it’s enough.”
She sent several text messages to Amy and her other coworker, Brandon, but neither was willing to babysit Ben. She even considered looking for a babysitter, but realized she couldn’t afford it. She needed to save as much as possible to send Ben home.
The couple were silently eating a pizza Leslie had ordered for dinner when her phone rang. She answered it and her stomach lurched when she heard the caller’s voice.
“Is my baby sick?” Leslie asked. “What happened, Mom? Joe was fine the last time we spoke. Have you taken him to a doctor?”
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“Yes,” Leslie’s mother replied.
“And she sent us to see a specialist. We made an appointment later this week. They talked about a genetic disorder, and they might need you to come in for some tests too since you’re her mother.”
“Whatever it takes, as long as my Joe gets better,” Leslie replied.
When she ended the call, Leslie curled up in a ball and cried. She wished with all her heart that she could hold her son, feel his soft, curly hair, and tell him everything would be okay.
Unfortunately, Joe was far away. Her flight schedule hadn’t taken her home in over a month. No matter how hard she tried to forget the loss of her son by partying and getting drunk, nothing could stop her heart from aching.
“Miss Leslie?” Ben walked over and placed his hand on her arm. “I think you should have this for your Joe.”
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Leslie felt another wave of tears rise as she looked at the bag of medicine Ben offered her.
“If I can’t save my grandmother, I can at least help you,” Ben said. “Take them so he can get healthy again.”
“I have a better idea.” Leslie started typing on her phone. “I’m going to take you to your grandmother’s in Seattle, Ben. Then I’ll go back to Missoula to see my son.”
Leslie booked a plane ticket for Ben at her own expense. She then took time off and arranged to accompany Ben on his flight while she was on her way home.
“I’m scared,” Ben said as he boarded the plane with Leslie. “What if Grandma is already dead because of my mistake? Mom will never love me again.”
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Leslie ruffled the boy’s hair.
“Your mother has always loved you, Ben, and she always will. That’s what parents do. I’m sure she’s very worried and will be happy to see you safe.”
Ben found it hard to believe Leslie, even when his entire family rushed to hug him when they arrived in Seattle. Leslie watched Ben’s mother smother him with kisses and vowed never to ignore her again.
Unfortunately, Leslie’s reunion with her family was less joyful. She was shocked to see how pale and thin Joe had become since she last saw him. He looked so fragile in her arms.
Leslie spent the night talking to her mother and going over the various tests the doctors had run on Joe. She felt sad, helpless, and incredibly guilty.
When she finally retired, Leslie slipped into Joe’s room and snuggled up to him. She buried her face in his soft, coconut-scented hair and promised him, herself, and God that she would do everything possible to restore her son to health and happiness.
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As the days passed, Joe’s condition didn’t improve much. The specialist couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him. And he seemed to be getting weaker by the day.
Leslie asked for additional vacation days, but the airline wasn’t very understanding. They refused to pay for her vacation time, even though Joe was sick.
After another week of caring for Joe and paying for doctor visits, money was running low. Leslie’s mother receives alimony and had always relied on Leslie to support Joe while she cared for the child. Now the two women had to find a solution.
“Maybe I could try to get a job here,” Leslie said, “maybe one that pays better.”
Leslie’s mother shrugged, “Anyway, it’s worth looking.” “If necessary, I could sell the house.”
At that moment, someone knocked on the door, and that changed everything.
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Leslie opened the door to find a familiar face looking at her.
“Well?” She then saw that his family, whom she had seen at the airport, was with him. “What’s going on?”
“I have something for you and Joe.” Ben presented an envelope to Leslie.
Leslie opened it. Inside was a check. When Leslie saw the amount, her jaw dropped.
“What is this? I can’t accept it,” she stammers.
“That’s over a hundred thousand dollars!”
“We want you to have it.” Ben’s mother stepped forward. “We started a crowdfunding campaign for my mother’s treatment, but she…” The woman brought her hand to her mouth. “She passed away a few days ago.”
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Ben’s father stepped forward and hugged his wife as she burst into tears.
“We decided together to give you the money, for Joe,” Ben continued.
“We also communicated what we intended to do as part of the crowdfunding campaign,” added Ben’s father, “so everything is in order.”
Leslie clutched the check to her chest as tears welled up in her eyes. “Thank you all so much,” she said, sobbing. “This is the greatest gift I’ve ever received. I just hope it’s enough.”
Ben squeezed Leslie’s legs. “That’ll be enough, I’m sure! And when Joe gets better one day, I’ll come back here to play with him.”
Leslie smiled and ruffled the boy’s hair. “You’ll always be welcome here, Ben.”
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The check was almost exactly what Leslie needed. After extensive treatment, Joe was back to his old self a month later.
Watching him play with the neighbor’s dog on the lawn, Leslie struggled to remember a time when he wasn’t strong and full of laughter.
“And it’s thanks to Ben,” she whispered.
The familiar sound of a plane passing overhead drew Leslie’s gaze skyward. She would have to return to work soon. Besides, she had just found the perfect way to thank Ben’s family for their generosity.
She took out her phone and started making calls. The next day, she called Ben’s mother to tell her that the airline was offering her family a generous discount on all flights for the rest of their lives.
What can we learn from this story?
- All children need attention . Ben was desperate to win his mother’s affection, so he acted recklessly. If she had realized her son was feeling neglected, she could have taken action sooner to ensure he always felt loved.
- Emotional pain can only be contained for so long. Instead of suppressing the pain of losing her family by partying and engaging in destructive behavior, Leslie could have found a healthier way to cope.
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