It’s often said that curiosity is a bad thing, but in my situation, it helped a desperate family find the help they needed for a long time. My curiosity, the day I found that broken phone, also led me to a happy life I never imagined.
It was a crisp morning when I left my house, the autumn air refreshing my face. My mother, Helen, had already prepared breakfast, and like every morning, I went to the bakery to buy her some fresh rolls. Little did I know that this day would be eventful for both of us.
A man and his mother | Source: Midjourney
It was a small tradition between my mother and me to have breakfast together, which gave our little world a sense of stability. You’re probably wondering why a successful 30-year-old man still lives with his mother.
Actually, I never knew my father. He had abandoned my mother when she told him she was pregnant. So my mother was just as lonely as I was, and to avoid that, we decided to live together.
A man living with his mother | Source: Midjourney
What about my love life, you ask? Well, I’m not exactly a social butterfly—never have been. My lack of conventional beauty also made dating difficult, and I’d long since given up trying. Instead, I devoted myself to my programming work, spending my days coding and my nights tinkering with things.
That morning, as I was walking along the sidewalk, my sneaker hit something hard. I looked down and saw it. It was a phone, its screen shattered like a spider’s web.
A broken phone | Source: Midjourney
Piqued by curiosity, I picked it up. The case was dented, the back partially detached, as if it had been run over by a car. It wasn’t a model worth much—an old touch-tone phone, the kind you only see in the hands of those who can’t afford anything better.
I turned it over and thought, “Maybe I can fix it.”
I slipped it into my pocket and continued to the bakery, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the phone. It wasn’t just the damage, it was the way it lay there, abandoned, as if someone had disposed of it in a hurry.
A man in a bakery | Source: Midjourney
When I got home, I had forgotten the broken phone in my pocket. My mother and I ate the delicious breakfast she had prepared before setting about our Saturday. Remembering the broken phone, I took mine out and removed its SIM card.
If the old phone was dead, maybe the SIM card inside still worked, I thought. I carefully slipped it into my backup phone and started it up. A list of contacts appeared. Most were hospitals, schools, and emergency services. Only one number was marked as a favorite: “My daughter.”
A man looking at his phone | Source: Midjourney
Something tightened in my chest. Who had lost this phone? And why did it seem like the only person who truly mattered to them was this “Girl”? Driven by an impulse, I dialed the number. One ring. Then another.
A small, excited voice finally answered. “Mom?!”
I gasped. “I… no, I’m not your mother. I’m sorry I called,” I quickly replied, ready to let the call go, but the next thing the little girl said made me think.
“Where is she?” His voice wavered slightly.
A worried man on a call | Source: Midjourney
“Um, I’m sorry, but I don’t know,” I admitted. “I found this broken phone and used its SIM card. Who are you?” I asked curiously, sensing something was wrong.
The girl hesitated. “Julie. My mom went to the store yesterday and didn’t come back,” she revealed, her voice cracking with emotion.
A cold feeling spread through me. “Julie, where is your father, your grandmother, or someone I can talk to?”
“I don’t have a father,” she said softly. “Nor a grandmother. Just Mom.”
I swallowed. “Do you know where you live?”
“Independence Street. Building 7, Apartment 18.”
A dilapidated apartment building | Source: Midjourney
My hands gripped the phone tighter. “Julie, are you okay? Are you alone right now?”
“Yes, I’m fine and I’m alone,” she whispered. “But my legs don’t work. I can’t leave.”
I stood up abruptly. “Your legs, what do you mean?”
“I have a wheelchair,” she said simply. “But it’s difficult to move around without someone to help me. I’m scared.”
I didn’t hesitate, because my protective instincts kicked in. “Julie, listen carefully. My name is Alan and I’m coming to get you. I’ll be there soon, okay?”
“Okay,” she replied weakly before I dropped the phone.
A little girl on a call | Source: Midjourney
My mother, who had been listening, immediately grabbed her coat. “You won’t go alone,” she said firmly. “If there’s a child in trouble, we must help them.”
This wasn’t how I’d imagined spending my weekend, but I felt like it was the right thing to do. Finding that phone when I did was like fate. We took a cab and arrived at the apartment complex in less than fifteen minutes.
It was a dilapidated building, with flickering lights in the hallways and mailboxes full of overdue bills.
I held my breath as I knocked on Apartment 18, unsure of what I would find.
A man about to knock on a door | Source: Midjourney
A soft, hesitant voice came through the door. “Who is it?”
“It’s Alan,” I said. “I spoke to you on the phone.”
She replied, “The door is open. Come in.”
The door creaked as I pushed it open a few inches. A tiny, frail little girl, no more than six or seven years old, looked up at me from a wheelchair in the makeshift living room. Her hair was disheveled, her face pale and full of sadness, and she looked at me with tired, wide eyes.
My heart sank.
A frail and sad young girl | Source: Midjourney
“Are you going to find my mom?” she asked, her voice trembling, tears in her eyes.
At that moment, I understood that the journey ahead would uncover truths I wasn’t ready to face, but it was too late to turn back now.
So I knelt down in front of her and said, “We will, I promise. But first, let’s make sure you’re okay. Do you have any food?”
She shook her head. “I ate a sandwich yesterday. It was the last one.”
“I’ll go get something in a moment,” I comforted her.
Taking a breath of resignation, I asked, “Julie, what’s your mother’s name?”
“Victoria,” she said softly. “She never leaves me alone for that long.”
This only made my anxiety worse.
An anxious man | Source: Midjourney
“She’s the best mom and usually comes back when she goes out shopping, but this time she didn’t. I tried calling her, but her number didn’t work. None of the neighbors came to see how I was because people around here keep to themselves,” the little girl confessed.
My heart sank. I realized this wasn’t just any case. Something was wrong. Julie’s mother was gone, and now she was alone, in a wheelchair, unable to move properly, with no one to rely on.
A sad little girl in a wheelchair | Source: Midjourney
But we were here now, so I said, “I’m going to get some food. My mom, Helen, is going to stay here with you, okay?”
“Okay,” Julie replied.
When I returned, my mother quickly prepared some food for the little girl, who gobbled it up greedily while we sat together. I knew we couldn’t waste any time. We had to find Victoria as quickly as possible.
I pulled out my phone and did an online search, checking news reports, and my stomach dropped when I found it: A woman had been hit by a Ford yesterday on Parkova Street. She was in critical condition at the local hospital.
A woman in a hospital | Source: Midjourney
I called immediately but had to ring more than once to get through to the busy line.
“Yes,” confirmed the nurse who answered after I explained who I was and that I was accompanying Victoria’s worried daughter. “She was admitted yesterday. She’s stable now but unconscious. We haven’t been able to reach any family.”
My chest tightened. “I’m coming,” I said, not bothering to wait for a response.
My mother and I decided it would be best to drop Julie off at our apartment while we went to confirm whether the patient at the hospital was indeed her mother.
A beautiful apartment building | Source: Midjourney
We had to reassure Julie that she was safe with our friendly neighbor, Maureen, who happily offered to look after her while we were away.
When Helen and I arrived at the hospital, I explained everything to the staff. The nurse hesitated but finally said, “She’s just regained consciousness. She’s very weak and her condition is still quite serious, but I’m going to try to talk to her. Maybe she’ll want to see you.”
When the nurse returned, she had a hopeful smile. “She’s ready to see you, but please don’t be too long. She needs to rest.”
A happy nurse | Source: Midjourney
We entered her room cautiously. Victoria was pale, her face covered in bruises. Her eyes opened as I approached.
“Who…?” she whispered.
“My name is Alan, and this is my mother, Helen,” I said softly. “I found your phone and spoke to Julie. She’s waiting for you.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. “Julie… is she okay?!”
I nodded. “She’s scared, but she’s fine. She was waiting for you to come home.”
Victoria turned away, guilt written all over her face. “I never wanted this.”
A distraught woman | Source: Midjourney
I took a chair. “Victoria, what happened?”
She swallowed. “I was knocked down while I was getting medicine for Julie. She has an illness… I tried to save up for an operation, but it’s impossible. I have no family. I was adopted as a child—no parents, no safety net. I’m an orphan. For as long as I can remember, it’s just Julie and me.”
My heart ached for her.
“We weren’t meant to be in this situation. After divorcing Julie’s abusive father, I was left with nothing, and I’ve struggled ever since. My ex-husband and his family wouldn’t help me, and I didn’t know where to turn.”
A mean-looking man | Source: Midjourney
She continued, her voice trembling. “I never wanted Julie to feel abandoned, but I was too afraid to reach out for help. I thought if I kept quiet about our situation, maybe no one would find out how much I had failed as a parent.”
“I couldn’t afford a car, so I walked everywhere. Last night, I was rushing home when the accident happened. I was so scared when I came to, not for myself, but because I knew Julie was alone,” she revealed.
A distraught woman | Source: Midjourney
I exhaled, gripping the arms of my chair. “You’re not alone anymore.”
His gaze lifted, wary but hopeful.
I made a decision at that moment. “I’m going to help you. Julie deserves a chance.”
I contacted a few people, and with the help of donations and a specialist, we arranged for Julie to have the operation. The process was long, but it changed everything.
A little girl ready to undergo surgery | Source: Midjourney
Months later, I saw Julie take her first steps. She was wobbly and clinging to my hand, but she was walking! Victoria, who had made a full recovery, stood beside me, tears streaming down her face. She turned to me, her voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
“You don’t have to do it,” I told him.
A man and a woman talking | Source: Midjourney
We became more than just strangers who had crossed paths. Over time, Julie and I grew closer, and my bond with her mother deepened because of the love we had for her. Eventually, our relationship blossomed into something deeper.
I never expected to have a family, but now, standing next to the woman I had fallen in love with and married, and the little girl I had rescued and adopted, I realized I had found one.
And I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
A happy family | Source: Midjourney
Here’s another story that might entertain you. When Charlotte’s fiancé didn’t arrive on their wedding day, her world fell apart. Finding strength in her friends and family, she made the most of the opportunity and discovered something unexpected .
This work is inspired by real events and people, but has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the story. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims regarding the accuracy of events or character portrayals and are not responsible for any misinterpretations. This story is provided “as is,” and the opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
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