Orphan Girl Notices New Flowers at Mom’s Grave Every Week, Meets a Stranger There — Story of the Day

A young girl visits her mother's grave every day but is confused when she begins finding flowers on the gravestone. She does not know who's laying the flowers there until one day; she meets a man she never thought existed.

The past few months had been tough for Gina. She was only 16 but had been through so much! Only months earlier, she had lost the one person that meant the world to her, and the future seemed so bleak.

Since she laid her mother to rest at the Mountain Ridge Mausoleum, she had made it her duty to visit the grave daily. It was the only way she could feel close to her mother.

However, for the past few weeks, she would find gorgeous flowers laid neatly on the headstone whenever she visited her mother's grave. "Who could be bringing my mother flowers every day?" she wondered.

She had tried to get to the bottom of it by speaking to the cemetery caretaker. "Hi, would you happen to know who lays flowers on Alice Hunter's tombstone?" she asked Jacob.

"I'm sorry young girl, but I've not seen anyone lay the flowers. But I could look out for next time," he answered.

It was a never-ending concern for Gina, and in the following weeks, she reached out to most of her mother's friends to try and figure the mystery out, but everyone she called denied ever laying flowers on Alice's grave.

But then, one day, as she approached her mother's headstone, she could make out the figure of a man who did not seem at all familiar. She also saw that he was holding a bouquet of gorgeous dahlias, her mother's favorite flowers.

"How does he know what flowers she loved?" she wondered, approaching the man cautiously. "He must have been close to her!"

When she got close enough to make out the man's face, she spoke out, her voice trembling. "Hi-hi, I'm Gina," she said, extending her hand for a handshake.

"Oh, hi! I'm Mark."

Gina stared at the man. He was maybe a few years older than her mother, but that's all she could tell about his connection to Alice. She waited for him to say a little more about himself, but the silence only grew louder.

"I'm Alice's daughter," she said in exasperation.

As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw Mark gasp. "That means you must be..." the words faded as his eyes took on a much softer glow.

She was no longer alone in this big cruel world.

"Gina, oh Gina!" he called out almost impulsively, "You might want to sit down. There's something you should know."

Gina was confused. "How did you know my mother?" she shot at him, unaware of the truth behind the man's quiet demeanor.

"You need to sit down so we can talk," Mark answered, buffing the dust off the slab of the grave with a piece of the paper towel he had retrieved from his pocket.

They sat down before Mark began his narration. "As I said, I'm Mark, your mother's ex-boyfriend."

"Wha...what!" Gina raged with a start.

"Yes, we dated for a while, but we were young, and I made some stupid choices," Mark answered solemnly. "We planned on getting married but discovered that Alice was pregnant. I did not have a job, or a means to care for her and our unborn child, so..."

"So you left?" Gina said, balancing the tears that threatened to flow.

"Sadly, yes. I admit I was not man enough and acted selfishly, but I've paid for it dearly."

"Does that mean you are my father?" Gina asked curiously, almost like she knew the truth but wanted it confirmed.

"Yes, Gina. I am your father. For months, I convinced myself that I had made the right choice, but I knew deep down that I was lying to myself. So, when Alice was seven months pregnant with you, I tried coming back, but she wanted nothing to do with me."

Gina was lost for words. She let the tears flow freely from her eyes, not believing what she was hearing.

Mark disclosed that after years of trying to persuade Alice to forgive him and the attempts falling on deaf years, he moved on and married. He and his new wife began trying for babies, but all their pregnancies ended in miscarriages.

Mark felt God was punishing him for abandoning Alice and his child, so he decided he would look for her and ask for forgiveness. Sadly, his search led him to a very unlikely place — her grave.

"I lost my chance at seeking forgiveness from Alice, but I ask this of you. Please, Gina, forgive me for abandoning you all those years back. I should have known better."

Gina jumped into her father's arms, and they both cried on each other's shoulders for a while. Gina said she'd forgiven him and was happy to finally meet her dad.

She was no longer alone in this big cruel world. She had her father, and that was more than she had hoped for coming there that morning.

Gina was ecstatic. She had a new family she could call her own and could only bask in the love that she received from them. They lived together as a happy family and continued to visit her mother's grave to pay their respects and lay down some gorgeous dahlias.

What can we learn from this story?

• Your actions always come back to you. Mark abandoned his girlfriend and unborn child, but he could not have children for years. He only received the miracle of having another baby when he sought forgiveness.
• When life presents you with a second chance, take it. Mark had a second chance to make things right with his daughter, and he did not want to lose it.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a young boy who honors his dad's comrades because no one came to their graves, then is shocked to see army men on his porch the next day.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.