Women and girls are strong beings, there is no doubt about that. This story from AmoMama proves just that. It also proves that miracles do happen. When Jessica Harding’s husband left one day and never came back, she stayed strong and gave their unborn daughter an incredible life. A decade later, her daughter showed strength of a different kind.
It Takes A Strong Woman
Jessica Harding had spent the last 10 years telling her daughter Julia that her father, Derek, had died in a tragic car accident before she was born. This is why she had no father and didn’t even have any pictures of her with her father as a baby. What young Julia didn’t know was that this whole story was a lie.
When Jessica was seven months pregnant, she drove her husband to the airport. He was going to Seattle for a business trip. He complained of a bad headache and said because of this he didn’t want to talk much during the drive. When they arrived at the airport, he grabbed his bag and walked into the airport without even really looking back. Jessica never saw him again.
At first, Jessica was extremely depressed. She couldn’t understand why her husband, a loving man who had been so excited to meet their daughter, would just up and leave her. When she gave birth to their daughter two months later, Julia became the center of Jessica’s world and really helped to pull her out of her depression.
Jessica decided that she didn’t want her daughter to know that her father had abandoned her before he even met her. For this reason, she destroyed all photos and created the story of the accident. Whenever Julia asked about him, Jessica told her that Derek was a loving, kind man and very athletic – just like his daughter.
A Wonderful Life
Jessica was also determined that Julia would never want for anything. Luckily, Jessica was from a wealthy family. A few years before she married Derek, she received a large inheritance that helped her provide for her daughter on a single income. She made sure that Julia’s wishes came true. She wanted to learn to ride a horse, so Jessica bought her a pony. When Julia fell in love with ballet, Jessica signed her up for classes.
Not A Spoiled Bone In Her Body
Despite their wealth, Julia was anything but a spoiled brat. She grew into a very caring, nurturing little girl. She always wanted to care for everyone and everything – especially if they were hurting. This unfortunately got her into a bit of trouble when she was 10 years old.
Julia went to ballet every Tuesday and Thursday. After class, their driver would go and pick her up. At some point, however, Jessica realized that they were always arriving nearly an hour late from practice. Jessica finally confronted the driver about this. It was then that the driver told her that Julia was always coming out of class very late and with rather dirty clothes.
Jessica confronted her daughter about this, who gave a vague and mumbled reply. The next ballet class, Jessica made sure that she was the one to pick her daughter up. She paid close attention as the other students exited the class. It was then that she noticed her daughter sneaking away.
Jessica hopped out of the car and followed Julia to see where she was going. Julia walked into an abandoned building at the end of the street. Jessica followed and horrified watched Julia approach a shadowy figure of a man sitting in the corner. The figure looked up at Julia as she approached him cheerfully.
“Here I am!” Julia cried. “I got you some ham sandwiches and chocolate milk, and some warm socks…”
Jessica couldn’t stay silent anymore. She screamed, yelling at her daughter to stay back and come to her side right away. Surprised, Julia dropped everything in her hands. She then pleaded with her mother, saying that her friend was hungry. Jessica reached out, grabbed her daughter, and pulled her out of that building. She then made Julia promise that she would never go there again. Julia tried to explain that she’d been visiting this homeless man for two years and that he was harmless, but Jessica wouldn’t hear anything more.
Fate Intervened
Julia stayed true to her word and didn’t visit the man again. Fate, however, had other plans. Two months later they were driving to Julia’s recital when she suddenly screamed out for her mother to stop the car.
Startled, Jessica obliged. Before she could say anything, Julia jumped out of the car. She went after her daughter, who was now kneeling beside a person curled up on the sidewalk, partially covered with snow.
“Mom, it’s my friend, and I think he’s really sick!” Julia cried.
For the first time, Jessica saw the shadowy figure from the abandoned buildings’ face. It was none other than Derek, the man who’d abandoned their family all those years ago. She quickly called 9-1-1, then she and Julia followed the ambulance to the hospital.
The Shocking Twist
The doctors were just as surprised to hear Jessica say that this homeless man was her husband. He was in a coma, so Jessica explained how he had walked out on them a decade ago. That’s when the doctors began asking Jessica a few questions in regards to Derek’s condition.
“Ma’am, this man has an advanced brain tumor, which must have been spreading for the last ten to fifteen years,” one doctor explained. “Did your husband suffer from headaches and memory loss?”
Jessica nodded, confirming that he did. She recalled that he was always writing things down, otherwise, he’d forget them. He also suffered from many migraines. Next, the doctors delivered even more shocking news: Derek hadn’t abandoned them, he had forgotten them. The growing tumor made him suffer from continually progressive memory loss. Thankfully, the tumor was not cancerous. If they removed it, he would likely start to recall his life and who he is.
Many Explanations
With that, the doctors whisked Derek into surgery. Jessica then had to explain that the story about her father was false and that Julia had unknowingly brought her father home to them. Two weeks later, Derek woke up to see Jessica, his wife, sitting in front of him.
“You…” he said quietly, naturally a bit confused. “I’ve been dreaming about you…”
Jessica told him that it wasn’t a dream, it really was her. More and more recollection began showing on Derek’s face. That’s when he asked her where their baby was.
Slowly and gently they explained to Derek that their baby wasn’t, in fact, a baby anymore. She was a 10-year-old little girl and he had been wandering around not knowing who he was for years. Thanks to Julia’s kind heart, she saved her father’s life and brought them back into their family. Now, she finally had everything she ever wanted.
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This story was inspired by an original piece of fiction that first appeared on AmoMama. Any similarities between this story and actual people is purely coincidental.