While walking through the woodland areas around his house, Allan discovered an old abandoned car. But there were fresh tracks around it, and he found his daughter’s special doll inside. Then someone shockingly approached him.
Allan lived in Hood River, Oregon, and loved walking through the woods around his house for hours. He picked cherries and bird-watched as much as possible. It kept him calm, and although it was a solo activity, he felt less alone in the woods than at home.
But one day, while walking, he stumbled upon a new path that led him to an abandoned car in the forest. This was odd. This was not a road-safe area at all. But the car looked old and damaged. It must have been there for years.
Allan found an abandoned car in a woodland area near his home. | Source: Shutterstock
He approached it nonetheless as he felt curious for some unknown reason. He noticed that there were fresh tracks around it, so maybe someone was actually living in that car. There were some shoes, clothes, and the remnants of a fire near the vehicle.
“Yes, someone is living here for sure,” he nodded to himself and looked inside the car to get a closer inspection. He was about to walk away, go home, and call the police. But something caught his eye. There was a doll inside the car. Usually, that wouldn’t be a problem. However, this toy was unique. It was not from a store, and only one person in the world could have it: his daughter Susan.
It was her doll. His ex-wife, Laura, had made it especially for their daughter. It even had a tag with Susan’s name and address on it in case she lost it because their little girl loved taking it with her anywhere.
“But why is this here?” Allan asked himself in complete shock.
His daughter’s doll was special. It couldn’t belong to anyone else. | Source: Pexels
Allan hadn’t heard from his wife or daughter in months. Their divorce was not pretty, and Laura got awarded full custody of their child. Allan didn’t want to hurt their kid by fighting for more visitation and taking her mother to court, so he just accepted it and tried to move on with his life, knowing that Laura was at least a great mother.
They lived in Seattle, so he was a bit away from them. Laura kept their house, and they were supposed to be living there happily. But had someone stolen his daughter’s doll? What was happening?
He tried to open the car door, which was a bit stuck, but he finally managed it and grabbed the doll. He confirmed it was Susan’s toy due to the tag and looked around the woodland area, feeling lost. Had something happened to his daughter? Why didn’t Laura call him?
Allan looked inside the car, riffling through the dirty and discarded items inside, but he stopped after hearing a voice.
“What are you doing?” a female voice surprised him, but he could tell right away who was speaking: Laura.
Allan rose from the car and looked at his ex-wife, who was clutching his daughter’s hand tightly. They looked disheveled, and Laura was almost scared. But the little girl distracted him from his ex-wife’s face as she recognized him. “Daddy!” she yelled and came to hug him.
He leaned down to hug his daughter, giving her the doll and smiling at her. “Hey, sweetie.”
“Did you come for us, Daddy?” the little girl asked, and Allan nodded, although he had no idea what she was saying.
“Laura, what’s going on here?” Allan questioned after standing back up.
She looked around, seemingly ashamed of herself, and talked directly to Susan. “Honey, why don’t you go inside the car for a minute? I need to talk to Daddy.”
Their daughter obeyed, and Allan closed the car door gently when she went inside, then he looked at his wife. “Ok, what’s happening?” he asked again, his hands raised slightly at his sides.
Laura pursed her lips, crossed her arms, and her face showed a deep pain Allan had never seen. This was not the strong but stubborn woman she had known. Something was going on with her, and he needed to know.
“Laura, you know you’re always safe with me. We are divorced, but you are the mother of my child. Tell me, please,” Allan comforted, speaking more quietly so Susan wouldn’t hear anything.
Finally, she started talking. “My boyfriend… well, ex… the one I left you for… he changed as soon as we got married. It’s been hell. But I took it. It’s been a disaster. But well, he kicked us out of our house, and we’ve been here for a few weeks now.”
Allan raised one hand to his forehead in frustration. “What? He kicked you out? How is that possible? Did you call the police?”
“He threatened me and Susan, so I had to leave immediately. I didn’t care about our things,” Laura continued, tears streaming down her face.
“Why didn’t you call me?” Allan asked, sounding pained that his ex-wife and daughter had slept in an abandoned car for weeks.
“I was ashamed, ok?” she wailed quietly. “I didn’t want to call you, especially because we separated after I got together with him. And I was so cruel to demand full custody of Susan. I didn’t know how to face you. I was such an idiot. I’m so sorry, Allan.”
He rushed to her and embraced her tightly. Susan saw them and pushed the door open to get into the huddle. “I want a hug too, Mommy!” she said in her tiny voice.
Allan decided something at that moment while holding these women in his arms. They were never going to be alone again. So he took them home and called a lawyer, who arranged for the police to evict Laura’s husband from their property. They also started the divorce proceedings.
After they completed that complicated process, Laura decided to sell the house because there were too many painful memories in it. She had made too many mistakes in her life there to keep it. Moreover, Allan assured her they could stay with him for as long as needed.
They fell in love again. | Source: Pexels
She apologized to him almost every day and started sewing dolls once again. She made one that looked just like her and one like Allan, tagging them with their names. Susan loved them and always kept the three dolls together symbolizing their united family.
Eventually, Allan and Laura spent so much time together that they fell in love again and married once more. Susan was the flower girl at the wedding. Their family would never be separated again.
What can we learn from this story?
- It’s never too late to work on restoring your family. Laura and Allan rebuilt their relationship after a rough patch, proving that every problem within the family can be resolved.
- There’s no shame in asking for help. Laura should’ve asked Allan for help despite their problems because they would always be family.
This story is inspired by our reader’s story and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only.
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