After Son's Death, Woman Spots His Carbon Copy Sitting at the Cemetery — Story of the Day

A grieving mother who visits her son's grave almost every week is awestruck when she arrives there one day and meets a young boy who's the spitting image of her late son.

Nikki Anderson's eyes welled up again, and before she knew it, she was sobbing uncontrollably as she placed a bouquet of fresh flowers in front of her son's grave. Samuel Anderson was just ten years old when a tornado struck their home, taking him away from his parents for good, and leaving Nikki and her husband, Tom, devastated.

Over the years, it took the couple a lot of fortitude to try to get over the reality that their son was no longer alive. But no matter how hard they tried, Tom couldn't get over it, and Nikki lost him to depression one year after losing their son — he was lifeless except for the fact that he was still breathing and would weep his heart out when he saw Samuel's photograph.

Tom had been a bright, cheery man for as long as Nikki could remember, but losing their kid had aged him in an instant. He seldom smiled, let alone spoke to her. Nikki tried to get back to normal life, even though she wasn't really getting anywhere.

For almost 10 years after the tragic event, Nikki visited her son's grave almost every week as she had done today.

After placing the flowers near his grave, she sat there for a while and whispered a small prayer in her head. She didn't really have much left in her life to protect, considering how her life had been going on, but she didn't want to suffer any more damages and begged God to keep her and Tom safe.

She said her prayer that day and returned home, teary-eyed, thinking that if Samuel was still alive, he'd be a dashing, charming young man of 20. However, when she arrived a week later, she almost collapsed as she spotted Samuel's look-alike sitting at the cemetery.

"How - How is this even possible?" She was almost shivering in shock as she parked her car and approached him.

"Hel - Hello dear, I'm Nikki - Nikki Anderson," she stammered shakily, taken aback by his appearance. This had to be a dream, she thought, or her mind was playing tricks on her! He had a striking resemblance to Samuel - her Samuel! If Samuel were alive today, he would look exactly like him! Wait a minute, is he...?

The boy stared at her, perplexed. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but have we met before?"

Life surprises you when you least expect it.

"You - You are my son. You are my child! You're Sam's identical twin. I found you!" she exclaimed, breaking down in sobs.

"Ugh, ma'am," the boy shot her a weird look. "Look, I'm not sure what you're going on about, but you're not my mom. My mother has passed away, and I've come to pay my respects. Please excuse me."

"No! That's not true, dear. I am your mother. That woman kidnapped you from me! I had twins 20 years ago, but there was an incident at the hospital, and one of my sons was abducted by a woman. We tried everything to track him down, but we couldn't find him. I'm so glad I finally found you! Come on, let's go home!"

"Enough already, ma'am!" The boy nearly yelled at her. "Stop disrespecting my late mother's memory like that! My name is Ryan Thomas, and my mother's name is Celine Thomas! I know my mom adopted me and loved me! I'm warning you again. You can't sell your stories to me!"

"She did not adopt you! SHE STOLE YOU FROM ME!" Nikki almost panicked. "Okay, let's do one thing. How about a DNA test? Trust me, I'm not lying. Here's my address and contact number. You can call me anytime you want..." she said and handed him a piece of paper with the details.

At this point, Ryan was in a fix. Was it true that Celine kidnapped him? He had no idea what to do. However, he couldn't bring himself to think that the woman who had raised him with love would have perpetrated such a heinous crime as stealing someone's newborn child.

"I still don't believe you, Mrs. Anderson," he snarled. "And I'll prove to you that my REAL mother did not steal me from you! Just wait for it!" he replied, staring her in the eyes before walking away.

Nikki couldn't believe that after all these years, she'd met her long-lost son again. She hurried home to tell Tom and he smiled for the first time in years! "Is he really our son, Nikki? Our child?"

"Yes, Tom! I'm confident! I met him! Sammy's twin brother!"

"Then why isn't he home with you? Doesn't he want to meet his father?"

"He will, Tom. He will!" Nikki said, assuring him. However, after nearly a week had passed with no news of Ryan, Nikki began to lose hope.

She returned to the cemetery, but she never saw him there again, and she felt he would never return to her. But then her doorbell rang one afternoon, and it was Ryan.

"Oh, Ryan! I'm so happy to see you! Come on in; come on in! Tom!" she called out. "We've got a special guest! Come here right away!"

"I needed to speak with you about something, Mrs. Anderson. I mean, mom... Look, I... I apologize for my outburst that day. I was trying to verify whether or not my mother had genuinely adopted me, and it turned out that all of the adoption papers and other items I discovered in her closet were forgeries. That means you were right, and I was not. So, you are my REAL mother, I guess," he said, hugging her.

"I knew it, Ryan! I knew you would come. Oh, Lord, Thank you! Come on in. Your father is waiting for you!" she said as she led him inside.

When Tom saw Ryan, he couldn't control his tears! He wrapped his arms around him and sobbed his heart out. Nikki still couldn't believe they were reunited with their long-lost son after all these years.

That day changed a lot of things in their life. For one, she and Tom found a new zeal to live, while Ryan – who was raised single-handedly by Celine – got his parents back.

Unfortunately, no one knows why Celine kidnapped Ryan when he was a newborn, but "all's well that ends well," Nikki believed, thrilled to have Ryan back in her life.

What can we learn from this story?

• Lies have a way of leaking out. Celine would have never imagined her secret truth would be revealed, but it made its way to Ryan and the Andersons.
• Life surprises you when you least expect it. Nikki and Tom never thought they'd be reunited with their son, but it happened because that's how unpredictable life is.

If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a store owner who decides to check on one of her regular customers after he stops showing up at her store one day.

This account 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. 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.