Old Woman Finds Out Her Letters from the War Front Do Not Actually Come From Her Son – Story of the Day

Mrs. Ada Fincher worried about her son Nash when his letters from the war front line stopped coming. Luckily, the letters showed up again every month until Nash appeared at her door and revealed the truth.

“Don’t worry, Mom. I will write to you as often as I can. It might be one letter a month, but I’ll make sure to keep it up as much as I can,” Nash assured his mother, Ada, before leaving for his deployments in Afghanistan.

Ada never liked the idea of her son being in the military, but they were proud Texans and supported the troops. In El Paso, being a soldier was one of the most respected occupations anyone could have.

She was proud of him, but their country had several conflicts around the world that worried her. She knew that Nash might be deployed somewhere scary and not be able to communicate often. But he promised to send letters.

The first few months went relatively well. Ada received two letters, where her son explained how different things were overseas. He never left the country before this, she thought while reading his letters.

Nash explained that he didn’t expect to meet some fantastic people, and going to an active combat zone was different from training in their base. She prayed to God that everything would be fine, and Nash would return home safely.

Another few months went by, and suddenly, there was no letter in the mail for her. “Good morning, Mrs. Fincher. Why are you waiting outside for the mail?” Martin Church asked her. He was their regular mailman.

“Oh, Martin. Do you have any letters from the army? My son writes to me from Afghanistan, and he sends at least one letter a month. But I didn’t in May. June is almost over and nothing yet,” Ada replied.

“I’m sorry. Mrs. Fincher. I sorted the mail earlier, and there’s nothing here. But you shouldn’t worry. Who knows what happens to mail during such a situation. I’m sure those letters are coming soon,” Martin assured the old woman.

“Oh, I hope so, Martin. I’ve been praying every night for his safety. It’s so hard. I wish this war would end soon,” Ada added.

“From your mouth to God’s ear, Mrs. Fincher. Have a nice day!” Martin said and left. But he couldn’t help looking back at the older woman, who went back inside her house reluctantly. I hope her son is alright too, he thought.

June went by, and nothing came in the mail. By the middle of July, Mrs. Fincher was distraught. She waited by the mailbox every day, hoping for any news. Meanwhile, Martin worried about the poor woman.

What if her son never returns, he thought. However, he assumed Nash was still alive since Mrs. Fincher hadn’t received any visits from other military officers or any letters informing her that her son had died. So Martin came up with a plan.

“Good morning, Mrs. Fincher. I have a letter for you!” he said cheerfully to the old woman.

“Really? From Nash?” she asked.

“Yes! Here you go!” Martin said, handed her the letter.

“Thank you so much, Martin. And thank God that these letters are finally arriving!” Ada said before hurrying inside to read her son’s letter where Nash apologized for being too busy to write and explained how busy he was.

Ada was just glad that Nash was still alive. She started receiving two letters a month for a while, until one October morning when her doorbell rang. Who could it be this early in the morning? she wondered to herself, donning a robe before heading downstairs.

“NASH!” she yelled after opening the door and seeing her son there. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?”

“Mom! I’m so glad to see you! My tour is done!” Nash explained and hugged his mother. She ushered him inside and started making him breakfast. Nash sat down at the kitchen table to drink some coffee.

“Tell me everything,” Ada insisted while cooking.

“Well, it’s kind of complicated to explain, but I’ll try. First, I want to apologize for not writing the past months. There was no time to write anything. We were always moving,” Nash explained.

“What do you mean? I got one of your letters earlier this month,” Ada said, frowning as she served him a plate.

“But I haven't written anything since early April, Mom,” Nash continued, confused.

“But some of your letters say July, August, September, so no…you didn’t write those?” Ada asked.

“No, I didn't. I was in the middle of a combat zone. I couldn't—”

Just then, the doorbell rang again. Ada answered, and it was Martin. “Hey, Mrs. Fincher. You weren’t outside, but I wanted to give you another letter from your son in person. I hope it’s ok that I rang,” he explained with a smile.

Ada looked back at Nash sitting in the kitchen and laughed, realizing what happened. “Oh, dear Martin. Thank you so much for everything. Would you like some breakfast?” Ada said, laughing.

“Oh, I don’t want to impose,” Martin said.

“Don’t worry. Come in, and you can meet my son,” Ada said. Martin’s eyes flared, but he came inside and explained why he started writing the letters himself.

“Thank you, Martin. My mom would’ve been so much more worried without your help,” Nash told him as they ate. Ada smiled because her son was back, and it was nice knowing that good people like Martin still existed in the world.

She started inviting him for breakfast every morning, and he became Nash's best friend. Eventually, Ada considered him family. Nash met a wonderful young lady at college, and Martin was the best man at their wedding.

What can we learn from this story?

• A random act of kindness can be life-saving. Ada might have worried herself sick about Nash if it wasn’t for Martin’s act of kindness.
• There are still good people in the world. It often seems like our society is crumbling due to greed and evil, but there are still plenty of good people out there.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a man who put his mother in a nursing home until his son brought her back.

This account is inspired by our reader's story but written by a professional writer. All names have been changed to protect identities and ensure privacy. 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.