Man Visits Parents' Grave with Bouquet of Red Tulips, Sees Old Lady with the Same Flowers There — Story of the Day

A man who had gone through more than his fair share of tragedy visited his parent's grave only to meet an old lady there paying her respects. He was later shocked to learn who she really was.

Arthur Morgan lived an unhappy life. At 60, he had lost everything he could except his life. His parents, John and Sally Morgan, died in his mid-30s — the cruise ship whose tickets he had purchased for them sank, claiming their lives, among others.

Arthur had been trying to change his baby daughter's diapers when he learned the news of their demise, and he promptly burst into tears which were wiped by his wife, Megan, who returned home as soon as he called her at work to tell her.

"It's okay baby," she said as he sobbed later that night.

"It's my fault," Arthur cried.

"It's not, my love, you were just being a filial son," she told him.

"I just wanted them to enjoy the cruise together so they can fix what was wrong in their relationship."

"I know, Arthur, I know," Megan crooned. "You don't have to think about it too much. You have us, okay, we're your only family now and we are not going anywhere." If only she knew.

Ten years later, Megan and their daughter Trixie died as well. They were involved in a car crash while returning from a visit to the salon.

Trixie was ten and was getting her first standard haircut in a salon, so Megan escorted her. Arthur remained back home to do some work and received a call requesting him to come and identify the bodies of his wife and child.

It was a traumatic experience that never left him feeling the same. He was naturally an introvert, but the loss made him withdraw deeper into himself.

"I'm now truly alone on this earth," he said to himself when he buried their corpses.

Arthur continued to live like a shadow, unable to deal with the death of his wife and kid. He threw himself into his work, but that only helped briefly; soon as he finished, all he could think about was his family.

One day, he was particularly sad, so he decided to visit his parents' grave with a bouquet of red tulips — a flower his mother loved.

When he arrived at the cemetery, Arthur slowly made his way to his parents' graveyard; however, he froze after he noticed an old lady standing there with the same flowers he was holding.

Arthur saw her say a few words then bend down to put the flowers before his mother's grave before turning around and leaving. After her departure, he walked to the grave to eye the flowers — they were red tulips too.

"She must have known my mother," he thought. "But who is she?"

Arthur thought about it for a long time; then he remembered that his father had been cheating on his mother at some point with a woman who wanted to destroy his marriage.

With that in mind, Arthur decided that he would confront her if he saw her again. To do that, he started to frequent his parents' graves until one morning when the old lady showed up again.

This time, she had not come with tulips. "You there!" he shouted as he moved towards her.

The woman was visibly startled by the hostility in his voice, but she stood her ground as he approached.

"You almost ruined their marriage and now even in death you won't let them be!" he accused.

"Excuse me?" the woman said. "I don't understand what you mean."

"Don't play dumb with me. I know you were sleeping with my dad. You nearly ruined their marriage."

"What?" the woman asked, looking baffled and disgusted. "I did no such thing sir. This woman here is my mother."

The shock calmed Arthur down enough for her to get in a few more words which completely proved the validity of her statement.

After they found a comfortable spot to sit under a tree, the woman, who introduced herself as Rebecca, revealed that she was the first child of Arthur's mother. She was born out of wedlock, so Sally, who had been very ashamed of it, put her in an orphanage and forgot all about her.

By the time Rebecca was old enough to understand and forgive her mother, the woman had already passed away from the car crash.

She had dealt with the grief of losing her by trying to find out more about her which had not been easy. When she discovered that her mother loved red tulips, Rebecca promised to take some to her grave, and it quickly became a habit.

Arthur listened intently to Rebecca's story, and after she finished, he shared his with her. He told her about the loss of his parents, what he felt was his hand in it, and also the loss of his wife and child.

Rebecca understood his hurt and comforted him, and the two went on to become good friends. Later on, Arthur was introduced to her family, and he became a grandfather to her grandkids.

Thanks to Rebecca and her family, Arthur no longer felt so alone in the world. He had once again found family, and so had Rebecca.

What did we gain from this story?

• It is important to forgive. Rebecca was born out of wedlock, and Sally immediately put her in an orphanage without looking back. When Rebecca was old enough, she learned about her mother's actions but still chose to forgive her, which is why she was able to come in contact with Arthur at the graveyard. Had she decided to forget her mother, they would never have been united.
• Try not to jump to conclusions. When Arthur saw Rebecca paying her respects to his mother, he assumed she was the mistress who had almost wrecked his parent's marriage. The assumption was wrong, but luckily Rebecca did not take offense. That does not always happen, so in the future, avoid jumping to conclusions, and if it happens, keep them to yourself.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a boy who visits his mom's grave with white lilies and is approached by a man with the same flowers.

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.