Officer Responds to 911 Call from Abandoned Hangar & Finds Older Man She Knew from 20 Years Ago — Story of the Day

Sophia grew up to be a police officer because no one ever protected her. One day, she responded to a 911 call and learned the caller was a man from her past who was caught in an unbelievable situation.

"Woods, here," Sophia Woods said over the radio of her police squad car, responding to dispatch alerting officers about a 911 call.

"A man is injured at an old, rented hangar. We've already dispatched an ambulance, but we need someone to check it out," Sophia heard through the line and she accepted immediately. The dispatcher rattled off an address, and Sophia started driving. Her partner, Cynthia, was in the passenger seat.

They were two of the few female police officers in their precinct and loved working together. Cynthia reminded Sophia of her best friend from high school, Maya, who she hadn't thought of in a long time. After graduating high school, they lost touch, although Sophia never moved to another town. Still, she had no idea what happened with Maya, 20 years after their graduation.

"Sir, we're going to be here a while, so you might as well tell me more," Sophia insisted, raising her eyebrows as if she was speaking to a child.

But this was not the time for a flash of the past. Sophia and Cynthia had arrived at the old hangar which was surrounded by overgrown weeds and bushes all over the place. The door was rusty and dented. It made sense that someone would be injured in that place.

The ambulance arrived shortly after them, but Sophia gestured for them to wait until they inspected the area. "Hello?" she called out.

"Hello! Please! Help me! My leg!" a male voice yelled from inside the hangar. Cynthia moved the rusty door to the side, exposing the ample space. A man was on the floor with a big piece of metal pinning him to the floor.

Sophia moved her hand rapidly, so the paramedics entered, and they all rushed to the man. However, as they got closer, Sophia recognized him. "Mr. Teller! What are you doing here?" she questioned, shocked that the man would be in this odd place.

Mr. Teller was Maya's father and an inventor. He had sold many of his creations to big companies, and his other designs went to toy factories. He was so talented, and Sophia always envied her friend for having such a good dad who drove her to school and back every day.

They clearly had the money for vacations and presents, unlike Sophia, whose mother had to work 12-hour shifts to get them by. She was left alone most of the time and sometimes feared the nights of loneliness at home. She wished someone was there to protect her, which is why she decided to become a police officer. She didn't want others to feel unprotected.

"Do I know you, young lady?" Mr. Teller asked as the paramedics assessed what was wrong with him. The metal had not only trapped him on the floor due to its weight but it was also embedded in his leg. They would need to be patient, as it could take a while before first responders could decide what to do about it.

"I'm Sophia Woods, sir. I was Maya's friend in school. I went to your house all the time," Sophia explained kindly, hoping that conversation would distract him from the pain. "If you give me her phone number, I'll call her right away."

"No! You can't call her!" he exclaimed loudly and panicked. Sophia frowned at his reaction and squatted near his head to look at him directly.

"What's going on, sir? Why can't I call Maya?"

"Maya and I are not talking," he said and trailed off, looking away from her.

"Sir, we're going to be here a while, so you might as well tell me more," Sophia insisted, raising her eyebrows as if she was speaking to a child and not her friend's father. She could tell Mr. Teller didn't want to tell her the truth, but he finally sighed.

"Maya and I are not speaking. Not yet anyway. I will call her soon. I swear. I'm making something for my grandson. He's about to graduate from high school, and I want to surprise them," the older man revealed.

"Grandson? Oh, Maya has a child? Wait, he's graduating from high school? That means he's 17 or 18," Sophia speculated, her eyebrows furrowed in thought.

Mr. Teller sighed deeply again. "Yeah, Maya got pregnant two years into college and dropped out. I told her not to do it. College was her road to success, but her boyfriend convinced her that he was good and that he was going to support them. I told her I disapproved, and she kicked me out of our house. I had named her the owner years earlier just in case something happened to me, so I had no choice."

"Oh, Jesus, Mr. Teller." Sophia shook her head at the older man. Sometimes, people were too proud to admit when they were wrong.

"We haven't spoken since then, and I was hoping to make something for my grandson to ask for forgiveness. I don't know if it'll work," Mr. Teller said.

"It'll work, sir," Sophia assured him, but they couldn't keep the conversation going as the paramedics were ready to move him.

As they loaded him into the ambulance, Sophia called the station and asked if they could find Maya's contact information. Then she called her old friend and spoke to her for the first time in 20 years. She told him about her father and promised to meet her at the hospital.

Maya arrived with her son, a bulky teenager who was just as worried. Sophia knew right then that even after years of not speaking, they would mend their relationship with Mr. Teller quickly with just a conversation. She explained to Maya and her son what Mr. Teller told her and what happened to him at the hangar.

"Oh my god! He could've just come to the house anytime. I should've called him too. I'm such a lousy daughter. My loser boyfriend left me as soon as Miles was born. I can't believe I didn't try to contact him," Maya said after hearing the entire story, but Sophia smiled at her friend.

"My grandfather was making something for me?" Miles asked, a surprised look on his face.

"Yeah, he said it was something for your high school graduation," Sophia told the teenager.

After a while, a doctor came to talk about Mr. Teller's condition. He was fine, but he would need to be off his leg for a few weeks. Maya nodded and assured the doctor that she would care for him.

Finally, the doctor told them they could visit him in his room. Maya looked expectantly at Sophia, but the police officer shook her head.

"You two need to talk, forgive each other, heal. But you can call me at that number because I want to know details about what happened to you all these years," she insisted, lifting her eyebrows at her friend. Then, she left the hospital and went to work to finish her shift.

Maya called Sophia a few days later, and they meet for coffee to catch up. Their friendship picked up like no time had passed at all. Maya revealed that she and her father had talked, forgiving each other quickly, something that should've happened years ago.

Miles loved the invention Mr. Teller completed for him later — a smart desk/gaming chair, which can detect when you need a massage, and they bonded despite years of not being in his life. Meanwhile, Sophia was glad and felt like she had a little hand in helping them, which was what her job was all about.

What can we learn from this story?

• Apologize and forgive as quickly as you can because life is short. Maya and her father should've spoken earlier and not waited years to forgive each other. It would have saved them from unnecessary sadness and regret.
• Helping others can feel fantastic. Sophia decided to become a police officer because she wanted to protect others the way she wished she had been protected when she felt alone. And she loved that she helped her friend reunite with her father after years of being estranged.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a cop who responded to a 911 call and discovered a mom of four in trouble.

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